Raising Kittens to Be Sweet

Proper care, love and attention are essential when raising a kitten. Improperly raising a kitten can result in aggression and behavioral problems. To raise a sweet, happy kitten you must nurture her, spend time with her, and help her adjust to her new surroundings. Before deciding to get a kitten as a pet, learn what it takes to properly raise her.

  1. Correcting Your Kitten's Behavior

    • Biting and scratching during playtime comes naturally to kittens. This behavior, which commonly starts around the age of 4 months, diminishes over time. However, if not corrected, you may end up with a dominant adult cat. Provide your kitten with plenty of toys to release energy. If your kitten bites or scratches you while playing, loudly say "Ouch" and stop playing. Walk away and ignore your kitten. With consistency, she'll stop acting up -- she'll learn that her behavior is unacceptable and halts all the fun.

    Using the Litter Box

    • In addition to providing your kitten with clean water and high-quality kitten food, you must provide her with a clean litter box that's positioned in a private area of the house. Keep the litter box as clean as possible. Your kitten's sense of smell is sensitive -- if her litter box is dirty, she may display not-so-sweet behavior and choose to relieve herself elsewhere. Your kitten may also refuse to use the litter box if she doesn't like the litter, or if the box is too small, too large or too high.

    Spaying or Neutering Your Kitten

    • Spaying or neutering your kitten can help prevent displays of undesirable behavior. It has a calming effect on kittens, and they're less likely to spray urine to mark their territory. Adjusting your kitten can be done from the age of 8 weeks. Spaying also has health benefits -- female kittens can't develop uterine or ovarian cancer, and male kittens can't develop testicular cancer. In addition to this, they also can't reproduce and contribute to the cat overpopulation problem.

    Bonding With Your Kitten

    • For your kitten to become a sweet, happy family member, you must spend time with her. Gently picking her up and playing with her on a daily basis helps her get used to your scent. Avoid aggressively handling her, because this may result in biting and scratching. Gradually allow your kitten to explore one room at a time -- she may get tense and scared if you allow her to roam the entire house all at once. Have her socialize with all family members, so she can get used to everyone in the household.