Kittens should ideally stay with their mother & siblings for 8-10 weeks. Cats who knead us & suck on things (especially the sucking behavior) are usually those who haven't. All you can do with them is redirect, give them safe things to suck on. I have cats who knead me & I handle them all differently. One loves to knead my neck so I put my hand in her way & she gives up. With another, I make sure I have a blanket between myself & him. The mother cat teaches them to trim their own claws, groom, use the litter box & cover. She & the siblings teach the kitten how to play gently.
The #1 behavior problems people have with cats is clawing things & not using the litter box. Both are behaviors that are easy to solve it you do it from the start. Don't get a cat if you aren't going to teach it where to claw. Cats need both horizontal & tall vertical things to claw. One of the great horizontal things I've provided is what I call the doughnut toy, & it's a favorite of all cats. The center is a replaceable coil of corrugated cardboard to claw. Walmart used to carry them but I haven't been able to find it there recently. Refills come in a set of 2 & are inexpensive, I find them at the major pet store chains now. The outer part is a ring that has a ball in it, & an outer rim so the ball stays in. They also love to bat the ball & watch it. I have a short, sisal wrapped post on a carpeted square & a tall carpeted cat tree. Cats need something tall because it's how they stretch their muscles as well as hone their claws. They also love to be high up, so a carpeted or sisal covered cat tree gives them all 3 in one. If you provide your cat with proper places to scratch, it's very easy to train them not to scratch your furniture. If you catch them scratching furniture, simply disengage the claws by gently pulling their paws upward. Pulling down will only catch the claws further. Then take the cat to what you've provided & place their front paws on it. If you really need to, you can also keep a squirt bottle full of plain water handy & squirt the cat while firmly saying no. However, redirection by taking the cat to the proper place works better. I only ever use 3 forms of discipline with cats - my voice, redirection, & a squirt bottle. Mostly I use my voice & I so seldom ever have to use the squirt bottle. Usually after the first time I use it for a behavior (usually aggression between cats or trying to dart out a door), all I have to do is pick up the bottle & act like I'm going to squirt. Soon, I can put the bottle away. I have 6 cats & I don't have behavior problems with them. None of my furniture is clawed except an ottoman I let them have. All my furniture has fabrics that are tempting to a cat but they don't claw it. A note about carpeted cat items - check them frequently for plastic strings sticking out. The backings are grids of plastic string. When cats claw the fibers eventually come out & the strings are exposes. If you don't pull or cut them out, the cat can catch them in her claws & ingest them when pulling them off. They aren't digestible so the cat can end up with a blockage in the throat or intestines. I've seen it happen once. Now I take care of those strings when I see them. It doesn't mean it's a bad thing to have in your home, only something to be aware of & take care of occasionally. There's never a good reason to declaw a cat. If you take one on, it's up to you to train him. If redirection isn't working immediately, you can also simply rub catnip on the scratching piece you've provided. Most cats love catnip & that will attract them more than your furniture. I rub every new scratching item with catnip when I first bring it home, just to add to the attraction & establish why it's there.
When a cat quits using the litter box there's always a reason. Often the cause is illness or old age. Cats mask illness so you don't necessarily notice problems coming on until the cat shows it in a drastic way. If your cat doesn't use the box one time, first think about his recent behavior. Is he eating less or lethargic? Chances are he's sick. With cats you have to be alert for any real changes in behavior, like activity level, amount eaten or water consumption over a period of time - a few days to a week. They all go through an ocassional off day though, so do keep that in mind too. Older cats may need to have a shorter litter box or have the box moved to a more accessible location. My boxes are down a steep flight of stairs, & my oldest is 11. Right now it's great because he gets most of his exercise on those stairs. Once that becomes difficult for him, I need to put at least one box upstairs. I have taller & shorter ones & he already prefers the shorter ones.
Box placement is very important too. They don't like them in busy places, or too enclosed if you have multiple cats. With multiples, one cat can dominate the box location & another doesn't then feel safe using the box. You truly should have 1 box for every cat you have plus 1. If you don't want to do that, don't have the cats! It really is that simple. I scoop every other day with that # of boxes. If I do it every day I have to work too hard to get just a little out of each box. If someone quits using the boxes, the first thing I'd do is start scooping every day. I'd also watch for other causes, like another cat coming around outside, illness, etc. Sometimes a cat will signal an illness by not using the box. Otherwise it's usually a statement of discontent about something in the household - you're moving, redecorating, added an unwanted person or new animal. Cats actually understand what's going on & before making major changes, the best thing is to tell them about it. Tell them what & why & that you'll make sure things are good for them too in the changes. Even if you don't believe me, try it. It can't hurt! One thing cats don't do is go outside the litter box out of spite. It's always to tell you something or out of fear or inability to get to it due to illness or aggression. We've all heard of cats that go in the shoes of the new boyfriend, & it turns out he's already married or a cheater or abuser. A cat not using the box is always ill or conflicted in some way! It's up to us to find out why & fix it. More information in the next post.
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