Who knows what really goes on in a cat's head? Cat Sounds - Meowing If you live with a cat, you will very quickly learn what your cat wants from you when it meows: the call for food, the demand for affection, attention, petting, open the door, as well as, many other requests that cat owners will never properly understand. Depending on their mood and temper, cats will make very different sounds. Cats can produce a multitude of sounds and noises: purring, cooing, meowing, screeching, hissing, and screaming. Cats are extremely fascinating animals if you've ever shared a living space with one of these domestic tigers, you will know the many ways cats communicate. Even at Avosound headquarters we are in love with these purring fluffballs. Simply prolonging the experience or ‘flooding’ the cat can have a long-term negative impact.Cat Sounds, Cats Meowing, Cat Meow SoundsĬats are among the most beloved pets. If the kitten vocalises or looks distressed, stop. Start slow, allow them to approach you initially and when introducing handling, do it for short sessions.Īvoid holding a kitten for long periods of time – seconds can be enough in the first instance. When socialising a kitten, always make sure you respond to them. Thirdly, people can expose the kittens to too much and not respond when the kitten is indicating that they are distressed. Use personal protective equipment when interacting with the kittens to avoid passing on anything nasty from other cats. This is more prevalent for rescue centres and breeders, rather than individual litters at home, but is still something to keep an eye on. Secondly, it is important to consider infection control. While this can often be difficult in a rescue environment, many organisations will try and establish this relationship well before kittens arrive. Establishing a trusting relationship prior to the arrival of the kittens will make socialisation for the kittens far easier.
There are three key areas where things can go wrong with kitten socialisation.įirstly, people often neglect the relationship with the adult female cat. Never make a sudden jump in volume as this could spook your kittens. Remember, if at any stage the kittens look uncomfortable or fearful, return to a lower volume. Increase the volume of sounds slowly.Ħ) Continue this process until the kittens are eight weeks old. Aim to play through the library of sounds at least once daily. However, it is important that if the kittens do have an adverse reaction to the sounds, you stop playing them and try a lower volume on a different day.ĥ) If the kittens do not appear fazed by the sounds you can systematically increase the volume day by day, repeating steps 2-4. You do not have to stay with them during this time.
It is important to play through all sounds at least once daily so the kittens become well socialised to all the different noises they may encounter when they are in their forever homes.Ĥ) If there are no adverse reactions from the kittens with the sound at the current level then you can leave the sounds playing through. You'll need to make sure that mum isn't spooked by sounds either, especially if she wasn't socialised as a kitten herself.ģ) When the kittens are back in the room start playing the audio at your marked low volume. Note what volume the speakers or device is at. Set the volume to a very low level so that it is barely audible. However, the online sounds can be played from a standard smartphone or tablet.Ģ) Test the sound volume when the kittens are not in the room, so as not to spook them. Find which device you can play the online audio or CD on, preferably the device with the best sound quality. Instructions for using socialisation sounds (for kittens aged two to eight weeks)ġ) The more realistic the recording sounds, the more effective it will be. If a cat is to be confident and happy in adulthood, positive experiences as a kitten are essential. A kitten’s ability to tolerate, or even enjoy, the company of humans, is learned during this socialisation period. However, any negative experiences, or no experiences at all, can cause a kitten to become fearful – a feeling that is likely to last into adulthood.Īs a species, the domestic cat does not have an inbuilt need to be with people or to enjoy handling. Positive experiences with different people and different things will teach them that these experiences are non-threatening. Everything from who they meet, to the environments they encounter, will teach them whether what is happening is threatening or non-threatening. At this point, a kitten’s brain and sensory system are still developing and the stimuli they encounter influence how this development occurs. The socialisation period refers to a specific time period in the life of a kitten – from two weeks to seven weeks old.