kitten keeps biting ????

sicoupe

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
14
Purraise
1
hey everyone i adopted a kitten a few months ago, hes about 6 months old now, i know hes teeting now but hes always had an issue with biting at my skin.... ive tried everything from puttin toys there, puttin him down and tryin to ignore him(hell just jump up and bite me) and ive put him in timeout in another room... ive done everything and everything that websites say to do including gently pushing his head down and saying no! but nothing works..... in fact 1 website said to try and bite him back because he might not have had enough time as a baby to see what it felt like to get bit back.... and yes i tried that
he enjoyed it!!! anyone have any idea on y he is sooo obsessed with biting at me and what i can do to get him to stopppp???? thank you for the help!!!!
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
If it's because he's teething, the best thing to do is buy a box of plastic bendy straws and scatter them all around the house. Whenever he goes to bite you, lean down, blow a short, sharp puff of air in his face, say "NO" firmly, hand him a bendy straw to chew on like a toy - try to catch his interest with it. If he chomps it, tell him WHAT a good boy he is!
...and then walk away. If he follows biting at you, do it again - maybe three or four sharp puffs of air in a row this time, and hand him a straw again. If he STILL follows, go to a room - like a bathroom, and shut yourself in there for a few minutes.

He's just like a young child right now, and he's learning and testing limits. With cats it's best to work with redirection and they learn by association. With this method, he learns that he gets ignored when he bites - and he learns that chewing other things (like straws) is a good thing.

It is important to be consistent, because he won't learn in one day - it takes a little time, again, just like with a child.
 

motoko9

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
998
Purraise
59
Location
East coast
As always, LDG gave excellent advice! I just wanted to add some words of encouragement. In my experience, most kittens will grow out of this in time, as you long as you are patient and consistent. Best of luck to you!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #4

sicoupe

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Aug 5, 2009
Messages
14
Purraise
1
thank you for the help !!!! i really appreciate it.... i love this lil guy so believe me i have all the patience in the world as long as i can get him to stop eventually lol...... thanks again !!!!!!!!!!!!
 

ldg

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Jun 25, 2002
Messages
41,310
Purraise
842
Location
Fighting for ferals in NW NJ!
He will most likely grow out of it with your continued encouragement. But having a LOT of things around that are fun to chew on really helps. We've found that almost all kitties love those straws. The plastic is tough enough they can't chew right through it and swallow small pieces - but it's a great texture for them. We went through boxes of those things - and none of our kitties are biters.
I forgot to mention - you must resist the temptation to play with kitty with your hands at all times!
Good luck! - and let us know how it goes.
 
Top