Problems with new kitten.

My fiance and I just got two 3 month old kittens from the humane society. One of them is as sweet as could be, but the other one is a little terror. She eats just as much as her sister, but is quite a bit skinnier than her (but she doesn't look sick or anything). She seems to hardly ever sleep, and is always up running around playing. Those things are not what bother me though. She has this problem with biting everything. If we are watching tv or something she will come up and bite and claw at our hands. Then she will walk up and start to bite our chins or noses. I know that spanking and yelling doesn't work, and a firm NO doesn't seem to help either. I've also tried water guns with them to keep them out of the fridge and cabinets. It worked with her sister, but not her. Any ideas on how to get her to stop biting? I know that she is just a kitten, but it doesn't seem like she should be doing this biting thing all the time. Thanks in advance.

Dan

BTW, sometimes she will alternate between chewing and licking your fingers. It's like she licks them, and then they taste good or something, then she starts to chew on them, then licks them, then chews, and so on. Her sister doesn't do this, she just licks. (She is trying to attack my hands while I'm typing this. )

Dan

All kittens are way too energetic and will get into everything but some kittens are really wild and crazy! It sounds as if you have a wild child!

You have done the one most important thing for a wild child....you have a play mate for her! Since she already has a kitty playmate, the next thing to do is to make sure there are many toys and things for her to climb on and play with that she won't get in trouble for. You are going to need to let her burn off as much energy as possible in a way that isn't going to cause problems. Try getting some cardboard boxes and cut holes into them and then stack them on top of eachother so they can climb from one to the other (taped securely to each other) so your wild child can spend lots of time exploring the boxes rather than biting you and trashing things.

Also, make sure you get some scratching posts for her. I would recommend against carpet covered posts because it teaches the cat that it is okay to scratch carpets! The sisal or cardboard scratching posts or pads seem to work best. Also, put double-sided tape on things you want her to stay away from (or put the tape on a towel or piece of cardboard and place those over the places she needs to avoid).

Now...to stop the biting...you are on the right track! When she bites, yell NO! loudly and blow a puff of air in her face. Make sure you do this every time she bites so that she equates biting with bad things (puff of air). Make sure that you do not pull away your hand when she bites because that will be way too much fun for the cat (you are acting like prey!). So, keep still, shout No, and puff the air. If she does not stop biting, then simply pry her off your hand.

If she is still being naughty, you can put her in time out....lock her in the bathroom for only about 2 minutes - just long enough for her to get her mind on something else. Eventually she will learn that being naughty means being taken away from fun things so she will behave better.

Most of all....Be patient! You will come to enjoy the wild antics of your little devil.

Good luck!

LOL my newest little girl is like that. She is so funny to watch sometimes. She has more energy than any of the other 10 ever had. when she started with the fingers and hands I would say no really firm and blow on her. Then I would grab a wand toy or something for her to go chase. She has cought on after about 2 weeks. When she is after me while I am doing something I put her down and throw something on the floor for her to chase after. Kinda like a dog playing fetch only she never brings anything back. If you really dont want them on the counters, use the double sided tape until they get the idea. As for the cabinets, I have installed the u shaped latches on all of mine. You really have to pull on them to get them open. It really keeps them out and I dont have to mess with child proof locks.
With the scratching post, I have to disagree. Some cats wont touch the sisal or cardboard. You have to try them to know if they will use them. I have 4 carpeted posts, 11 cats and they dont touch anything but the trees and posts. I do have to vacuum around them more. It took a little time to train them to use them. I put the catnip spray on them about every week or so. I also would pick them up and take them over there. I put them near where they eat and sleep because after each they usually want to stretch or shed some dead nail tissue. I wish you both the best with the new babies. If you have any more questions, feel free to post them. There are enough cat people here that we could write a book