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Biting while playing.. help?

post #1 of 6
6/26/11 at 6:45am
Thread Starter 
So, normally Monet is good about using his teeth during hands-on play (which isn't often). But when I change the bed sheets, he goes CRAZY with excitement and he has the tendency to jump on my hands/arms and bite (playfully, but still hard and almost break skin!)

Scruffing him and pulling him back, and holding him back until he calms does not help. he'd only attack my hand again with a determined 'Meow!'.

I even held him down on his back with my hand on his chest which temporarily stops him as well, but again, he'd attack again.

Same with picking him up and putting him on the floor when he bites with a firm "NO!"
even holding my hand still in his mouth with a pained "yelp" does not lessen his bite.

I don't want to deny him the pleasure of playing under the sheets while I change them, he loves it too much, but how can I teach him to control his excitement without locking him out of the room? Sheet changing days is one of the days I actually look forward to now, just to play with him and watch him hop around under the sheets.
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post #2 of 6
6/26/11 at 9:09am
My kitties LOVE sheet changing time, too. Its so cute.

It might be a little inconvenient at first, but let him play and have his fun, but stop when it becomes "hard play". what you could do is as soon as he starts playing "hard", just immediately stop what you are doing and leave the room. Dont say anything to him, just leave. When you return to finish making the bed, if he does it again, just leave.
You might even have to come back later when he is no longer interested to make the bed, but hopefully he will learn and still be able to have his playtime with the sheets.
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post #3 of 6
6/26/11 at 11:54am
Pamis recipe is one way worth to test.
Another way is to say this No, and Yelp, and even hissing some when he bites too hard. His siblings or mom would both yelp and hiss. (mom would prob give him "a teching paw"...

These yelping and hissing must be quite vigorous, so it is clear you are serious, it is not a merry continuation of the playing.


Good luck!
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post #4 of 6
6/26/11 at 5:03pm
Thread Starter 
I shall try the leave the room test next time!

Yelping doesn't help, but I never tried hissing. I can try that next time.

I still got nice bite marks on my hand from this morning. tsk. lol
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post #5 of 6
6/26/11 at 5:14pm
Our vet told us to grab his favorite toy and throw it for him to play with. Sort of like a distraction technique. I have found that to work the best. Because then he gets his biting out of his system and he doesn't feel to need to chomp down on our hands:P
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post #6 of 6
6/26/11 at 9:40pm
I never use my hands as a toy when I play with my animals. It's hard for them to figure out when it's okay to bite and when it's not. . .so I just teach them that it's never okay to bite me. When you pick him up/try to move him, that just stimulates him further and he thinks you are joining in playing. Same thing with trying to hold him down on his back. I would suggest whenever he bites you, abruptly stop what you're doing and leave the room. And whenever you do play with him, always use a toy. It's probably going to take a few weeks though. . .good luck! Consistency is the key!
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