Hello--
My six-month old kitten--now officially a "teenager"--has developed an alarming biting habit. When I come home after a long day, I always pick her up to greet her / kiss her hello. She usually purrs and licks my face, but lately she'll start twisting to get out of my arms and then she'll bite my cheek--hard. If I try to pull her away in order to put her down, she'll go into aggressive biting mode, trying to grab my face again and bite it. I've noticed that she'll do this when we're playing and she gets over-stimulated. Today she lunged at my face and tried to bite me unprovoked; I was sitting beside her, not touching her, when she did this (though this was after a play session where she got actively involved playing fetch, which is very exciting for her).
When she does bite, I'll either put her down and say "NO" firmly, or I'll take a hold of her scruff and talk to her softly while I stroke her head. The latter usually works better, and when she calms down, she might lick my hand.
I'd like to know--WHY is she doing this so much, and will it stop? is this a teething thing? How can I hold her without her twisting and biting? I wonder if she gets mad at me because I'm gone all day. I try to spend as much time as possible when I'm not at work, and we do have good play sessions in the morning and night. But I know this isn't the same as her having me home all day!
Any suggestions?
My six-month old kitten--now officially a "teenager"--has developed an alarming biting habit. When I come home after a long day, I always pick her up to greet her / kiss her hello. She usually purrs and licks my face, but lately she'll start twisting to get out of my arms and then she'll bite my cheek--hard. If I try to pull her away in order to put her down, she'll go into aggressive biting mode, trying to grab my face again and bite it. I've noticed that she'll do this when we're playing and she gets over-stimulated. Today she lunged at my face and tried to bite me unprovoked; I was sitting beside her, not touching her, when she did this (though this was after a play session where she got actively involved playing fetch, which is very exciting for her).
When she does bite, I'll either put her down and say "NO" firmly, or I'll take a hold of her scruff and talk to her softly while I stroke her head. The latter usually works better, and when she calms down, she might lick my hand.
I'd like to know--WHY is she doing this so much, and will it stop? is this a teething thing? How can I hold her without her twisting and biting? I wonder if she gets mad at me because I'm gone all day. I try to spend as much time as possible when I'm not at work, and we do have good play sessions in the morning and night. But I know this isn't the same as her having me home all day!
Any suggestions?
