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If you are raising a kitten it is important to set guidelines for how you want your cat to behave as an adult. For example, if you don't want your cat to bite or scratch your skin, do not allow them to playfully bite or scratch your skin as a kitten. A well behaved cat is usually the result of a well brought up kitten so it is important to get all the information you can on the best way to raise your animal.

It is more difficult to overcome bad behavior when cats are adults so it is therefore important to get your kitten on the right track from the start. Cats in the wild learn to hunt and catch their prey through playful activities. This carries over to domestic cats as well. Through the simple act of play, kittens learn to hunt.

These innate survival skills are ingrained within the nature of all cats. When a playful kitten bites and scratches your hands, it is learning that your hands are objects in which to practice hunting. This becomes a problem when your cat is older because they will often revert back to this behavior. It is important to establish your hands as off limits for play, right from the beginning.

Sometimes kittens were mistreated in their past which causes them to have an uneasiness around humans. While some will act fearful and hide, others will lash out with aggressive actions. If your cat is the latter, you must deal with them by not acting fearful yourself. Stand up to them and HISS loudly, or use a can of compressed air to put an aggressive cat in his place.

If you have a young child chances are they'll want to play with the kitten. It's important to keep a close eye on this interaction. The kitten will likely revert to their usual play behavior of biting and scratching any object that is close to them. Make sure this is not your child's hand by giving them a toy to use for kitten play. A piece of string or yarn can make an engaging toy that both your child and kitten will love.

If your cat was not socialized well as a kitten, they will likely have behavior problems, as they grow older. You can minimize this by giving them a good start. Teach kittens that your hands are "off limits" as play toys and aggressive cat behavior toward humans is likely to be avoided.