Good/Bad Behavior and ways to stop it?

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hillybean

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Hey Everyone,
I just recently got another kitty named Meow.

There are two things he does and I have some questions about them.

The first thing is..He bites me, well my fingers. He also licks them while he munches on them. It really doesn't hurt me, but I think that when he gets his adult teeth in that it will. He is just getting his teeth in (has his fangs completely in), so do you think he might just be teething??? Is this something he might continue to do if I don't stop it now?

The second one is because he is so small, he can't jump up on to things very well yet, so he climbs up me! Again this doesn't hurt me yet, but I'm afraid that if I don't try to stop it not it'll just get worse.

A friend told me to spray Meow with a spray bottle when he does this. I did this once and is scared him to bits. He jumped off of me hissing and landed on the floor, on his back. I'm afraid that if I try the spray bottle thing he may hurt himself, end up disliking me, and that this could possibly make him hate water/baths. Are any of these things possible??? Should I make him stop this now, or wait till he grows up a bit??

Any ideas, thoughts and oppinions are very welcome.

Thanks a ton in advance!
-Hilly
 
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coaster

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You don't need to spray him with water. First, stop playing with him with your hands. Play with him using toys on a stick or a wand with a string. When he does bite you, yell like it really hurt, take your hand away, and get up and go away from him. This teaches him two things: biting you hurts you, and biting you makes you go away and stop paying attention to him. The first he needs to know because you don't have fur like another cat that he can play bite without hurting, and the second is a great motivator because he wants your attention and he'll stop doing something that makes you go away.

You can use both these principles with the climbing, also. But sometimes that behavior goes away when a cat gets bigger and doesn't need to climb. In the meantime, perhaps you can give him other things to climb like a cat tree or cat condo or a nice tall scratching post.
 
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hillybean

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Thank you for the reply.

Hhhmm...I don't play with him using my hands. He normally does this when he is relaxed laying on his pillow. I rub his chin and head. He then starts licking, which turns into the munching...

He has all kinds of toys, which we play with. Toys on a clear stick thingy, balls, little stuff toys, bouncey ones and all kinds of different mice. He and Calie both have scratch posts. I'll get a cat tree.

With the climbing, I have started acting like it hurts. He's really fast and a good climber. From the start I have taken him of my back, side, leg, arm, wherever he is, and put him on the floor and walked away....

I'll continue to do/try the things you mentioned.

Thanks a ton!
-Hilly
 
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coaster

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Since he's biting your hands when you're giving scratchies, then you can just stop just shy of the point where he starts. And do all the other stuff, too.
 
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