There are things like Crashing Pots & Pans in the kitchen, Big Shoes Clomping Past, and other categories of Funny Noises and Big Monsters which can include anything from a crowd of guests, a loud food processor or vacuum cleaner, to that Giant Clumsy Dog that hurtles past every now and then, in between the times when he lies completely still pretending to be a Furry Bear Rug, so that kittens will climb on top to inspect him.
There will always be some cats or dogs who will never like the vacuum cleaner, and others who couldn't care less about the noisy thing that's approaching them and so need to be picked up so that you can vacuum underneath them.
But the more opportunities that you give a young animal to have varied experiences, the more well socialised they will be.
And the more time they spend crawling all over the people in their house, being a part of every activity and enjoying the delights of Snuggling Up With Humans, the more they will become addicted to cuddling humans & enjoy being involved in the things you do.
When kittens learn from their very beginning that humans are their family and a great source of comfort and conversation, they have an enormous advantage and head start in life.
Our kittens are vaccinated, vet checked, de-flead, wormed, litter trained, de-sexed and registered with the NZ Cat Fancy before leaving us at around twelve weeks of age.
They go to their new homes with a kitten pack containing all sorts of goodies: information on health care, feeding, behaviour and training, a sample of the kitten food they are used to and of the kitty litter that they have been using, as well as toys and a familiar smelling blankie to reassure them during adjustment to their new environment.
In order to benefit the breed and make progress in our breeding programs, we need to keep the kitten (or kittens) that are closest to what we are aiming for, and then in turn, when they grow up, to breed from them and keep a kitten.
And so it goes on and on, and before you know there are cats and kittens swinging from the rafters in every room.
We don't keep breeding our cats indefinitely, but prefer to let them work for a year or two and then retire to a life of luxury and pampering, while we breed from the next generation.
While we adore our cats and would love to keep all of them, it isn't sensible or feasible to keep them all.
Some older cats have run out of patience for having lively kittens pouncing on them and would prefer a quieter environment. Some would prefer to have only one or two other cat-friends instead of twenty-three or so, and then some would just rather be the only cat in the house.
