AVOIDING the Kitten Fear Period
August 29, 2024
Lucy Drury
Young kittens seem fearless.4 As soon as those eyes open and they can get their legs under them, they are off to see the world if their mama and humans let them. Nothing seems to faze them. Flashing cameras, loud noises, new people – none of it seems to matter to them. Mama cat might not be thrilled, but the kittens don’t seem to care. A few weeks later, those same kittens may cower in fear of someone just walking towards them or a new sound or smell. Why? Well…
A four-month-old kitten goes to its first show. This little one doesn’t seem to notice the crowds and happily plays with the judge’s toy. Two months later, that same six-month-old kitten shrinks in fear and tucks itself into a ball on the judge’s table, unwilling to even look at the judge. What’s up with this? There were no negative instances that you noticed at the last show – this behavior just seemed to come out of the blue.
What you may be experiencing is loosely referred to as the “fear period.” It follows a period of rapid brain development in the kitten that begins at about two weeks of age, begins to taper off at about seven weeks, and is finished at around 14 weeks. By 14 weeks, the kitten’s brain has nearly reached adulthood, unlike its body. If a kitten is not properly socialized prior to reaching the age of 14 weeks, its new owner may find it much more difficult to integrate their new furball into their home.
Avoiding the Fear Period
Early socialization is key to avoiding this fear period. A kitten’s socialization period, also known as the sensitive period, begins at two weeks of age and ends between seven and ten weeks. It begins with self-play and batting objects, with social play beginning at around three weeks. Social play continues to increase until about the age of 12 weeks, then begins to wane in favor of object play. Object play dominates until about the age of four months, then it too begins to wane.
During this 3 – 14-week period, kittens are not only learning how to play with each other – it is also peak time to learn interaction with humans. Studies have shown that kittens that are handled daily starting at the age of three weeks for at least five minutes will remain on a person’s lap longer and be more likely to approach a person across the room. If they are handled by 4 – 5 people during this period, they will be far more sociable as adults.
Localization, where kittens learn to be attached to their specific environment, also occurs during the socialization period.. This, therefore, is the time to expose them to as many environments as possible so they learn to be comfortable under different circumstances. Carrier and crate training should begin during the socialization period and these introductions should be positive experiences, reinforced with favorite treats, toys and praise.
It is critical to expose the kitten to as many encouraging experiences with as many people, animals and environments as possible before the age of seven weeks. If these experiences do not occur within this time period, it becomes much more difficult to socialize them. By 14 weeks, social play can become fighting if they have had no prior positive experiences.2 Acclimating the kitten to potentially frightening circumstances continues even after vaccinations are in place.
Socialization From Birth
Many breeders assume there is no socialization that can take place until the kitten’s eyes are open. This is not true. Kittens have their sense of smell in place at birth, and exposing them to different scents starting two days after birth helps stimulate their brain and helps avoid negative reactions to new smells. There are early-scent-introduction kits for sale online; typically a kit will consist of 14 different smells for two weeks of scent training, with a new smell introduced for a few seconds daily. While the kitten is allowed to sniff the contents, the breeder or assistant should gently stroke the kitten and talk to it in a positive manner. By the end of the two-week period, the kitten’s eyes are open and it is becoming mobile and more interactive with the environment, so other methods of stimulation and mobilization can be used. For the next 3 – 4 weeks, the kitten should be handled for at least five minutes a day by as many people as possible. Carrying it around in a sling or a backpack while walking around the house is a great way for it to see new environments.
Building Confidence
It is not enough to expose a young kitten to different places and environments. Kittens must associate these things with positive experiences. Treats and toys while grooming, in crates or in new places go a long way in building the best associations. Keep in mind, though, that you also need to build food motivation in your kittens, so they learn to place a high value on your treats. Many breeders free-feed their kittens, which makes building food motivation more difficult. Breaking their food intake into three or four meals per day and doing socialization activities before their meals, sometimes using the meal as a reward, can build effective food motivation.
Socialization vs. Developing Immunity
One of the biggest concerns of breeders in allowing the kittens to be handled by others or to leave the cattery is a still-developing immune system. If you are open to allowing your kittens to leave your cattery for short trips, here is a strategy to enhance health that has worked for us that starts even before the kittens are born. Many breeders want their kittens to nurse as long as possible to get as many maternal antibodies they can. However, for the kittens to receive those antibodies, the queen has to have antibodies herself. We make sure our queens are current on their vaccinations before breeding. If you are concerned about over–vaccinating, run a blood titer for the antibodies, and if they are low, then vaccinate a few weeks before breeding (never vaccinate right before breeding). This ensures optimal antibody levels in the queen.
If you are having people coming from outside the home environment, particularly if they have animals, there is obviously some risk of passing something on to the kittens. This can be mitigated by good sanitation practices and asking your visitors to wear shoe covers. In our cattery, we accept that risk because we feel that the problems created by a poorly socialized kitten are more impactful and a higher risk than the risk of a kitten getting sick from controlled socialization activities. We have not had a kitten ever pick up something from another person, but your experience may be quite different. Do what you are comfortable with and what you know works for your cattery.
We start the FVRCP vaccination series typically at six weeks, the earliest recommended age by the American Academy of Feline Practitioners. This allows us to begin socializing them outside the home by the time they are eight weeks old, since we will allow visitors with pets and we also permit kittens out of the cattery beginning two weeks after their first vaccination. The period between eight and twelve weeks is crucial. When new experiences are introduced to the kittens during this time, they are more likely to adapt quickly to new environments and new people. Harness training, crate training, baths, riding in cars and any other activities that a kitten might later find scary should be introduced during this time – the earlier the better! We do studio photo shoots of kittens after their first vaccinations to get them accustomed to flashing lights in a new place, which is often their first trip outside our home. At around nine weeks, we take them to pet-friendly stores such as big box stores, pet store and bookstores. Stroller rides on nice days are also good ways to socialize kittens.
Um, My Kittens Don’t Leave the Cattery Until They Are…
Many breeders are reluctant to allow their kittens to leave their cattery before they are 12 or more weeks old due to health concerns – a valid consideration, particularly if they start the kittens’ vaccinations at eight weeks or later. Unfortunately, after 12 weeks, the socialization window begins to close, and by 14 weeks the kittens have most of their adult brain patterns in place. If the kitten has had positive interactions with people in the cattery and has been allowed to see different rooms in the house, it still can be socialized to new people and places – the process will just take longer. Kittens that have had little or no socialization outside of the cattery before the age of 14 weeks seem to require about two weeks to fully adapt to their new homes.
Combating the Fear Period
If a kitten has not been well socialized outside the cattery, a “fear period” may set in at around four months. This fear period is almost universal in kittens that are not purposefully socialized from two to seven weeks of age. The fear reaction is not always evident, because of localization to the home environment. If the kitten is around familiar people in a familiar place, with no changes in the environment, it will appear completely comfortable and seem happy and well adjusted. However, taken to a new environment or having a stranger walk in when the kitten is around four months old – perhaps younger – and it may exhibit signs of fear. Some are subtle – dilated pupils, ears to the side of the head, hair standing on end resulting in a puffy appearance. Some are not so subtle – hissing, arched back, running and hiding. It is important to recognize these signs of fear – particularly the subtle ones, so you can address the source of fear with desensitization and conditioning. Slowly introduce your kitten to the new experience with lots of treats and praise, and always try to end on a good note. Keep the session short and try to end it before your kitten reacts. Be patient – it can take some time to acclimate a kitten who has known nothing but the cattery and its breeder for the first four months of its life.
Another well-documented fear period can occur around eight to ten months of age, and again at 12 to 36 months of age. These can be generalized fears or can be phobias of a particular object or person if an unpleasant event occurs in its vicinity. These reactions generally align with social or sexual maturity, but the exact cause is not known. It is believed that such fears and phobias develop because of a traumatic or unpleasant experience, or the inability to escape threatening situations.1
Exhibitors should take note of this phenomenon. If you plan to take a kitten to its first show and it has not been acclimated to noise, large rooms and lots of people, consider avoiding shows known to have a large, energetic gate until your kitten becomes acclimated. Also, limit contact with strangers, regardless of how outgoing and friendly your kitten seems at home. Example in point: A few years ago, I took an eight-month-old Champion to a very crowded show. He had been conditioned to crowds, but he had an unfortunate encounter with a running child swinging a stuffed animal around after she had visited the costume contest. She narrowly missed hitting both of us with the toy and knocking me off my feet. Fortunately, I was only a few feet from my bench because it was all I could do to hang on to my cat. I did not let him jump into his Sturdi, but kept him on the grooming station, reassuring him with treats, toys and praise. I was able to recover him for the most part, and he continued in that show and future shows without any issues – except when there were children present. He was always on alert for children, and if he spotted one while being judged, he would not take his eyes off that child. This phenomenon occurred at a show while being handled by a judge familiar with my cat’s fear of children: When a youngster plopped down next to me in the front row, my kitty’s eyes got large and he began to back up into the judge. I was never certain if he was wanting the judge to protect him or if he was protecting the judge. Noticing the behavior, she turned him around to face her so he could no longer see the child and gained his focus with a toy, where he promptly forgot about the child and focused on the judge. There are several key points here that need to be emphasized:
- Early socialization (he had a lot of socialization as a young kitten, including two photo shoots on a professional set before he was four months old. The first was at eight weeks).
- Immediate steps for recovery need to be taken when a traumatic or unpleasant experience occurs to minimize the impact.
- No matter how well-conditioned our cats are, we need to always be on the alert when they are exposed to crowds or other unfamiliar experiences and continue to positively reinforce desired behaviors, even if they appear calm.
- Cats do form lifelong associations with people or objects in their vicinity, even if those people or objects were not responsible for the event. In this case, the child was responsible, but If something had struck my cat while he was looking at the child, he still might have associated her with the event.
Avoiding Fear Periods When Placing Kittens
I personally cringe every time I see a comment or a post on social media regarding fearful kittens that say something along the lines of “it’s normal,” and maintain that they will adjust in their own time. It is only normal when the kitten is not well-socialized and when the new owner has not been educated on how to integrate their kitten into their home. I deliver every kitten personally to the new owner’s home. I do not allow them to pick the kitten up from me. If they are local and have another cat or pets, I will make visits to their home before I leave the kitten permanently. I give them instructions on how to prepare a small room, preferably a bedroom, that is well “catified” and provides nowhere to hide where the new arrival cannot be reached. I also bring an old bed or crate pad for the kitten so it has something familiar. When I release the new arrival into the room, the new owners and I play with the kitten for a while and they ask any questions they may have. I bring the kittens hungry to their new home, so after the kitten has explored for a while, I have the new owners feed them and I quietly leave. Most kittens don’t even notice that I am gone, and I have not had a single owner complain about their kitten hiding. This strategy has been wildly successful. Understandably, not everyone has the luxury of hand-delivering every kitten they produce due to time and distance constraints. The takeaway from this, however, is that the more the new environment can be made to seem like the old, the shorter the transitional fear period will be. If a kitten cannot be hand-delivered by the breeder, and if the new owner is an experienced handler, consider placing those kittens at as early an age as you are comfortable with. We believe that the optimal age to place a kitten is 9 –11 weeks after two vaccinations if one wants to maximize the socialization period. The kitten will imprint on the new owner and the new environment rather than ours, which makes for a much easier transition for the kitten and the new owner. However, we only do this if the prospective owner is an experienced cat owner, has an environment that is safe for the kitten, and has a lifestyle that allows continuation of the kitten’s socialization. If that is not possible, then we continue the socialization work ourselves and deliver the kitten at 14 –16 weeks. Be aware that the best age to deliver a kitten is a highly controversial topic, and no one size fits all. The temperament of the kitten, the ability of the breeder to socialize the kitten before delivery, and the skill and knowledge of the new owner are all factors.
Prevention Is the Best Medicine
The best cure for a fear period is to set your kitten up for success by preventing or mitigating it, starting from the day they are born. Heavy socialization with exposure to as many different people, places and experiences between the ages of two and seven weeks is critical for minimizing or even eliminating future fear periods. Prospective owners should ask their breeders how the kittens are socialized. If adopting an older kitten or retired cat, a new owner should seek an opportunity to visit with the cat a time or two in some place other than the current owner’s home.
Keep in mind, though, that even if a cat did not receive early socialization, it can still learn to be a confident kitty in a new home — it just takes longer to adjust. Even the most feral of cats can become loving pets with enough love, patience and positive training techniques.
Sources
- Basepaws, “Fears And Anxiety in Cats: Do You Have a Fearful Kitty?,” March 13, 2019, https://basepaws.com/blog/fears-and-anxiety-in-cats-do-you-have-a-fearful-kitty.
- Kenneth Martin, Debbie Martin, “The Keys to Kitten Socialization,” American Veterinarian, February, 2017, Vol 2, Issue 1, retrieved from https://www.dvm360.com/view/the-keys-to-kitten-socialization.
- Rachel Lee, “Kitten Socialization: Creating the Purrfect Feline Patient and Pet,” Fear Free, retrieved June 28, 2024 from https://fearfreepets.com/creating-the-purrfect-feline-patient/.
- Vetstreet Team, “Tips to Ensure Your Kitten Isn’t Overly Fearful,” Vetstreet, November 10, 2015, https://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/tips-to-ensure-your-kitten-isnt-overly-fearful
- Zazie Todd, “The Sensitive Period for Socialization in Puppies and Kittens,” Companion Animal Psychology, July 26, 2017, https://www.companionanimalpsychology.com/2017/07/the-sensitive-period-for-socialization.html