Ankle biting and rough play

Yep, you are doing the right thing. It might be cute when he's a kitten, but he'll grow up and those tiny needles will become not-so-tiny.

 

When he tries to re-engage you like that, just walk away, or else stand quite still so that your feet make a very uninteresting target. I suggest thick socks if you try the latter, though! Cats are totally attracted to motion. They're hunters by nature and if you move, they notice you. That's why scared mice and rats freeze in place--because predators don't notice them as much if they stay still. A kitten practicing stalking behavior might think of your feet as much more interesting if you moved; so, either don't move, or move completely out of range, so either way Kitty realizes she doesn't get to play with the feet.

 

Also, you might try yelping or making a high-pitched "Yeooow!" sound to tell him it hurts. Another cat would yell like that, and probably whack him with a paw, too; but since it'd just be mean to whack him with your hand (which is way bigger than a cat's paw, after all), stick to yelling. :P

You're on the right track! My 5-month old used to bite me too...I've trained him to lower his bite-pressure *a lot* when he feels he must bite me *love bites, usually* and he totally stopped biting us during sleep time (that got old quickly). The punishment is to make a noise, stop play, put him out of the room, etc. He's a velcro-cat so any loss of contact gets his attention. 

I don't use my hands in play either and we don't play in 'calm' areas where play is not allowed...but he still bit me when he got excited in play. There's hope for training and keep up the good work. :)

If you watch a mom cat disciplining their young, you'll see them do a couple of things: the hiss, the swat and what I call the hold them down with their paw until they settle down. I do hiss at mine when they act up and it works very well (I just do a quick intake of breath). I don't swat, but have tapped (lightly) them with my finger to get their attention. Holding them down is more or less a time out which you can do a number of ways - holding them until they settle down (this doesn't work that often if they are in a rowdy mood), or confining them to a time out place such as a bathroom for a while.

Thank you for asking about this. You sound like a very good cat mom!!