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Your kitten is one of a kind, not to mention adorable. But training your li’l baby comes with some basic guidelines. Scroll on for a handful of our favorite kitten training tips.
Introduce your new kitten to their litter box as soon as they get home. Then always set your cat in their box right after meals and as soon as they wake up from naps.
And don’t forget to reward your kitten with a treat, toy or some extra love after they use it.
Kitty, meet litter.
Litter, meet kitty.
When Kitty forgets their manners and bites you or shows their aggressive side, say “ow” or “no” clearly and sternly.
Then slowly remove your hand — or other body part — from their razor-sharp clutches. Pick up your kitten, place them away from you, walk away and ignore them.
You can also redirect them to a feather wand or another toy or activity if you want. But that’s your call.
Ouch!
That’s my hand,
not a treat, tiny cat.
By giving your little feline lots of sturdy scratching posts throughout your house, especially where they like to hang out, you can save your favorite furniture from unwanted claw marks and damage.
Oh, and be sure to trim your kitten’s nails regularly.
Say it with me:
Sofas are NOT
scratching posts.
Teach your kitten that their cat carrier is a safe, comfortable place to chillax and feel protected.
Trust us, by making a carrier part of your fuzzball’s daily life, road trips and vet visits will be easier and safer for years to come.
Cozy up,
Buttercup.
It's midnight. Bring on the zoomies, furry one.
(Actually, please don’t.)
Want to stop your kitten from bouncing off the walls while you’re supposed to be deep in slumber land? Try these tips.
Have a long play session later in the evening.
Feed your feline a big meal of delicious, nutritious IAMS™ Healthy Kitten or PERFECT PORTIONS™
Spend 15 minutes of purr-worthy snuggle time before you hit the hay.
Yep, it’s true! One of our favorite studies from the University of South Australia proved it.
To help train your kitten, pick the word that best describes them:
These anxious felines tend to run away when the doorbell rings and are fearful of new situations.
The key to training a skittish kitty? Practice lots of patience and never force them to face their fears, like meeting your house guests after they’ve already runaway and hidden.
Some call them nosy, but we call them fearless. Outgoing kitties are curious and adventurous. They love to explore and get into everything — and they sometimes act naughty because they’re bored.
One of the tricks to training an outgoing kitten is to give them lots of toys and actively play with them. It stimulates their mind and helps burn off energy.
“Bossy” best describes these kitties. They bully other cats (and even other pets) and hog things like food bowls, toys and litter boxes.
If your kitten fits this category, be consistently firm and make sure you play with them regularly so they have less energy to be aggressive.
You might also want to make sure your little CEO (Cat Executive Officer) has their own food bowl, water bowl and litter box.
Two words describe these felines: impulsive and erratic. Their behavior and moods are unpredictable, even if they’ve encountered the same situation before.
When training, never raise your voice — it’ll just ramp up your kitty’s nerves and make them more erratic.
Also, be sure to stick to a consistent daily schedule for feeding and playtime so your little fuzzball knows what to expect and doesn’t get stressed out.
This personality is every cat lover’s dream.
These sweeties can usually be found curling up against your shins, meowing loudly and purring away.
The key to training these kittens is to never yell and to socialize them early and often. That way, they’ll continue to be everyone’s best friend for life.
You had me at
meow, li’l feline.
Taurine is an important component to all IAMS™ cat foods, such as IAMS ProActive Health™ Adult Original with Chicken.
Taurine is an essential amino acid that is critical for normal heart muscle function, vision, and reproduction in kittens. It is also needed to form the bile salts that aid in digestion. Unlike other amino acids, taurine is found as a free amino acid in body tissues such as the heart and eyes, and is not incorporated into proteins.
Most mammals manufacture taurine from other amino acids. However, cats cannot manufacture a sufficient amount and, therefore, must acquire enough additional taurine through diet to meet their needs. In pet food, taurine is naturally found in animal-based protein ingredients and can also be added separately.
Taurine is supplemented in IAMS dry and canned cat foods to ensure that we provide optimal levels of this essential nutrient. IAMS wet cat foods are supplemented with taurine because they must contain as much as twice the amount of taurine found in dry food for cats to maintain adequate blood taurine levels. The canning process may affect the complex taurine balance in your cat. Our wet cat foods are supplemented with taurine to meet these higher needs.
IAMS dry cat foods also include taurine as an ingredient to supplement the primary source of this amino acid, which is animal-based protein from sources such as chicken, egg, lamb, and fish. However, these sources can vary in their taurine content, and adding more taurine is a sound approach to ensure optimal taurine levels.
Taurine is essential to the proper development and function of cells in the retina of the eye. If insufficient taurine is present, the retinal cells don’t function properly and may die, eventually causing impaired vision and even blindness. This process is referred to as feline central retinal degeneration.
Taurine is also necessary for normal function of the heart muscle cells. Taurine deficiency leads to weakening of the heart muscle, which, in turn, can lead to heart failure. This condition is known as dilated cardiomyopathy and can be fatal.
Decreased Reproductive Performance and Growth
Taurine is necessary for optimal reproductive and growth performance. Both the queen and kittens must maintain adequate taurine levels during pregnancy, lactation, and growth to ensure proper structural development.
IAMS cat foods are formulated with high-quality, animal-based proteins as their primary ingredient. In addition, they are supplemented with extra taurine to ensure balanced levels of essential amino acids.
Case L, et al. Canine and Feline Nutrition. 3rd ed. Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby Elsevier, 2011.
