I have a kitten who was taken from her mother too soon. Her name is Khloe. She exhibits almost all of the behaviors you described (clingy behaviors, nursing on couch pillows, panics when left alone, etc). What can I do to ensure she receives the best care and lives a happy life?
Dear Readers,
This comment was on my post, Tiny Tigers, where I explain some special challenges when we acquire a kitten who is too young to leave their mother. I discuss how our kittenproofing and care is shaped by their growth stage.
I thought this was a very good question about helping the emotions of the tiny ones. Here’s tips to help them become a secure and confident kitty:
Substitute for Momma Cat
Problems start when the kitten leaves their mother too soon, and we usually cannot come up with another cat mom for them. But we can act as a Cat Mom in certain key ways.
When we got Tristan at 3 weeks, we provided extra warmth with a heating pad in his carrier, where he slept with a stuffed animal who was his size. He was also cuddled against me or Mr WayofCats a lot of the time. This recreated the sensation of what his environment should be for his age.
Tiny kittens are never alone in their natural situation. If Mom Cat is off hunting, they still have their littermates. This has practical aspects, too, because the tiny ones are so small they need some help keeping their body temperature up.
We can also clean them up with a damp washcloth after mealtimes or just to show we care. We had a good reason to do this for Tristan, whose face would be covered with glop after a feeding, but this also helps the tiny kitten get body feedback as they grow and develop.
Most cats can benefit from a security object, but this is especially important when they are too little to have created their own sense of comfort. A kitten who tries to nurse, shows clingy behavior, and hates to be alone are all telling us they still need this kind of Momma Cat nurturing. If we do have to leave them alone, provide them with warmth, something to cuddle with, and if we have a heartbeat bear, that would be perfect.
Substitute for littermates
As I explain in When our cat is too rough, we can act as littermates; and sometimes, we should. Cats are nurtured by their mothers, but they learn manners and social interaction from their littermates.
If a kitten gets too rough, their littermate is the one who squeals and smacks them. This, kittens understand.
When Reverend Jim was a kitten, severely neglected and unable to play, we had to work to engage the instincts which lurked beneath his frozen surface. Smokepuff’s social awkwardness turned out to be a learning experience for RJ’s friendship acquisition. But when RJ was able to play with a kitten, his excitement resulted in Olwyn squealing at him; and James Bond being the one to give him the needed smack on the head.
However, as humans, we need to recognize our limitations when we serve as littermates. We cannot get physical with our kittens, since we are far too big and threatening as it is. We also lack the fine discrimination needed to know exactly how hard to smack. We are better off not smacking at all.
But this does not mean we cannot influence our kittens. I have found that kittens are very sensitive to voice tones. Not what we say; that will come later. We need to be careful about what we convey, as in emotional content.
I have found kittens, once they have been played into temporary brain function, will be very receptive to what emotions we convey with our voice. When I act and sound frightened of something, (with restraint and softness because the kitten is so tiny,) the kitten will understand they should stay away from that thing.
Likewise, if they are using their teeth and claws too much, we should remember that hands are not toys. We should play with wand toys, or stuffed animals large enough to keep our bodies out of the play area.
By giving our kitten soft, verbal, emotional feedback, we can give our kitten emotional companionship with the same social functions as littermates.
Substitute for family
Our kitten has a brain which is set up for independence; but not yet.
At the beginning of our cat’s developmental process, they need their family around them. They pretend they are fierce jungle cats, but that is only pretend.
If we get a kitten too young, and we have other cats, we have some help. Once Tristan started staggering around on his own, Olwyn and RJ would flank him, shoulder to shoulder. He never went anywhere unsupervised. He had abundant examples of what to do, and guidance on how to do it. Our other cats showed him how to Cat.
This is a vital part of their future. They are a cat. They need to know Cat things.
But if we are the only other living thing for our kitten, we can still make a great cat out of them. Cats are more dependent on their instincts than humans are, and so a lot of things will be automatic. We can handle the unnecessary roughness, the signals about what is polite and safe, and supporting the growth of the confidence the future cat will need.
We have ways of making them feel loved. That’s the most important thing.
Learn to train our kitten in ways which won’t backfire.
Got here from a Link or Search?
There’s more ways to care for our cat with The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See all of my posts on CAT CARE.
The post Dear Pammy, How can I help my little orphan? appeared first on Cats n Things.
from
http://catsnthings.com/dear-pammy-how-can-i-help-my-little-orphan
No comments:
Post a Comment