Natural born hunters

When your kitten jumps and attacks the heels of a visitor, it’s exactly how he would attack prey. At this stage of his development, it’s usually just a game and will only be accompanied by harmless little bites. Later on, however, it can get more serious and his bites can become unacceptably forceful. For that reason, it’s always a good idea to interrupt his game and ignore him for a while. If this doesn’t work, control his aggression by speaking to him with a firm, loud voice. He’ll soon learn the association.

Sometimes your kitten will show a different kind of aggression, when he sees another cat but can’t reach or attack it. The best thing to do in this situation is to leave him alone to calm down. That will probably happen very quickly as soon as something else grabs his attention.

Bringing it home

Sometimes a kitten’s natural hunting instinct can be really upsetting, especially when he brings his dead prey home. Punishing him for doing it, of course, is completely pointless. The instinct is deeply rooted and he is just using skills which he learnt when he was a very small kitten. It’s certainly nothing to do with being hungry. He will carry on hunting, however well fed he is, and may even present his prey to you in the expectation of being congratulated.

There are steps, however, that you can take to discourage his hunting expeditions. Activities such as toys or play can work as an effective substitute and it can help to keep him indoors at night. Another good, traditional idea is to put a bell on his collar which will warn birds and other prey that he’s in the vicinity and on the prowl.