Kitten won't stop biting (no he's climbing up our legs) and it really, really hurts

Hi all.



My flatmate and I bought a 9-week-old kitten (Hexidecimal) last October. So he is about four or five months old now.



While he is the loveliest pet I've ever owned - so affectionate, friendly and cute, he is also the meanest: he bites, attacks and scratches us all the time. Literally, all the time. It's got to the stage where we can't cope.



I've had kittens before (three in my adult life) and none of them have been this bad. When he play bites he does it hard - really, really hard, breaking the skin and doesn't care that it's obviously hurting.



I've never had a kitten that hasn't reacted to 'no' or 'ouch' before.



We've never let him bite our hands or let him think human hands are toys. The same with our feet and ankles. If we're asleep and he wants to play he'll bite our faces, drawing blood, to try and wake us up. He bit my back so hard when I was asleep that it bled and got infected. 



He's learnt that if he bites faces, the bit of skin on the back of your arm, thighs or back he gets the loudest shrieks. He'll burrow under the duvet to do it. It's not that we mean to shriek or react but he's doing it when we're asleep. It's a natural response.



And we've tried EVERYTHING to stop him, including…



1. Water bottles - he likes it. He'll also jump in the bath or in the shower 



2. Saying 'no' - bitey cat don't care



3. Pulling duvet over head and/or ignoring him - he'll burrow under or just keep doing it. Walk away and he'll follow, biting you.



4. Biting him back - yeah, not proud of that one but was desperate. He, however, was delighted. YAY WE'RE ALL BITING NOW. SEE. TOLD YOU IT WAS FUN!!



5. Looking him in the eye and saying 'no' or trying to make dominant eye contact - he'll duck his head down and still do it.



6. PIcking him up and giving him a 'time out' in the bathroom - this sometimes works. But sometimes you open the door and he tries to bite you as he walks out.



He's also now started to either try and climb our legs or just walks up and digs his claws in. I've covered in scratches and he does it really deep. Today he managed to make me bleed through a pair of jeans - brand new jeans fresh on today that he has ripped a hole in. Because he is so big now it really, really hurts.



When he bites or scratches we don't reward the behaviour with attention - we now put him straight in the bathroom and ignore him. 



Literally can't cope with him any more. We love him and would never get rid of him, but it's horrible to always be attacked by this foul little beast. We know he's probably doing it for attention, but we can't give him much more attention and still have lives! And there's four of us here so he gets loads.



Also worried that I might accidentally hurt him: when you're asleep and something attacks you your natural instinct is to throw it away from you. Same as if you're boiling the kettle and he leaps and digs his claws in your thigh.




To give you a bit of background on him:



He's the most adorable little black moggy you've ever seen - so bold, friendly, LOVES people - even strangers. He loves to be picked up and held or carried around or rocked like a baby. He will cry to be picked up if he wants to be or will jump up and snuggle whenever he can.



He is also independent at times, so not ultra clingy or needy.



He's been like this since they day we got him - he adores people and wasn't scared of us at any point in the slightest. 



We got him from a couple whose cat had snuck out and got pregnant when she was under a year old. She had six kittens and the couple also had a few other cats at home.



He's an indoor cat. But I work from home 1-3 days a week (I used to work from home four days a week) and there are four adults living in this flatshare so there's always someone around for him. Two of my other housemates work from home a few times a month too and I work 20 mins from home when I'm in office, so am nearly always in.



He has a giant cat climbing tree. They actually sent us the wrong one and I had to throw away the top half because I didn't want a 9ft tree in the house…   He has a pingpong ball maze, LOADS of toy mice, a cat dancer toy (we play with him with) and we hide treats around the house for him/spread his food around before work so he can 'hunt' during the day.



I set my alarm an hour early each morning to play with him before work and try to incorporate as much human/cat play as possible while still having a human life/job.



We live in the UK where vets won't neuter under 6 months old



Please help me. Any advice would be much appreciated.

Just wanted to add… His biting isn't due to overstimulation - most of the time that's just how he'll approach us. He's do it if he's bored or just feels like doing it.

If he approaches us by miaowing or just walking up to us he gets played with or attention if he's looking like he's asking for it (which he really, really enjoys) so no idea why he does the bite and claw attacks. He's not getting any positive attention from us - he isn't hiding and stalking us - he'll just walk right up and just biting our feet, he isn't asking us to leave him alone - he just wants to play wrestle until we bleed.

Also, sorry about the poll. Will take it down if it offends. I got over excited.

ps. I told the kitten about this thread and he responded by biting my hand.

pps. We've also tried hissing at him when he bites. Sometimes works, mostly he'll just duck his head down so he can't see your face and then still go about biting.

He's being worse than ever today. We love him, but he is so, so mean. My boyfriend is round today and that makes him meaner (still try to give him, the kitten that is, loads of attention when boyfriend is over).

Can anyone give me any advice? Feel like I'm at my wits end  

I'm a massive cat newbie but one thing I've picked up is that each cat can be very individual, with it's own set of quirks and positive/negative qualities. 

With our kitten I just got everyone yelling 'owch!' whenever she sunk her teeth in, and then ignore her/stop playing with her after that (giving no attension at all) If she tried again just a firm NO BITING and that was enough. She'll still slip up but I can see her trying to restrain herself which is great. 

I know that probably doesn't help you much  

One obvious thing would be to not allow the kitten in the bedroom where it can bite your face while sleeping or go 'tunnelling'. Biting the face until drawing blood isn't acceptable at all...imagine if he got your jugular? It's not that deep down that a perfect bite couldn't get to it. 

You need to find a punishment that will stick I think. Have you tried a can full of change/washers/bolts? Or something else that makes a loud noise that will scare him? I think you're going to have to be really firm and consistent. He really needs to learn that biting until drawing blood isn't cool. 

Hi Chrisso - just getting a reply back is a massive relief. It's like I'm not the only one in this situation

Even though yours has grown out of it…

The kitten has to sleep in either mine or my flatmate's room because there's four of us in the flat and otherwise he'll cry all night (loud enough for neighbours to complain). You'd think ignoring him would work, but he can cry like he is being murdered for hours, pause, then do it again. Plus, there's no where in the flat we can here him (big flat, but thin walls). 

I've tried the can trick but as noise doesn't bother him (not even a hairdrier or vaccum) no luck

The only thing that punishes him is putting him in the bathroom for a time out, but even then, you have to catch him which results in him biting you to shreds in the process and he enjoys being picked up and carried too much for it to be a punishment.

Have attached a picture to put this in to context - this is how scarred and bitten the tops of my legs are from him biting me when I'm asleep, when I'm busy (making a cup of tea or trying to cook is the worst), or just generally because he wants to bite. Almost every time he bites its hard enough to draw blood - through jeans or other thick kitten-proof clothing we now have to wear around him. 


Some of the marks are from his new trick of jumping at your legs, digging his claws in, and just hanging there.

It's getting to the stage where he wants attention all the time - I play with him a lot, but if I try to put clothes on, cook, eat food, 

walk to another room, do some work - ANYTHING, he will attack.

It's so difficult to play with him now too as the only playing he wants to do is rough biting games. Not interested in wand toys - he'd rather bite the hand that's holding the wand.

Seriously thinking about giving him away - he can't be happy here if he's feeling like he isn't getting enough attention and I can't physically give him any more unless I quit work to become a professional pet slave. 

This was him the week we got him btw. 
Boyfriend took some photos of him yesterday so will post those when he has sent me them. 

I think your kitten might be bored and the most exciting thing in his life is your reaction when he bites you.  My suggestions:

1) Some UK vets certainly will neuter under 6 months.  Mine neutered my kitten at under 5 months.  If yours won't ring round.

2) Agree, shut him out of the bedroom and ignore the howls of anguish, which is easier said than done...

3) Lots of play.  Different cats like different toys, some like catnip and/or valerian toys, but play with him at least 3 times a day for at least 10 minutes.  Start and finish playing when you choose and give him a treat when you are done.  Also put the toy away.  One of my cats loves a square of kitchen paper tied on the end of the string from a Da Bird type toy, and if I dangle it where she can't see it she goes into hunting mode, stalking and pouncing.  She can hear it rustling and there is a little metal bit on the end of the string that she can hear knocking on the kitchen floor.

4) Make sure he has dark hidey holes and high places for when he is relaxing.  I'd suggest not letting him in the bedroom at all.

5) Wear protection!  If my guess is right then biting and not getting a reaction is going to take the shine of that pretty quickly, but if you just do this without the extra play he will find yet another way of making mischief.

6) If at all possible either cat-proof your garden, or provide him with an outside pen he has free access to.  The idea here is to give him yet more interesting things to do.  My own garden is escape-proof and my cats sunbathe, hunt (birds and each other) and play in it and also tend to follow me when I'm hanging out the washing.  It has bushes round the edge and a large square bed in the lawn which used to be the soft bed under a child's swing - I let it go wild.  It gives them a whole extra set of experiences you can't give an indoor cat, in safety.  Lots on this on the FAB website, and there are photos of how I did my garden on my website:

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/fencing/info.html

http://shunracats.wordpress.com/kitty-colditz/

Hi OrientalSlave - thanks for your reply. Means a lot that someone is trying to help - feel like I'm fighting a lone battle here as everyone else is tired of the bitey creature. 

I think you're right about him being bored, or at least wanting more attention than what he is getting, but I don't think I can give him any more. I would NEVER EVER want to give him up, but he must be unhappy if he is constantly attention seeking. 

Re: play - He gets an hour or 45 mins of play when I wake up (depending on whether or not I hit the snooze button again… ), at least 15 mins when I get in from work and, this sounds stupid, but whenever I go to shower, brush teeth, wee etc. because he loves playing with running water so I run the taps for him to play with. Plus, this is only what I do for him. There's four of us, so if I'm making a cup of tea, he could walk over to the sofa to try and play with them instead of biting me.

Re: neutering - the reason why the vets I've tried aren't keen is because he is quite small, so they want to wait until he is six months. I've tried 5 vets round here (there's not many more because I'm London Zone 1 so not really a vet sort of place). My mum's cat was neutered at 5 months because he was MASSIVE, the size of a year old cat, but she lives a bit of a trek away. I think I can wait the neutering out if need to because it can't be more than 3 weeks before he can be officially snipped. 

Re: bedroom - My boyfriend will be your biggest fan for saying that… I'll give in and shut him out. Most of the attacks are bed-based, so maybe this'll stop him? (I work from home a lot, so, work from bed - find it easier to concentrate with a million pillows, warm duvet and no distractions).

Re: toys - he has a massive cat tree, a catit speed circuit, loads of cat toys, wand toys, a cat dancer - the lot. Also has bags and boxes for playing and hiding in, plus the natural hidey holes around the flat. He also likes playing fetch - will bring back a crumpled ball of paper and drop it at your feet to throw again. Taught him this with treats

Re: garden - we don't have one. We're in a large flat in a converted factory. So really tall ceiling, poles and beams he can climb, big windows (with comfy cushions) that he can look out of, but no way to get outside unless he can open the front door

Not trying to be negative about everyone's advice - but we've all researched and tried everything the internet has said. I think he is just a bit of a bully kitten and if he had siblings still he would have go a fair few whacks. 

When I took him to my mum's house at Christmas he managed to sneak out of his confined room and give her GIANT, docile, laid-back cat a bite in the side and whacked her dog in the face - just crept up to them when they were sleeping and got them. He's done the same to repairmen and visitors alike. He just really, really likes playing rough.

Ideally, we'd get another kitten who could teach him to play nice, but not sure this fighting fire with fire approach would work: knowing our luck this new kitten would have another issue that can only be solved through getting a donkey or an alligator or something.

Maybe he'll just grow out of it?

There is something I forgot to add.  Consult a cat shrink.  He is causing serious damage, whilst neutering him might help the longer it goes on the longer it will take to resolve once the correct line of action is taken.

http://www.apbc.org.uk/

If you go the shrink route make sure you are picking a properly qualified one, and you will probably need your vet to sign a referal and send your kitten's notes over. 

Soft Claws or Soft Paws; that's the first step. They are little plastic covers for cats and dogs paws, to reduce the clawing (and traction when climbing!). They work for most cats, and just get your vet to put them on if you don't want to risk it with your ball of chaos.  You replace them each month as the cat's nails grow out, and they come in sizes kitten/small/medium/large. Only about $13 for a few months supply.

Secondly..You have to be able to sleep without fearing blood and terror in the morning. That's a non-negotiable I think!. How long (how many nights?) have you tried locking him out of your bedroom? Usually they stop crying and move on to new behavior within three or five. Ear plugs for everyone, and a hot water bottle in a cat stuffy in a bed for your Loki//special treat in his feed box when you all are down for the night. Add rescue remedy if he's really stressed out abiout the changes. This only works if you ALL are down for the night at the same time... i.e. the four of you can't be walking around after the 'bedtime' to get water//leave the house for a smoke// whatever that reminds the cat of "hey, here are PEOPLE here I should be meowing and carrying on to!" it's not going to work. Don't make a big deal about seeing him again in the morning; just leave the bedroom, put out his breakfast, do your ignore-him thing for a few minutes, then have a play session. It can't be "Oh, I see mom and therefore she will drop everything and do what I want Now". You have to control the "playtime'. etc. so he doesn't think he can get what he wants by running up to you and biting etc.

Thirdly? The biting there sounds harsh. Ouch times a billion. Teething treats, to get through this first eight months of teething? with the suggestions above. by others; this one I have never dealt with myself, so can't give advice on.

Good luck!

Quick follow up on this…

Two years on, he's the sweetest cat in the world. He loves me more than anything and hasn't even played rough in years.

The change came about when we moved to a house with a garden and then, about 8 months later, got another cat for him to play with. When he bit or attacked the other cat he got a bite back, so so learned how to play nicely. 

Neutering him once he reached 6 months helped massively too.

That's a great update--so glad to hear your little guy is doing well now.