New Kitten biting/ scratching issues

For biting, try having a wand toy in your other hand and distract him if he bites. Or another thing to try is if he bites, just leave the room. He'll begin to associate biting with no more playtime/attention, so hopefully he'll stop. I got some straws to use as a distraction and as chew toys, that worked with Genever. She bit kind of a lot when we first got her, but she grew out of it, or we trained her well enough, or a combo. Anyway she doesn't bite much now, and if she does, it's not hard. Unless I have to pet her belly, then she bites, but that's my own fault.

For scratching, praise him a lot when he uses the scratching post. I never had a problem with scratching the wrong things, so I'm not sure what to suggest, but I know others on here have lots of good ideas. And yes, definitely start trimming those razor claws!

Good luck!

For scratching you could try putting Soft Paws on him. Some cats keep them on, other's pull them right off.

Chumley was a VERY bitey cat when he first came home. We dealt with it like we did with kitten teething. We'd blow a short, sharp puff of air directly in his face (that totally startles them) and say "no." We'd explain - you don't bite people (I know, sounds nuts, but we talk to our cats). Then we'd slowly reach out the hand again (try reaching in a fist). If he goes to nip, blow again, say no, and get up and leave him sitting there.

There's three things about this: I assume he's biting when you're petting him? If so, he's being overstimulated - but that means that redirecting to play isn't necessarily the best option. If this is the case, you need to work on finding his limit. Pet a few strokes - give it a pause - pet a few more strokes. Yes, he needs to learn "no" and that biting people is not OK - but it's also best to learn his limits and avoid overstimulating him. But always praise the heck out of him if he shows you other ways. When Chumley switched to just putting his mouth on us but not biting down at all, we praised that. When he went to just move his head like he was going to bite, but didn't even put his mouth on us, he got even more praise. Now when he's nervous, he'll bop us with a paw, no claws. WHAT A GOOD BOY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (That's what we tell him. ).

If he's biting because he wants to play, then redirecting to a toy and praising the heck out of him for playing with the toy is absolutely the right thing to do.

Cats do GREAT with praise for the right stuff. Knowing what's good and right is SO important, and goes a long, long way to altering the behavior.

The only "negative" modifier should be the short, sharp puff of air directly in the face. People don't hiss too well - but that puff of air they definitely understand. But the bottom line with this one is that kitty has to learn that "inappropriate" behavior gets him ignored, not "rewarded" with negative attention.

So - is it play or overstimulation? If play, redirect to toy. If overstimulation, work on finding his limit, and not going beyond it, but don't let him get away with biting. Teach him "no" with the blow/puff, and if he pushes it, he learns he gets ignored for "bad" behavior. And praise the heck out of him for good behavior, he needs to know what's right.


As to the scratching... several of our kitties "bury" their food. But they just paw around it... is it maybe that his claws are so long they're getting caught in the carpet?

Sounds like maybe you should put something down on the floor under his dish... a rubber mat? I know you don't need to spend more money on him, but a welcome mat at Walmart is pretty cheap, and might help save your carpet.

Also, as to the scratching... they generally like to scratch and stretch when they wake up, so placement is important. Whether that's vertical or horizontal is a preference of each cat. And surfaces are also kitty preference. Cardboard is a favorite around here (though they sharpen their claws REALLY quickly on cardboard ) - and we have the slanted one, and horizontal scratchers in cardboard. We've tried vertical sisal posts - but they're just not into them. The do love the vertical sections of the cat trees (carpeted) - but they don't seem to confuse that carpet with the carpet on the floor.

Billy's the only one who scratches on the carpet - and that's because he loves to nap in the hall, and that's where he scratches. We just spent $20 on a recycled rubber door mat - really long (for like a double door or something) - that we're putting down there so he stops destroying the carpet.

You can also sprinkle posts/cardboard scratchers with a little catnip to help attract him to them.

But inappropriate scratching.... really the only way to stop it is a combination of "benefit denial" as I call it, and providing nice alternatives.

As to the food burying... for Tuxedo he was such a nut about it, we took Hissy's advice, and set his bowl down on a handkerchief. That way when he's done, he can scratch the handkerchief up over the bowl and feel like he's accomplished the job.

So.... if you do something like put a piece of aluminum foil down over that spot... does he just move a little further out then to scratch on the carpet????? Cats can be so silly! If that's the case.... maybe you'll have to invest in a small piece of carpet remnant that he can scratch?

And the biting you describe - is it more like putting his mouth on your hand, or does he bite down? Tuxedo does this - but no biting down, and it is definitely affection. Billy does this, but he gets over-exuberant, and bites down - but it's still affection. With Tuxedo we don't say anything (other than "I love you too!" ). With Billy, I had to puff in his face at first and say "no, we don't bite people." Now we understand each other - he still does it sometimes, but all I have to do is say "Bill...." and he lets go and looks at me with those enormous eyes.......

Just a few quick suggestions on scratching. Put catnip on the scratching post, rub it in your fingers first to really get the scent going, and rub it up and down on the scratching post. The scratching post has to be quite tall, and VERY sturdy so it will stay steady while being scratched. If it is not, Hobbes will not like scratching it. Alot of cats like the square cardboard scratchers that lay on the floor. Put catnip in that too. My cats even nap on these thing.

After you put catnip on the tall scratcher, use an interactive wand toy to entice Hobbes to climb the scratching post to get at the toy. This will invariably get him scratching on that post!!! Usually works all the time for me.

[/color]Its all normal really, my kitty (smokey) does that alot, most cats have different things they tend to do, some more than others... as for the kneading, that shows the affectionate side of them, its also a comforting sign and a trust sign, its more or less a reflection on when they were really small, they used this motion to stimulate the milk in their mummy's tummy so you shouldnt be worried, make sure you give your cats plenty of things to play with and thigs to claw and scratch, this will stop their nails from over growing/ growin to fast, and keep the occupied... and for introducing a new cat (if im on the right track) make sure they know that you are higher then them, the top rank kind of... that they must listen to you... when that is done bring the cat in whilst carrying he/she sit down and stoke the new cat and make sure they noe the must accept he/she, when the others are calm (when they lay on their side or are steching out) then place the cat on the floor to smell around and get use to her new surroundings...

By the way, if your kittys were to do wrong or about to do wrong, they will not understand you if you shout STOP! remember they dont speak or understand english... they communicate to eachother via emotions and body language... you must show them what to do, then soon, they will catch on, dont give up... and the scratching is essencial.... that is somthing the MUST! do to have healthy claws and less visiits to the vet for nail cuts [/color]

That is a great idea, putting something under the food bowl! Genever goes NUTS burying her food, not all the time, but definitely more often than not. I wonder if a cloth would make her feel like she got it covered... She also unburies her food sometimes though, so... ah, I don't know.

By the way, great advice overall, I forgot all the stuff you posted. Well, I didn't forget it, but forgot it while typing my post. I do the puff of air with Genever if she bites. And she also does the mouth on the hand thing instead of biting most times, or she'll grab my hand (or BF's) like she's going to bite, but she'll lick instead. She gets lots of praise for that.

I think with a bit of work and lots of consistency, Hobbes will turn out ok. He's a baby, and he's still learning.

Shelly unburies the water!

Silly kitties!