Kitty bitting in face

My kitten is about 4 months old. The lady we got him
from had over 10 kittens and 10 older cats. The room
she kept all the kittens in also had a bird. Well we took
him home and he seemed fine, he never bit anyone. He always
used to purr. Now, he seems so mad all the time, he bit me
two times in the face....not hard but he did leave a tiny
scratch. He is always tearing up paper and he jumps up
on the table although i fuss at him every time. He wakes
me up all night long. When he does something bad I raise
my voice and he runs away. I dont know if he will become
scared of me or not but i dont know any other way to
correct him. He also scratches ALOT. I will not
get him declawed despite everyone telling me to
because its just wrong...in my opinion. He wont let
me hold him anymore, the only time he doesnt bite me
is when he is sleepy and ready for a kitty nap.
Please help!

Even though he is so young, I would take him to the vet if this behavior gets worse. It could be a health issue. But as he is also young, he is going to have a great deal of energy that you need to help him expend in creative ways like interactive playtime. The best way to entertain a solo cat is to take an old fishing pole and tie a small lightweight toy on one end of the fishing line and reel it in and out and back and forth so he has to chase and jump and play.

If he is biting you on your face, then keep him on your lap only, or don't pick him up at all and especially don't put him near your face.

Start trimming his claws, buy him a natural wood scratching post, make sure it is tall and won't tip over. Buy him a cat condo he can run up and down on.

He keeps you awake all night because that is usually when cats hunt and prowl and he is responding to instinct alone. Feed him a nice big meal of wet food right before you yourself lay your head down on your pillow.

Good luck!

To add to Hissy's excellent suggestions, if you are holding him in your lap or on your chest, DO NOT make eye contact. Cats interpret eye-contact as aggressive and will attack in response. And, if he does bite at your face, blow a strong puff of air into his face and then say NO! in a strong and firm voice and then immediately put him on the floor.

As Hissy said, the best thing for overly energetic kittens is lots and lots of interactive play time.

You might check out some of the other threads on the Behavior Forum. We seem to have had a rash of wild kitten behavior on the forum recently, so you will find other excellent suggestions on the other threads.

Also get him neutered in a month-that will calm him down. If you think he is wild now, wait till kitten season comes on you and then you will see a crazy kitty! I hope you get him neutered before then.

Thanks to all who helped. Im going to
try all of your advice and hopefully
it'll work