#26 Why is taming kittens so successful when they are 4-8 weeks old?

Here are some of the biological reasons that make kittens emotionally predisposed to accepting humans so readily at this age:

During the weaning period from 4-8 weeks, kittens start the transition from complete dependence on mom to being completely independent. Some have likened the impact of this stage to the transformation of a Caterpillar to a Butterfly. Nature converges many things to make the readiness to quickly learn a completely new way of life from mom very strong at this point. For one thing, at this age, mother's milk is no longer enough nutrition to support the kitten's rapid growth. The kittens are anxious to accept a new source of food energy that can meet the demands of their growing bodies. Using food to tame kittens (as demonstrated in the Urban Cat League video TOUGH LOVE) is very effective at this age when they are craving nutrition and mentally open to new things. Taming to humans obviously wasn't part of nature's plan for this period in a kitten's life, but this is when that is most successfully accomplished.

It's during this weaning period that Mom would normally start bringing prey to the kittens to introduce a new energy source and start to teach them to hunt for themselves. Nature encourages this process by making mom increasingly intolerant of nursing, thereby increasing hunger in the kittens, adding an eagerness to learn to hunt. While nursing, moms have been steadily losing weight, using up their body stores. Nature needs her to stop nursing and caring for the kittens to regain her condition to be ready for the next breeding cycle. The growing teeth of the kittens, and their claws kneading her belly add a lot to make mom more interested in teaching them to hunt than continue nursing. Along with hormonal changes in mom, all of these influences come together for a very efficient transition to the kitten's independence. If you want to tame kittens for indoor life and/or adoption, this age at 4-8 weeks is your crucial window of opportunity.

To further impress the importance of this timing, science has shown that while kittens are very ready to learn and change habits at this age, they are also very stubborn to later change or give up any impressions formed at this age. It is important to create the good association with humans before they have learned otherwise. Once a fear of humans is ingrained, it is very hard to change their young minds after the fact.

It is also around 6 weeks when the kittens start leaving the den, that a new communication with mom develops as part of the learning process. Mom growls when there is danger and the litter scatters and hides until mom signals that the danger has passed. If humans are a perceived danger for mom, the kittens will be learning that directly from her. They can re-learn differently with the prompt introduction of a counter incentive of food and nurturing from humans, but they aren't easily convinced to change their minds after this second month of life has passed.

The period between 4-8 weeks is when nature has biologically predisposed kittens to learn and absorb basic life lessons at warp speed. Whichever teacher gets there first gets to have the strongest influence on their opinions for a lifetime.

Cats are very adaptable and will change their opinions over time but nature has stacked he deck against any "Johnny come lately" lessons in the joys of a life with humans.

Start the taming early, be consistent and get it done as young as possible!!! Otherwise be prepared to be very patient and forget any time line. It can be done, but there are no guarantees as to how long it might take to gain an older cat's trust.

Best, Mike

 IF you need info or have questions regarding the taming of FERAL CATS or KITTENS, we urge you to check this video on the Urban Cat League YouTube Channel.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiGZ8I7JF4M&t=9s

#11 Why are they peeing in their bedding and not using the litter box?

Help! The feral kittens I'm taming don't seem to know what the litter box is for. They pee in the nice beds I've provided and sleeping in the unused box. Have you seen this before? Sopping in Seattle

Dear Seattle,

Yes, I have seen this before. I'm guessing you are using one of the "designer" litters that make our lives easier, but can be confusing for cats that have recently come in from the cold. Feral kittens only know dirt in the great outdoors as their litter box. When they are brought indoors, they need some help with the concept of using a litter box. Unfortunately, dirt is NOTHING LIKE pine pellets, sweat wheat, absorbent crystal pellets, recycled newspaper pellets, ground corn cob, etc., etc., .

The best thing to start them out with is the old-fashioned non-clumping clay litter. Once they are using it, gradually you can transition to the other types if you have one you prefer. I've never seen a litter of feral kittens that didn't use the clay litter as soon as it was offered to them. Toss a hand-ful of dirt from the garden on top of the clay litter if they still need convincing. This problem, like most we encounter with cats can be solved if we can get outside of our human frame of reference and imagine the world through the eyes of the cat. Easier said than done, right?

On the same subject with regard to older cats too, sometimes they will suddenly start to pee on a bed or couch for no apparent reason. Aside from the annoyance, this is actually a sign of affection. Cats that are alone a lot or unhappy with the kind of litter they are being offered will seek a place that smells like the person they miss or are fond of. Whereas in most cases cats will use the offending litter to defecate, they find couch, bedding or towels more suitable to urinate. I'm assuming they want to cover and will use anything to do that but with peeing since it disappears in cloth there is no need to cover. In one difficult case I took a small litter pan and put a hand towel inside as a last resort. The cat in question was very happy to pee on the towel and I just used a series of old thread bare towels until he just as mysteriously returned to the litter box and that was that. I never completely understood why he didn't use the litterbox for the 4 months it took. He stopped peeing on the couch and the bed and was faithful to the hand towel once I offered that option. There is an excellent brand of clay litter called "CAT ATTRACT" that is very effective to make cats happy with the litter box.

All of the variables need to be considered to solve why a cat does or doesn't do something. For example, declawed cats often have an aversion to walking on litter since it is either painful or unstable for them to walk on. Declawing removed the equivalent of what would be our fingertips at the first knuckle and this often makes cats look elsewhere than the litterbox to do their business.

All the best, Mike