DISCOVERy
In the kitten stage, as kittens are still exploring the world, they are usually braver than adult cats and tend to accept different things easier and quicker
Socialization is crucial for cats.
As we all know, cats may get stressed easily, which may lead to severe or even fatal diseases like urinary tract infection (UTI) and feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). There are countless factors that may lead to stress: change of environment, bathing, new member in their territories, sudden loud noise, etc. Despite that we all try to eliminate those factors, some are unavoidable. We need to bring them to the vet at least annually, we have guests visiting us from time to time, sometimes there are sudden fire alarms that could even scare us (yes, that’s the top annoying thing when I lived in a condo!!!). This is why good socialization is so important. It is the “inner strength” that makes cats not to be scared or stressed out that much.
We start with playing outside noises videos to them, then hair dryer, washer and dryer, and eventually the “monster”, vacuum.
Just knowing the family members is not enough. Therefore occasionally invititing reliable people to our home is a good way for the kittens to get familiar with strangers and realize it’s acceptable that there are other humans in the world.
We cuddle the kittens from day 1, as weighting is necessary and manual milking is sometimes required. Until they rehome, we would hug them in several ways to make them less sensitive to different handlings and spend lots of time playing with them other than playing with other cats.
Most cats don’t like water, brushing, or pawpeds being touched, yet, these are what we do in grooming. Since Maine Coons are long-haired cats, their fur may carry lots of dust and sometimes litter, relying on them grooming themselves is not enough. Many places like the chest, armpits, and some angles of butt and belly are hard for them to reach. Therefore, Brushing, the daily maintenance, is the key to solve these problems. We like to use Chris Crhistensen 000 for that.
Bathing may not be required at their young age, but get kittens used to bathing is a smart choice as unless talented or being used to water already, elderly cats can hardly accept bathing.. They would be showered at a young age, between one to two months old. Also, another bath before going home to win time for them to be familiar with their new home until they need another bath.
These are their two other daily "maintainence". Some cats may not need trimming if they scratch often enough. If so, I would recommend the owners to touch their pawpeds, so that it’s easier to trim them when they are older. Brushing teeth is often ignored. It’s usually hard, and the effect cannot be seen instantly. However, tatar accumulates slowly. When you find out there’s a tooth issue, it might be too late. Especially that many treatments involve anaesthetization, which can be a huge risk.
