My cat BITES me to bleed like it's fun..what to do?

Probably your kitten's problems started because she was very young when taken away from her mother, for whatever reason, and so was never socialised and taught manners by her mom and siblings, who wouold have shown her biting in play is not acceptable. With young kittens it is important never to let them play with your hand but to use a wand toy or substitute instead. But now you will need to re-educate her totally. As you know, hitting is never a solution, though I can understand how it happened in the heat of the moment. Always use a wand toy with feathers or a toy oon the end to play with her - do not let her get near your hand. If she tries to bite when you are petting her then walk away at once and ignore her - she will connect the two eventually, though do not expect instant results. She may be biting when she is over-stimulated and over-excited, so play in short bursts at regular times and she will soon learn to enjoy the play and it will use up energy. It will not be easy and there will be times when you will want to give up, but I am sure you can win through in the end, using love and patience and a firm attitude when necessary. Make sure everyone who interacts with her follows the same rules.

I would suggest a laser pointer as well, because these put even more distance between your hand, which is holding the actual toy, and the thing she wants to play with (the laser dot).

One of my first cats came to us out of the woods as a tiny 6 month old...she seems so much younger, but the vet said her teeth showed about 6 months.  Anyway, when I first began working with her, she too would try to bite my hand.  Realizing she did not know "acceptable" behavior, especially during play, I began placing a soft toy mouse in her "bite" and praising her.  Also, when she would get too riled up during play, I would walk away.

 

That walking away really paid off in teaching her that a specific behavior made the "fun end".  I've also found that turning my back on a situation can send the message...remember, you are trying to communicate in "cat talk".

 

I know how difficult it is to put a kitty into "time out"...I always felt bad!  But...even a few minutes helps. 

 

Good luck!  Keep us up to date on how you progress!

I would recommend covering your hands with a product called Bitter Apple. This is the website: http://www.bitterapple.com/. If this product does not work, then you could try rubbing a SMALL amount of human grade Tabasco Sauce on your fingers. Then, have the kitten bite that area. That, most likely, would stop the behavior.

 

However, before trying either of the above suggestion, I would try behavior modification. What I mean by that is, when the kitten bites you, simple clap loudly or say NO loudly, then calmly get up and ignore the kitten. Another idea, which worked with my F3 Savannah, was when he go too rough was stuff a sock or stuffed toy in his mouth, then end play time. He learned if he got too rough, then the "fun" ended.

 

 

I would go with the laser pen because she will be focused on the floor not your hand