Good kitten

Don’t believe what some people tell you, it really is possible to teach your kitten to be well behaved and from an early age. As with all training, however, it should be done with kindness and based on positive reinforcement, rewarding good and ignoring unwanted behaviour.

It’s positively rewarding

Your kitten will learn through association. Reward him when he’s been good and he'll associate good behaviour with a reward and be encouraged to repeat it. That’s positive reinforcement. When his behaviour’s not so good, you should simply ignore him. So, as soon as he goes to the toilet in his litter box, praise and reward him. If he does it on the carpet, turn a blind eye.

As you think about training, think what you want your kitten to do, why he should want to do it and when and how you are going to reward him.

Kittens tend to be solely motivated by food, but, unfortunately, this only works when they're hungry! So try and find a treat or a toy he really loves which you can use with your training.

Training a cat is very different from training a dog. You won’t be asking him to perform a range of actions such as "Sit" or "Heel". What you can teach him is to respect certain areas of your house and to realise that he is not allowed to climb up the curtains or jump on the kitchen counters.

It’s positive reinforcement all the way. If you find him on the kitchen worktop or half way up the curtain, lift him down and walk away. Save your praise for when he has four feet firmly on the ground. He will soon get the point.

Train him young and you’ll end up with a well-mannered cat who’s a pleasure to live with. Just remember to keep reinforcing the process with praise and rewards even when he’s an adult.