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New Kitten

Taking Home Your New Kitten

When taking home your new kitten, a stimulating environment is essential to keep your kitten physically fit and healthy. Toys you can dangle for him/her to chase around - keep him/her busy and active with toys he/she can play with on his/her own, as well as lots of interactive games with you. Toys need to encourage natural behaviour such as hunting, running, pouncing, leaping, grabbing, and even biting. A cat activity centre is essential for hybrids such as bengals, savannahs and Marguerites, and Toygers also enjoy lots of activity.

Teach your new kitten by rewards - create new habits by giving rewards - Hybrids are a little selfish and very inquisitive and will happily go to your work surface and anywhere else you may visit.  So with each visit give your kitten his/her reward on the floor, so that their habit is to look for their treat rather than to see what you are up to.  This way they are less likely to think of their food being on the worktop and more likely to look for what is going to present itself on the floor.  Remember, a treat isn't always food, it can be a frozen pea to play with, or a screwed up piece of paper to play with. a new cat toy, a dish of cat food, two of three of their favourite cat biscuits, or even a cardboard box that they can play with.

If you have a boisterous kitten punishment is never helpful as it can inadvertently reinforce bad behaviour.

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