Modern living
The life of your average pet cat today has changed quite a lot in the last 10 years. More people are moving out of homes with large gardens into cluster homes with small gardens and flats with no garden at all. Most of these people still want to have a companion animal and are leaning more towards getting a kitten than a puppy, because cats are believed to be ‘easier’ pets. The general belief is that cats need less space, will not make a lot of noise, do not need much exercise, and they do not need to have their person around all the time. Unfortunately, that belief is only partly true! Yes, cats don’t need to be walked, or taken for obedience training, but they are a complex species in their own right, and have very specific needs that must be met for them to be happy pets. Many pet cats living in high density areas are suffering from a behaviour problem such as spraying or excessive scratching of furniture, and owners are often desperate to stop this. The biggest contributing factor is that most cats are grossly under socialized or are not equipped to live in close social contact with other cats or deal with the stress of a constantly changing environment.

Kitten socialisation
Kittens should be exposed to as many every day experiences as possible before the age of 8 weeks. This does mean that the onus for socialization falls on the breeder, so be sure to choose a breeder who considers the kitten’s physical and behavioural well-being and who socializes, handles and exposes their kittens, in a safe way, to all the things required to make them capable, confident pet cats! When the kitten leaves the breeder (usually at 12 weeks), most of the social imprinting should already have been done, and you should be seeing a confident, touch tolerant and friendly kitten.

Bringing a scared kitten home
By the time a kitten is homed, it could already be showing signs of fear of people and its new environment. The car trip to his new home is the most frightening experience for the kitten to date, and many kittens will show signs of being fearful and nervous on arrival. It is important that the new owner knows how to handle this situation and how to address any existing problems from the minute the kitten enters its home.

Confi-Kitten classes
ThinkingPets developed an innovative socialization and habituation program for cat owners, called Confi-Kitten® classes. These classes encourage new kitten owners to bring their kittens to socialization and habituation sessions. Here, kittens learn important social skills and owners learn about their cats’ behaviour and emotional needs. Kittens also learn to associate travelling with a positive experience ending at a fun destination, where usually a car trip would have meant a visit to the vet or cattery. (Both of which can be an unpleasant experience for a nervous cat!)

The classes, run by qualified kitten class instructors, teach owners how to carefully expose kittens to novel stimuli in order to prevent fearfulness or anxiety later in life, which could lead to a whole assortment of problems. We want to educate owners about the minimal mental health requirements of their cats, and we provide this opportunity to all cat owners. TTouch is taught in each kitten class to help owners build their relationship with their kittens, as well as boosting confidence and increase tolerance to being handled. Owners are shown touches to help them calm their kittens down when over-excited, as well as assisting them when getting their kitty used to being groomed. We also give our owners valuable advice on various cat related topics such as litter box training, scratching, mental stimulation and clicker training for cats. If you have a problem with your adult cat, there’s help available.

When enrolling for a Confi-Kitten class, you can be assured that you are getting the most up to date information on feline behaviour and TTouch as our instructors attend regular workshops to maintain their skills. The classes focus on teaching owners how to obtain harmony when living with a cat, and how to prevent behavioural problems later on in life.

We have found that education is the key to helping owners and pet cats live together happily, therefore our main focus with kitten classes is to provide owners with easy access to the most up to date information out there. For more information about kitten class, contact us! We have instructors all over South Africa who can help you prepare your new feline baby for the real world in a kind, rewarding manner.
www.thinkingpets.com

By Karin Landsberg & Niki Elliot

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