Bringing a kitten home for the first time is an exciting occasion. But no matter your knowledge of pet care, helping your furry friend adjust to home life can be challenging. Many worry about their cats growing up to be antisocial. You can prevent this by using the following tips to make sure your pet is comfortable with new people, places, and experiences.

How to Socialize a Kitten

1. Host Get-Togethers

Your kitten can’t get used to people without spending time around them, so host plenty of get-togethers after bringing them home. Have friends, family, and neighbors over to greet and play with your new pet. The more often they’re handled as kittens, the more comfortable they’ll be with people as adults.

2. Break out the Treats

Treats are an excellent way to associate socialization with rewarding outcomes. For example, whenever someone arrives at your home, have them feed your kitten a treat. This will positively reinforce welcoming visitors, rather than avoiding them. Reward your kitten for gentle play as well.

3. Expand Their World Gradually

Like babies, kittens are curious about their environment and will explore the space available to them. If you haven’t made your home kitten-proof, however, adventurous felines could put themselves in danger. Block off certain areas of the home with baby gates. You can slowly increase the areas they’re allowed to explore until they fully settle into your home.

4. Expose Them to Common Situations

Pet owners know the struggle of bringing their furry family members to the groomer and animal clinic. When they’re only taken out for appointments, cats grow to fear car rides. To keep them from seeing these situations as scary and unfamiliar, bring your kitten to places they will need to visit often in the future. When you expose them early on in low-stress circumstances, they’ll be less likely to develop a negative impression.

5. Keep Experiences Positive

While you want kittens to acclimate to their new life as soon as possible, you should never push them when they seem uncomfortable. As soon as you sense distress, which may manifest in the form of aggression or excessive vocalization, remove your kitten from the situation. Forcing confrontation will result in poor impressions and avoidant behaviors. Let your pet approach people, environments, and objects at their own pace.

Socialization can be difficult for some cats to get the hang of, so let the veterinarians at Ohana Veterinary Hospital in Honolulu, HI, help. For over 20 years, these professionals have offered expert advice on all aspects of pet care, from training to nutrition plans. They also provide behavior counseling to pets that need additional intervention. To learn more about the services this Oahu animal hospital has to offer, visit their website, and call (808) 845-1762 to make an appointment today.