Reward her
Who’s she, the cat’s mother? Not quite, but you are responsible for your kitten’s health, wellbeing, behaviour, comfort and safety. So how can you be a ‘good mother’ and help her to grow up gracefully? Here are some key areas to focus on.
Teach her good manners
For such a little thing, your kitten can be surprisingly destructive. An important part of her training is helping her to behave well towards others. No visitor is likely to say "Isn’t she cute?" when being used as a scratching post. Deciding to dig up your neighbour’s plants or fish in their pond won’t make either of you very popular either. Legally, you’re not accountable for your kitten’s actions, but it’s important to prevent her causing damage.
Reward good habits
As a pet carer, there are certain good habits you can develop in your home along with a daily routine so she can distinguish between playtimes and quiet times.
Keep your kitten's living and sleeping areas comfortable and dry at all times, and have plenty of fresh drinking water available each day. You can help her to get enough exercise by encouraging playtimes with safe, enjoyable toys.
Grooming is another important daily routine and can help prevent external parasites and skin trouble. Brushing her for a few minutes each day will reduce the likelihood of her having problems with hairballs, and she’ll love the attention.
Your kitten will learn through association. Reward her with kisses and cuddles when she’s been good and she'll associate good behaviour with a reward, which she'll want to get again. That’s positive reinforcement. When her behaviour’s not so good, don't rant and rave, just ignore her. As soon as she goes to the toilet in her litter box, praise and reward her. If she does it on the carpet, turn a blind eye - telling her off won't get either of you anywhere.
Training
As you think about training, think what you want your kitten to do, why she should want to do it and when and how you're going to reward her. Kittens tend to be solely motivated by food, but, unfortunately, this only works when they're hungry! So try and find a treat or a toy she really loves to use with your training.
Training a cat is very different from training a dog. You won’t be asking her to perform a range of actions such as "Sit" or "Heel". What you can teach her is to respect certain areas of your house and to realise that she isn't allowed to climb up the curtains or jump on the kitchen counters.
It’s positive reinforcement all the way. If you find her on the kitchen worktop or half way up the curtain, lift her down and walk away. Save your praise for when she has four feet firmly on the ground. She'll soon get the point.
Train her young and you’ll end up with a well-mannered cat who’s a pleasure to live with. Just remember to keep reinforcing the process with praise and rewards even when she’s an adult. That shouldn't be a problem as you'll love cuddling and stroking her as much as she does!