Kitten Behavioral Learning

The kitten’s behavioural development encompasses the prenatal period and the first few weeks of life. These phases are crucial in shaping the kitten’s identity and can influence the appearance of developmental disorders, particularly forms of aggression. Understanding the feline lifestyle is essential to understanding these disorders.

The kitten’s first weeks of life

During the gestation period of 59 to 63 days, the embryo is sensitive to maternal emotions and develops its sensory organs. It perceives the caresses on its mother’s belly, which influences its development.

The neonatal period, until the eyes open (seventh to tenth day), is characterised by reflexes such as burying and suckling. Attachment is unilateral, from mother to kitten.

The transition period runs from the opening of the eyes to the acquisition of hearing (twentieth day) and marks the maturation of the sensory organs. Attachment becomes bilateral with recognition of the mother as a source of comfort.

From the second to the seventh/eighth week, this phase is crucial for learning and socialisation. Environmental stimuli influence the maturation of synapses and the establishment of social behaviour.

Socialisation

There are two types of socialisation: inter- and intraspecific.

Intraspecific socialisation represents the kitten’s identification with its own species. This process, compared to the imprinting described by Lorenz, takes place mainly through interactions with its mother and siblings. During this period, the kitten learns the communication codes specific to the feline species. Early exposure to other individuals of the species is generally enough to ensure adequate socialisation. A large litter size and keeping the siblings together until the eighth to tenth week will help to ensure optimal socialisation. Inadequate socialisation to its own species can lead to behavioural problems, such as fear or aggression towards conspecifics.

Unlike intraspecific socialisation, interspecific socialisation involves recognising “friendly species”. This phase is more complex, requiring encounters in a favourable environment and subsequent reminders. Contacts must be positive and repeated, in the presence of a calm mother. Insufficient socialisation with other species can lead to aggressive reactions out of fear or to predatory behaviour.

Sensory homeostasis threshold

Sensory homeostasis refers to an individual’s emotional stability in the face of variations in their environment. During the sensitive period, the nervous system retains only the stimulated connections. The others disappear forever. So stimulating each sense is crucial. This helps the kitten to define its sensory homeostasis threshold. This threshold will influence how he reacts to stimuli in his environment.

Acquiring this sensory level requires active interaction with the environment. Studies have shown that kittens deprived of interaction with their environment, despite being placed in a normal visual environment, develop sensory deficits. The mother’s crucial role in this learning process is undeniable. She provides a safe environment that allows the kitten to explore its world without fear, while regulating its motor activity for effective exploration.

A high sensory homeostasis threshold guarantees successful adaptation to the future environment, preventing the appearance of phobias or aggression out of fear. It is also crucial to ensure that the kitten’s developmental environment is appropriate to its future living environment. An insufficiently stimulating environment can lead to difficulties in adapting to a more stimulating environment, while an environment that is too rich in stimuli can lead to anxious and aggressive behaviour.

Acquiring self-control

Each behavioural sequence consists of three distinct phases. The appetitive phase is triggered by a stimulus and aims to modify the stimulus to trigger the next phase. The consummatory phase, at the heart of the sequence, enables the animal to satisfy its need, thus returning to an initial state of equilibrium. Finally, the stop phase puts an end to the behaviour, acting as an “end signal” acquired during the socialisation phase.

At birth, the kitten cannot move independently, moving by crawling. Crawling begins around the second week, and the kitten becomes agile enough by the third week to play and explore its environment. Social play begins between the third and fifth weeks, with a predominance of “fight games” around the twelfth/fourteenth week, simulating immature fights and teaching aggressive behaviour. Individual play persists into adulthood, unlike social play.

Play plays a crucial role in the development of motor skills, social behaviour and predatory behaviour. Under maternal supervision, the kitten learns to moderate its behaviour, retract its claws and inhibit its biting, thus developing self-control. Without this regulation, the kitten can become impulsive and display aggressive behaviour. In the case of an orphan kitten, it is essential that the owner exercises this control, otherwise the kitten runs the risk of developing a deficit in self-controls, or even a hypersensitivity-hyperactivity syndrome (HSHA), requiring an intervention similar to that of the mother to correct inappropriate behaviour.

Learning

Kittens develop their experience and behaviour by interacting with their environment, their mother and their siblings, through various types of learning.

Learning by association: Inspired by Pavlov’s work, this classic form of conditioning shows how the cat associates two stimuli with a state and then links one of these stimuli to that state. For example, a cat that feels fear or pain in the presence of a particular stimulus may associate this discomfort with the stimulus and subsequently display aggression out of fear.
Instrumental learning: Skinner’s theory forms the basis of operant conditioning, which explains how consequences reinforce behaviour. For example, “tiger syndrome” can positively reinforce aggression. This enables the cat to escape an unpleasant stimulus more quickly or to acquire food.
Imitation learning: This type of learning involves reproducing observed behaviour. Kittens can learn by imitating their mother or other animals. For example, kittens raised with dogs may adopt canine behaviours, such as lifting their paw to urinate. Similarly, kittens who observe their mother solving problems may find similar solutions more quickly.

These learning mechanisms are crucial for kittens. They shape future behaviour, including early hunting and toilet training. The mother is an essential role model for the kittens. However, kittens raised by an aggressive mother tend to be more aggressive. This suggests that aggression is learned through imitation.

Notions of attachment and detachment

Territory attachment and maternal detachment are fundamental stages in the kitten’s behavioural development.

Initially, attachment is unilateral, from the mother to her kittens, then becomes bilateral as soon as the kittens are able to recognise their mother. This bond is essential for the kitten’s cognitive and social development.

Maternal detachment, marking the end of behavioural development, in turn enables attachment to the territory. This process can be abrupt. The mother hunts her kittens, often starting as early as the fourth week when food weaning begins. This behaviour may be delayed and progressive to around the twelfth or fourteenth week. Several factors influence the timing of detachment, such as the primiparity or maturity of the mother, an early return to heat, a large litter, or the presence of hostile adult cats. Female kittens are generally tolerated longer than males within the litter, while conditions such as late food weaning or a single kitten delay detachment.

These processes are crucial to the kitten’s adaptation to its environment and influence its ability to develop lasting bonds with its territory and other congeners.