TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Behavior › Just adopted Kitten and She keeps biting me Help
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Just adopted Kitten and She keeps biting me Help

post #1 of 6
1/22/12 at 6:46pm
Thread Starter 

Hi all you cat lovers, My husband just got me a kitten for my birthday 3 days ago. She was free apparently the person who gave her to us finds feral kittens and gets them checked out by a vet and tries to rehabilitate them. 

Princess Sophia was very skittish when i met her. She wouldnt even let me hold her. From what the woman told me about her it seems sophia had it pretty rough. Her mothers owner took all of the kittens from the litter and just tossed them out the door when they stopped nursing. Anyway Sophia was found and cared for by this lovely lady 3 weeks before I got her.

 

Sophia is 12 weeks old!

When i brought her home she wouldnt even come to me and kept hiding in my closet. I have spent many hours with her the last few days and she has finally started coming around me and letting me pet her as long as I am sitting on the floor. She loves to play with her feather toy. 

 

I have her confined into one room for now but she still hides when she hears someone opening the door. Anyway long story short. Now that she plays with me and seems to show she is starting to trust me I am not so sure if i trust her. I dont know if her behavior is normal. it has been many years since i have had a kitten. 

 

when i come in and sit down with her I pet her and show her lots of love but after petting her for a few minutes she starts to walk around me and brush up against me and gets a little excited then she starts to meow. it isnt a regular meow but more like a squeak and then she tries to wedge her head in the creases of my arms and out of no where bites me. It isnt hard and it does not hurt but i am worried as i have a 5 year old. 

 

I dont want this to become a habit but i am not sure if she is trying to nurse, wanting to play or what and i am afraid to discipline for something that is not really bad.

 

Please if anyone has gone through this I would greatly appreciate your input. I love her to death and even though she is a kitty with issues I am willing to do whatever it takes to help her but i am just not quite she what to do. I have been looking on line for days about ways to rehabilitate feral kittens but none are really helpful. She has come such a long way in a few days and any help would be great.

 

Thanks everyone

Reply
post #2 of 6
1/22/12 at 7:02pm
Ah, it sounds like you have a love biter. agree.gif http://www.mewsletter.com/ask-fancy/cat-love-bites (this is different from if you're petting her and she suddenly whips her head around and bites you hard enough to hurt. That's a whole nother issue, but also easily solved. smile.gif )

Lots of cats bite gently when they're happy, purring, and snuggling with their owners. My cat, Kramer, did this all the time when I first got him, but it was easy to train him out of it. Whenever they put their teeth on you, just say, "NO" in a loud-ish voice. A puff of air blown in their face helps too. They will learn not to give love bites anymore. Cats are smart; she will understand after a few times that you want her just to stop biting, not stop snuggling.

Since you describe her as burrowing into your arms and then gently biting, it could well be that she's attempting to suckle you, especially if she was taken too young from her mother. From your story, it sounds like she definitely was, as kittens need to stay with their mothers for some weeks after they stop nursing. Do you have any idea of how old she is?

My guess is that she looks up to you as her mama-substitute, and is trying to suckle you, or she's giving you love bites. Either way, she's not trying to hurt you.

Finally, welcome to TCS!
Reply
post #3 of 6
1/22/12 at 7:09pm
Thread Starter 

thank you katie 

the woman i got her from said the vet told her she was about 12 weeks old. She is the most beautiful kitten she looks like a long haired siamese with blue points. It is nice to know she is not trying to hurt me. I have to admit she scared me a few time and made me jump which in turn scared her. I just thought it was odd that she kept meowing. she only meows at me when i pet her which is really strange. and even though she loves for me to pet her she doesnt like to sit in my lap or to be held longer than a few seconds which is a shame as i was hoping to have a  lap kitty LOL but I am sure she will come around. Now getting her to feel safe around my 5 year old son is going to be a bigger challenge as he is very loud. I have tried to bring him into the room to sit quietly and play with her but he has adhd and it is hard for him to sit for more than a few minutes.

 

 

any thoughts as to when it would be a good idea to let her explore the rest of the house?

Reply
post #4 of 6
1/22/12 at 7:32pm

Don't let her explore the rest of the house unless you're there to supervise, not for a while. I was lucky and Holland didn't chew cords or anything dangerous when she was a kitten, but I do know that some people have to "kitten proof" their houses. I'd let her decide when to come out - when you're going to be home for a while, leave the bedroom door open. Kittens are very curious, and she will probably want to come out and explore her new home. Don't worry if she gets scared and wants to run back to the bedroom, though, for now that is her safe place.

 

And as for wanting a lap kitty - don't get discouraged! I adopted Holland when she was 5 months old, and she never really sat in my lap until about a year ago or so. She still doesn't really like to be picked up, but if I'm sitting on the couch reading or watching TV (or when I'm on the computer, her favorite time to be snuggled laughing02.gif) she will often crawl into my lap and lay on her back purring so I can pet her and rub her belly. She didn't do this the first couple of years I had her, but now she will usually sit on my lap for a while every evening, it's just that SHE has to decide when she wants to be a lap kitty. Kittens are so full of energy, when they're awake they're probably not going to want to snuggle on your lap!

Reply
post #5 of 6
1/22/12 at 7:38pm
I agree with Mystik Spiral. agree.gif (Sorry I don't know your name!!)

If she meows a lot and looks like a Siamese, I'd say that's pretty normal. Siamese cats are known for being VERY vocal, and they can meow to express just about any emotion. So maybe she has some Siamese in her moggie bloodline. laughing02.gif
Reply
post #6 of 6
1/23/12 at 6:23am

This sounds like a fairly normal progression.  I would keep her isolated in a fairly small area for a while longer, maybe as much as a couple of weeks, so that she knows the area well and has a "safe place" she can retreat to.  Regular interaction with you is important; she needs to know she can trust you, you're not going to hit her or otherwise mistreat her, etc.  You may be amazed at loving she gets.

 

And yes, we have love biters at the shelter on a regular basis.  Pick them up or pet them, and they want to nibble on fingers, noses, ears, etc.  This is not an unusual interaction between cats, also.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Behavior
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Behavior › Just adopted Kitten and She keeps biting me Help