How do I train my kitten to listen to me when I say no?

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  • #851448
    Link
    Participant

    My kitten is now 9 weeks and he’s such an energetic one. My only problem is that he won’t listen to me when I try to tell him “no,” For instance, I’m trying to get him to not attack my curtains so I lightly tap him on the head and say “No, bad kitty” but of course he continues. So do any of you guys have any advice on discipling your kitten? I know he’s young but I want it embedded in his lil head so he doesn’t think it’s okay. I tried treats but he isn’t very interested in them.

    #851466
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    #851480
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Here’s some better advice on training your wee boy. Keep in mind that he will settle down once he’s neutered.

    Teaching your kitten to be well behaved is an important part of her education. Your kitten will learn her behavior through association. This means that if you reward him when he’s has been good, he’ll associate his good behavior with a reward. This is called positive reinforcement. When you train your kitten in this way, you are encouraging him to display good behaviors and ignoring his when he displays bad behaviors. Therefore, when your kitten uses his litter box as he should he will be praised and rewarded immediately. If, however, your kitten has an accident on your carpet will be ignored. Your kitten will soon associate the praise and reward with the correct action and will stop behaving in a manner that gets him no attention.

    As you think about training, decide what you want your kitten to do, why he should want to do it and when you will reward his for good behavior. Kittens tend to be solely motivated by food, but, unfortunately, this only works when they’re hungry! However, it is helpful if you find a treat or a toy your kitten particularly loves to help you with your training.

    Training a cat is very different from training a dog. For example, you won’t be asking your kitten to perform a range of actions that you might ask your dog to perform, such as “Sit” or “Heel.” However, you can teach your kitten to understand certain rules, for example, that he is not allowed to climb up the curtains or jump on the kitchen counters.

    Every time your kitten behaves how you want her to, reward and praise her. Every time you find her on the kitchen counter, or climbing the curtains, lift her down and walk away from her. She’ll soon realize that keeping four feet on the floor means praise while unwanted climbing means that she gets ignored.

    If you begin training your kitten from an early age he will grow into a well-mannered cat and will be a pleasure to look after. However, training your kitten is an ongoing process and one that should be continued well into his adult life.

    #851483
    ecbrown
    Participant

    The best thing, I found, is to get them to get their “attack” behavior out of their system in acceptable ways. He would usually have littermates to wrestle with….but they make stuffed toys that make good substitutes. When one of mine started climbing curtains, I bought a cat tree for climbing and it never happened again. Not every behavior is resolved so easily, but just to illustrate the principle. You want them to get those totally normal and necessary cat behaviors out in ways that aren’t destructive. Let us know if you need more specific ideas.

    #851491
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    #851499
    Anonymous
    Inactive

    Link? Along with the wonderful advice PG gave you remember Mber: he’s just a baby. Pick him up. Easy. No means we’re outta this location. At 2 Mo it’s better than the spray bottle and water which works but I hate it. Only occasionally had to use it. Pointer? Bad behavior means physical distress. For Yuri it’s: my ears are burning (Vaseline . Need cream. Most cats get red ears.?) Or heartburn. Play time is any time but he’s a hermaphrodite and won’t go into heat.

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