Treats, toys, the cats sleepiness, moving a favorite spot close to where you sit for some period of time or by the bed at night, feeding time, a blanket beside you for the cat, ... You just figure out what appeals to the cat, what will be a very small step toward the behavior you want and make that step attractive to the cat. When that step is working to change his behavior, then you identify the next small step and entice the cat to do that. Do not let any step become so uncomfortable that it does not accomplish the change. For example, if when sleeping, the cat does not want to be picked up and held for a few seconds and put back down, then make the first step just walking by and petting him a few times and giving a treat, then walking by and hugging him in place for a few seconds and giving a treat, THEN walking by, picking him up and putting him down and giving a treat, then holding him a bit longer each time ... When he comes to be fed, pick him up and cuddle him and THEN put down the food bowl ...
Thank you for the excellent suggestions. Making it appealing to him makes sense....
The only sure way to tell the most stable personality of any pet, kitten or adult, is to live with it. Day to day, minute to minute, the animal is going to do different things which may at that moment in time indicate the pets mood (which changes). The only way to tell the way the animals personality tends to be like is to live with the animal for a while, so that you can pick up on the behavior "patterns".. although one kitten may be fiesty during your initial visit, the breeder might assure you "this kitten is normally the most cuddly and laid back of them all". You would not believe the breeder, but the breeder knows that particular kitten is more often laid back than a spit fire.
It all comes down to asking questions to the breeder since he/she is living with the kittens!
Hope that helps!
Yes, it does help! Thanks Solo. I will ask the breeder lots of questions, but also I will try to feel which kitten I connect with. My baby and I locked eyes during my first visit and I felt a connection to him. I will never forget meeting him for the first time and how enchanted I was!
As a baby, my kitten was the more quiet and sensitive one in the litter....but when I got him home he seemed to come out of his shell and explored and played like crazy. Now he has blossomed into a very confident, strong-willed, and intelligent kitten in addition to being super sweet and affectionate. He's still a baby at almost 6 months now, but is growing so fast!
(07-23-2010 02:37 PM)Solo Wrote: [ -> ]The only sure way to tell the most stable personality of any pet, kitten or adult, is to live with it. Day to day, minute to minute, the animal is going to do different things which may at that moment in time indicate the pets mood (which changes). The only way to tell the way the animals personality tends to be like is to live with the animal for a while, so that you can pick up on the behavior "patterns".. although one kitten may be fiesty during your initial visit, the breeder might assure you "this kitten is normally the most cuddly and laid back of them all". You would not believe the breeder, but the breeder knows that particular kitten is more often laid back than a spit fire.
It all comes down to asking questions to the breeder since he/she is living with the kittens!
Hope that helps!
Since "trial runs" with any pet should never be an option, you are totally right Solo, the only way to know the kitten's personality is to ask all of the pointed and pertinent questions, so many great ones have been listed on this thread and then to listen to the breeder as they have lived with kitten and know the personality.
It is true that a short visit can be misleading. However, it can also surface that a particular kitten just clicks with a particular person. So, be alert to that as well. It is a bit surprising how often that occurs.
One of our favorite stories is of a teenager of a family who had cats and he was getting "his" first kitten. He played with the kittens and interacted with them. One of them settled onto his lap and went to sleep. He selected this kitten. A bit later, his sister sitting beside him wanted to hold the kitten too, so he gave him to her. He cuddled with her for a while and then walked back over and settled down on the brother's chest. In fact, they are very bonded and the Ragdoll will sit in his lap while he studies and will watch him out the window when he is in the yard. He gets along with all of the family, but has a very special, close bond with "his" primary person, which seemed to be foreshadowed from the very first - love at first sight I guess.
On the other hand, our most literal lap cats, who are extremely loving and bonded to us, hid from us at the breeder's and climbed over my shoulder, jumped down and ran away after being picked up. We took the breeder's description of how loving and people oriented they were and that turned out to be right, even though we saw none of it during our visit.
(07-23-2010 03:16 PM)JanH Wrote: [ -> ]It is true that a short visit can be misleading. However, it can also surface that a particular kitten just clicks with a particular person. So, be alert to that as well. It is a bit surprising how often that occurs.
One of our favorite stories is of a teenager of a family who had cats and he was getting "his" first kitten. He played with the kittens and interacted with them. One of them settled onto his lap and went to sleep. He selected this kitten. A bit later, his sister sitting beside him wanted to hold the kitten too, so he gave him to her. He cuddled with her for a while and then walked back over and settled down on the brother's chest. In fact, they are very bonded and the Ragdoll will sit in his lap while he studies and will watch him out the window when he is in the yard. He gets along with all of the family, but has a very special, close bond with "his" primary person, which seemed to be foreshadowed from the very first - love at first sight I guess.
On the other hand, our most literal lap cats, who are extremely loving and bonded to us, hid from us at the breeder's and climbed over my shoulder, jumped down and ran away after being picked up. We took the breeder's description of how loving and people oriented they were and that turned out to be right, even though we saw none of it during our visit.
It's funny, I think that it was Dexter's intense purr when I picked him up, psychologically I guess I had a "Sally Field" moment... he likes me
I went with the idea of getting a mitted kitten (all were mitted except Dexter) but there was something between us that just clicked and I, rightfully or wrongfully stopped listening to the breeder chat about how he was a rascal and the other little boy was a sweetie, rascal or not, in my heart he was already mine and I'm glad for my "mistake"
I certainly don't suggest this, but do believe in the "clicking" thing!
I listened to the breeder's advice on the personalities & also went by the pics she sent to me, because I never saw Phoenix til the adoption day. The breeder really does know the kittens best.
It works so well when you tell the them what you're looking for in a kitten. I told my breeder I wanted a snuggler/a purrer, did not want the most playful rowdy kitten (but wanted a kitten with confidence), & wanted one that enjoyed being fussed over, groomed, etc.. I used Jan's examples of specific open-ended questions & then numbered & bolded each question, making it easy for the breeder to respond, point by point.
But of course, in some cases when you can actually go visit the kittens, you may just see one that clicks with you.
Dexter'smom....lol on your Sally Field moment. So cute!