the biting wont stop and ive tried everything!

It sounds like he could use a buddy to chew on. Maybe you should consider getting him a friend? My kitten takes most of her play out on my other cats and when she goes after me I scream loudly like I've been hurt badly. The scream is really uncomfortable for her and it has really helped.

Is he an only cat? If he is or you have an older cat that doesn't interact with him much you final solution may be an older kitten or a young cat to teach him what he needs. That's one of the biggest problems with taking a kitten too young, they really do best if they have their mother around to teach them manners until they're 12 or even 16 weeks old.

If you can afford to care for another cat, consider adopting. Physical punishment really doesn't work so well coming from people, at best he'll just think it's an invitation to get rough - at worst you'll spook him. Another cat will be able to bite back to get the message across - when it comes from a cat it works. Just make sure any cat you bring in can handle him. I suggest a young male cat <2 or 3 years old that likes other cats a lot. I have a 4 year old (was 3 at the time) who did wonders with teaching my feral born kittens all sorts of manners.

I had this problem with spike when he was a baby. gently pushing against his head right on the forehead is how the mother stops them. while doing that when he has his teeth sunk into you, say something like nono, or uh uh was what I said, and continue to push his head off, as opposed to you pulling your arm away. Eventually, he will associate whatever verbal cue you give to the pushing of the head, and he will stop. Spike, at 7 still wants to make an occasional sinking of the teeth, but one Uh uh stops him.

I don't know why he was so agressive, I never played with him bare hand, always used a toy, but then he was around 6 months old when I got him, so it might have been a bad habit developed from bare hand play, or maybe they are just born that way. Not sure.

One thing is sure, no amount of spraying, yelling, or any other negative attention is going to control this. Only gentle pushing, and love when he is not biting will work. If you are holding him and he bites, and you can't do the head thing, make the noise and put him down, and go about whatever you are doing. That will show him that it is not appoved of. I do agree with the others, that he needs a playmate. A little kitten has far too much energy for any adult to channel.

Did you ever play soccer in Europe?

I got red flagged SO MANY TIMES due to melodramatic fakers like you, grabbing at their legs and screaming and rolling in pain!

Gotta disagree. A sharp "OW" or low guttural growl works.

Buttercup used to try to wake me up by sinking her teeth or claws into my foot under my very very thin sheet. That response gets her off the bed (and sometimes room) quick.

I figure cats make noises to each other, why not me?

I have noticed that "NO" doesn't do anything, whereas snapping my fingers at em gets an instant response. I guess "NO" isn't always a consistent tone or sound for em to distinguish from all the other "bla bla bla bla bla bla bla" they hear from me all day.

That's not really true. It can prevent increasing aggression that comes with a cat wanting to breed or having fought and it can prevent spraying, but it doesn't mellow kittens out. Only age does that. I have a one year old (who now that he's feeling better again) and that 4 year old that run through the house and bounce off of things. He and his sisters are still just as hyper at a year as they were at 16 weeks old.

It's early, but he could be teething. And if he's not teething yet, the biting is not going to improve when he starts (this is usually around 16 weeks).

Because he has no other kitties to teach him his manners, you need to. The message you both need to consistently send is that people are not OK to bite, and nothing about you is a toy.

We did this by buying a box of bendy straws. Scatter them EVERYWHERE and make sure one is always within easy reach. MOST kittens love to chew on them. Some people had to work to find other textures, and those hard cardboard coasters (like they use in bars for beer) worked for some.

Anyway, when he chases, attacks, bites, you lean down and blow a short, sharp puff of air directly in his face, and say "no" firmly. He does need to learn what "no" means, but yelling isn't going to help.

As soon as you've blown in his face and said "no," grab a straw and get him to play with IT. If he goes for the straw, praise him to high heaven for being SUCH a good boy! If he goes for the hand instead of the straw, blow in his face again, say "no," offer him the straw again and walk away. If he chases after you, pick him up, and go put him in the bathroom for a 5 minute time out. Tell him why he's being isolated and is going to be alone on the way there. He does not bite people.

This serves two main purposes. One, he learns what is GOOD and what IS ok to play with. The positive reinforcement of doing the right thing is SO important! Two, it teaches him in a way that he understands (being ignored) that it is not OK to bite people.

Just like when human children are learning right from wrong, his behavior will not change overnight - that's why it is so important to be consistent for the next few weeks-month or so it's going to take.

I should add... he is a kitten, and needs LOTS of stimulation! So make sure to rotate his toys (we do it weekly), and keep up giving him LOTS of interactive play time!

LOL! I've never been to Europe! I am very melodramatic when it comes to kitten biting. I act like she's killed me and then I ignore her. I've been very pleased with the results, now if she does bite me she doesn't do it very hard. Most of the time she avoids putting her teeth on me because I make such a horrible fuss!


RiffxRaff - You may want to invest in a can of dust remover and use that instead of your own breath. I have a few bottles of canned air everywhere and when Hurley gets in trouble he gets a blow of that on his side. You don't want to squirt in in their face. The weird noise the canned air makes stops him right in his tracks. Now I can do a warning burst and he knows he better stop what he's doing.

Edited to add - My friend Leia had a male kitten that was horrible, he used to bite her so hard she'd be dripping blood. He was very, very aggressive and she has scars. What she found to help was she'd keep rolled up socks everywhere in her house and whenever he'd attack her she'd grab a sock and put that in his mouth instead of her skin. That way he can bite the sock and kick it and Leia can get away. He's slowly improving and learning not to use her as a chew toy.

^I don't suggest spraying compressed air anywhere on a cat. The propellant (which I've already forgotten the name of even though I posted what the common propellant used in that and sscat was months ago) can come out - plus it can be very cold.

If you want to spray it in the air, be my guest. Though if the kitten is on you at the time you run the risk of startling the cat and getting several scratches.

Oh! I didn't think of that.. I guess I won't be using it anymore!

We have cans of air because we use them to clean the electronic stuff and keep the cat hair out of our laptop keyboards and such. Squirting the can of air off into the air totally works. You don't have to point it at the cat. The noise it makes does stop them in their tracks.

Yeah, some cats do get more aggressive with the puff in the face. Maybe do try the can of air squirted - not at him, just hear him. And since he loves the bathroom, it is a good idea to put him in a different room. But sounds like you get the point. Reinforce the good things with lots of verbal and enthusiastic praise, and make sure he learns that biting doesn't get him attention, but gets him ignored and left alone.

A low growl or sound is not a negative response, you do not disagree with me, in fact you do agree.

RiffxRaxx, it sounds like you got something going with the blowing, no, and putting him down. Another thing that might work, is Hissing at him, just like his mom would.

I have to tell you though, if your boyfriend and his friends are rough housing with this kitten while you are not looking, you are going to get no where. You need to lay down the law. All playing is with toys only, NO BARE HANDS!
Does your guy fetch? A lot of kittens just do this naturally. Try throwing the little foam balls, and see if he brings it bac. He will learn to behave if you are consisitant. good luck.

the OW thing doesn't work with my kitten, i shout it loud aswell, he gets spooked for a bit then he starts again and i know how you feel RiffxRaff, i have the same problem with my kitten aswell and have tried all what you have tried.

Have you tried screeching the word "OWIE!!!!" in the highest pitch you can manage? We did that with our Lilly and believe me, she thought twice about biting again. You have to really screech it out though. Once the teeth are off you, turn away from the kitten and don't look at him... better yet leave the room for a few minutes.

Ku Ku was a major "biter" when I first adopted her.
She bit way too often for no apparent reason, also attacked my feet or wherever exposed(mostly feet or legs).

I didn't use spray or anything with loud noise, instead, I always screamed "OOOOUUCCH!!" REALLY LOUD and completely ignored her.
I was living in 1 bedroom apartment back then, so when she bit me, I usually left her in wherever she was, walked away to the other room and either locked her out(or in).

Whether my annoying loud-scream or the ignore part, I don't know which worked(should I say, "she dislikes"?) best.
Once in a while she still does a play-bite these days but at least she stops when I scream loud. Too bad there's no other room for me to "hide" now but she now knows biting is not acceptable

yeah i have a 1 bedroom apartment right now, when he tries to scratch me again i will scream really loud and see if that stops him.

I had this problem when i adopted a year old stray from the shelter, she would always go for your hands all the time. She did settle down the older she got but about a year after we got her we adopted another kitty and she never attacked any of us ever again.

Another kitty that needs a good home doesn't take up THAT MUCH space. I'm just sayin.

So Sorry.