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How To Tame Shy Kittens
Sometimes when you
get a new kitten, they are shy or they shy away from
human touch. Sometimes they want to hide in a secluded
spot away from you. This behavior is not uncommon and
should be dealt with to bring the kitten's behavior
to be more interactive with humans. Here are some things
you can do.
1. Put kittens in a small room with
areas for them to hide blocked off or absent. They should
be in the room by themselves with no other pets. Start
them off in a cage with enough room for them to run
around a bit. Put a box in the cage to allow them to
go into if they need to a little security. The cage
can be partly covered with a blanket or towel to help
them feel safer. Using a pheromone spray like Feliway
at one spray per day will help too - just do not spray
it around the litter box.
2. Do not stare at the kittens. Staring
is predatory behavior and will scare the kittens. When
you look at them, make sure you blink a lot and turn
your head often. Practice trying to touch the kitten
after he has been in the cage a couple of days. If they
are not receptive to your hand right away, try using
something like a back scratcher to rub their fur. Attempt
to move your hand down the back scratcher to get closer
to the kitten as you try this. An advanced method called
the Tellington Touch can be attempted also. This method
is proven to help an animal feel more comfortable around
humans.
3. Start spending more and more time
in the room with the kittens. A kitten needs at least
two hours per day of interaction time with you. One
person should do this at first, probably for the first
5-7 days you have had the kitten. Then one or more other
people can be added to help the kitten get used to being
around more people. Use a toy in your hand to play with
the kitten and get him used to being close to your hand.
Move your hand closer to the kitten when you hold the
toy until you can touch him. Giving the kitten a special
food treat also helps them get used to you being close
to them.
4. Play a radio softly on a station
with only voices for a few hours a day to help them
get used to people's voices.
5. After you can touch the kitten, start
letting them out of the cage. You may take the litter
box out of the cage now and put the litter box and food
at opposite sides of the room. Spray the Feliway around
the room now. Do not spray it near the litter box. Start
playing with them by using toys they like such as newspaper
balls and string toys. This play time will turn into
them looking forward to your return to play more with
them. Do not forget to touch occasionally and pet them
during play time.
6. After a time, just sit in the room
with the kittens and do what you want to - like read,
watch TV or use your computer. This will help them get
used to people that are not there just to pay attention
to them. Then after a while, start to play with them.
Try to bring in other people in the room with them more
often and for at least 30 minutes at a time. The other
people should try to play with the kittens and also
try to pet them.
All these things will help a shy kitten
come out of his shell. If you have a shy kitten and
do nothing the kitten may hide all the time. Help them
get used to humans and human interaction. Some will
need this help more than others.
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