9-14 Months: By the time you reach this stage, you officially have an adult cat. After spending so long learning the social etiquette of your home, they will start to mirror you and your actions–like sleeping more during the night and playing during the day.
The good news is that most kittens calm down with age. Cats develop much quicker than their hooman families so you can expect your kitten to slow down at around 9-14 months as they advance into adulthood.
By 12 – 18 months, the kitten transitions to adulthood, but many continue to retain their playful nature. This isn't as hardcore as the kitten phase, however. By 3 – 4 years old, most cats have calmed down considerably and spend the bulk of their day snoozing. Every cat is different, some calm down earlier than others.
Of course while some cats get more affectionate as they age, this is not true for all cats and can depend on a number of different factors such as personality, environment, breed and more. Age also comes with physical effects that often cause cats to decrease activity and become less playful.
If your cat wasn't exposed to many humans as a kitten, she may not be used to people. After all, she's tiny, and humans still may look like giants to her. Some cats may also associate being picked up with negative experiences, such as having her nails trimmed or getting vaccinated.
Socialization. If your feline pal is just a baby, cuddling her regularly is very important. Being held and petted is crucial for socialization. Letting little Fluffy get used to being petted and handled regularly now will go a long way towards helping her grow into a friendly, outgoing adult cat.
Single kitten syndrome is the idea that young kittens, when raised with other young kittens and cats and then adopted into a home by themselves, can become aggressive, anxious, stressed, and even develop behavioral issues like inappropriate chewing/scratching and inappropriately using the litterbox.
If this sounds familiar, they might be going through the 'Terrible Two's' phase! Cats are juniors until the age of 2, and like human children, may start to show a different temperament between 6 months and 2 years old, even progressing from the (sometimes) defiant 'Terrible Two's' to becoming a stroppy teenager!
If your kitten is leaping across every surface of your home and treating your furniture like his own personal scratching post, you might be wondering if it will stop. The good news is, kittens definitely do calm down. Cats age much faster than humans do, and go through milestone ages pretty early on.
Social play usually peaks at about 3 months of age. As they get to 4-9 months, they hit their teenage years. They may start to feel their natural predatory selves and the need to begin “hunt” and scavenge. They may start bringing toys, sleeping more during the day, and playing more in the evenings.
There is nothing cruel in putting a kitten to bed in a cosy, warm and secure environment (such as the kitten cage) until you wake in the morning, but the location and type of bed are important to ensure a stress-free night.
A simple training method involves praising and petting your kitten when it leaps onto acceptable surfaces while scolding and removing it from unacceptable surfaces. The spray bottle can help train your kitten to stay off specific surfaces.
Young cats and kittens that were not raised with littermates, or that lack opportunities to play most commonly show play aggression. Learning appropriate play is an important part of a cat's socialization, and this normally occurs during time spent with littermates.
Just like humans, kittens have an easier time feeling comfortable trying something new if they've got a friend to do it with them. Bonded Pair Adoption - It's easier to adopt a bonded pair than it is to introduce a new cat later. Adopting a dynamic duo ensures that you'll have a harmonious home for years to come!
From 9-14 months, they may grow into themselves and begin to pattern their behavior to their families. If there is another cat in the household to teach them, this process can be shorter.” While development happens in stages, every kitten is different.
A cat's temperament, training, and personality are the result of genetics and upbringing, and are generally unaffected by the presence or absence of male hormones. Castration is unlikely to calm an overactive cat or decrease aggression toward people.
Much of this 'personality' development has already taken place before we get our kitten. For the cat, learning to enjoy the company of people takes place pretty early in its life – somewhere from about three weeks to seven or eight weeks old.
Don't Let Your Kitten Go Outside Unless Supervised And On Lead The outside world is full of hazards for a young cat. There are coyotes, hawks, automobiles, and dreaded diseases. Occasional excursions outside on lead are acceptable but make sure you stay with the kitten as it explores.
This means they hiss, spit, swat and smack trying to get the other cat to back off. Alternatively, these cats are often extremely overzealous players to the point of being obnoxious. They do not learn how to interpret body language, how to physically play and when to stop the game of play (i.e. when enough is enough).
Kitten-Proof Your Home
Kittens between two and four months of age should only be left alone four to six hours at a time, not a full workday. When they're a little older, around six months, you can be gone all day.
A: My rule of thumb is handling should be minimum during the first three days of life to allow the kitten to survive. After that, then handling the kitten on a daily basis is a good idea. Having the kittens bonding to human scent and human handling is very important, especially during weeks 3 through 7.
Looking at the two extremes, no handling is bad news for the kitten whereas rough or excessive handling can be equally detrimental. It is best to handle and pet the kitten in a way that it appreciates, not to short change it, yet not to smothering it in overly indulgent, perhaps unwanted way.