4 month old kitten and biting

[faecat13]

My kitten is growing and her behavior is getting rougher. She will be sitting on my lap purring and then all of a sudden I get attacked for no reason. She is a large kitten and is very strong. And I just dont know how to get her stop biting me. Usually I just grab her and push her away from me but I need a long term better solution. 

So.. Any ideas?

 

[MoochNNoodles]

What is her body language like when she does this?  Does it only happen if you are petting her or does it happen if she is just sitting there, not being pet, etc?  I've had cats where their fur will "bristle" or twitch a bit when they begin to get agitated and I came to find that was a sign to leave them alone.  Perhaps she hasn't learned the social skills yet of how to tell you "I've had enough."  Does she seem truly mad when she does this?  Or does she look excited in a "lets play fight!" kind of way?

I would watch her and see if you can pick any sort of sign up that she is going to attack.  If you do; put her down immediately or redirect her to a toy she can attack such as a stuffed animal or similar toy she can grab and bunny kick.  (I'm trying to think of the name of one in particular I've seen.  Its just not coming to me at the moment.)

Beyond this I'm not sure what else to suggest; but I'm curious what others might know to do!

 

[aharris]

What was her background like? Did she have mother, siblings? A chance to learn some social skills before being weaned?

I ask because my sister had one that she bottle-fed that was an only kitten who started to play rougher and rougher as she grew because she'd nver had a mother or siblings to teach her that claws and teeth hurt.

 

[faecat13]

She was adopted from a shelter so I dont know anything about her family...

But it feels like I am getting bitten for no reason. She will be on my lap purring and then face attack. or she is rubbing on my face and face attack. I will be on my computer working and foot attack. I am bringing in bag and leg attack. 

I do set time aside for her play time. But I get the feeling she is trying to accert her domince over me...

 

[stealthkitty]

Sounds like she needs a kitten to play with her. I just adopted 2 that are about 2 months old, and I can't imagine what I would do if we only had one--they play so roughly with each other! With only one, I know it would "attack" us, trying to get us to play.

Sometimes these two will try to bite or scratch me, but I keep a homemade toy handy and redirect them to it when they start up. They're getting the idea and haven't been biting as much lately. (BTW, the toy is just a sock stuffed inside another sock and tied shut with a third sock! Sounds silly, I know, but it works when they want to play rough with me.)

 

[judy1909]

Depending on her personality these are the pieces of advice I've gotten:

-Try to let your arm/hand go limp and she might get bored and stop

-Get up and leave the room or just ignore here, signifying 'play and attention end when you get too rough'

If she's more of a spitfire, you can try:

-canned air (the ones used to clean keyboards in offices) or a spray bottle as a deterrent; I particularly have liked the canned air because 1)i it doesn't get them wet and 2) once they recognize the bottle as something they really don't like, sometimes the sight of it is enough to stop them from doing what they are doing

 

[catspaw66]

I usually say in a whining voice "Oh, you are hurting me, why are you doing that?"  Or shake the medicine bottle with soft-air pellets in it.  Mine are old enough that they don't bite very often.  And usually it is more like a pinch than a bite.   Sugar can pinch like a lobster.

 

[faecat13]

So Ive resorted to the spray bottle and she sure knows what that is. I tried squeeling when she bit me but that only detured her for a min. the water seems to work but I feel a little guilty doing it. She is a great kitten dispite her biting problem. 

 

[auroraei]

She was adopted from a shelter so I dont know anything about her family...

But it feels like I am getting bitten for no reason. She will be on my lap purring and then face attack. or she is rubbing on my face and face attack. I will be on my computer working and foot attack. I am bringing in bag and leg attack. 

I do set time aside for her play time. But I get the feeling she is trying to accert her domince over me...

Wow your cat sounds just like my cat!