Kitten Socialisation

Learning skills for life

We currently have over 50 kittens here at the adoption centre and it is very important that we socialise them before they go to new homes. Kittens learn most of their life skills between the age of two to ten weeks. If a kitten misses this crucial period of socialisation it will not be accustomed to being handled and could become aggressive or nervous. Socialising the kittens here at the adoption centre is fundamentally important because kittens can go to homes quicker.

Exposing the kittens to new experiences is vital. We make sure that the kittens have toys to play with and lots of different surfaces and substrates to explore. Hearing different sounds, such as a hoover, a radio and even fireworks all helps the kittens to become used to different sounds that they might experience in a home environment. The photo above

shows a kitten exploring a litter tray that we have filled with cat litter, wood shavings, soil and pebbles. It is also important that the kittens get used to different people and other animals.

The staff here at the adoption centre socialise the kittens every day (if we get a chance). It's not only very important but a lot of fun as well. We have also started to train our volunteers to do this.

 

C.L.A.W.S

 

We are taking part in a kitten socialisation study. The Cat Longitudinal Analysis of Welfare Study, or ‘C.L.A.W.S.’ This is an exciting new study being undertaken by researchers at the University of Bristol. They aim to collect a range of information on kittens aged 2 – 6 months until they are two years old. Collecting information about kittens early on in life and then following their development into adult cats will inform them of how the early environment of a kitten shapes his/her later health and behaviour.

To find out more about this click on this link.

If you are interested in adopting a cat or kitten from us then please come along to the centre. We are open daily from 11am-3pm. Our address is 122 Marlborough Road, Ryde, Isle of Wight, PO33 1AW. Our telephone number is 01983 562609.