Kitten nibbling at my face in the middle of the night!

leerorr

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Hi all! This is my new baby Gizmo, he was born at the end of June and came to live with us about a month ago. Doesn't he look like a wee angel?

                                                                                            
 

Well he can be when he's asleep! Most of the time he is a fluff ball full of energy, running from one end of the flat to the other, chasing crumpled balls of paper or wrestling with his adopted big sister - who loves him but retreats to her wee hide away shelf in my husband's cupboard when she tires of his antics.

During the day time he is not a scratcher or a biter, but in the wee hours of the morning he has taken to nibbling either mine or my husband's face, hands, elbows - whatever is out of the covers! He sleeps on our bed and dozes over just fine along with us - but should either of us dare to wake and check our phones for the time or nip to the loo, he wakes up purring thinking it must be time to get up! He's then confused when we try to go back to sleep and so begins to lick and then gently nibble on my (or hubby's) face! I move him back to his spot, but he only comes up to wake me again. I tried removing him from the bedroom but then he cries and paws at the door. I checked his bowls and the water is clean and there are biscuits incase he needs something to eat.

Basically my question is what does he want and how can I teach him not to do this? I haven't had a full night's sleep in weeks. We never had this kind of bother with his sister. It's cute now he's a kitten but won't be so cute when he's older!

Help :-(
 

Alicia88

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Ignore him.  Cats hate being ignored.  Murphy liked to suck on me.  Anywhere he could get to.  I put him on the floor and ignored him and just kept doing it every time he started sucking.  He rarely does it anymore, but when he does, I still put him on the floor and ignore him.
 

nydjasams

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This is easy.... get a small carrier and put it next to your bed with a round, fluffy bed in it. At night he will be happy to be nearby and should'nt fuss.
 

nydjasams

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Also, my two are in a larger dog type kennel that I put in the bedroom with a table top on it. It has two round fluffy beds in it. They can see our bed and they are content and settle down emediately when put to bed.
 

bottlebabymom

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Hi all! This is my new baby Gizmo, he was born at the end of June and came to live with us about a month ago. Doesn't he look like a wee angel?


                                                                                            

 
Well he can be when he's asleep! Most of the time he is a fluff ball full of energy, running from one end of the flat to the other, chasing crumpled balls of paper or wrestling with his adopted big sister - who loves him but retreats to her wee hide away shelf in my husband's cupboard when she tires of his antics.


During the day time he is not a scratcher or a biter, but in the wee hours of the morning he has taken to nibbling either mine or my husband's face, hands, elbows - whatever is out of the covers! He sleeps on our bed and dozes over just fine along with us - but should either of us dare to wake and check our phones for the time or nip to the loo, he wakes up purring thinking it must be time to get up! He's then confused when we try to go back to sleep and so begins to lick and then gently nibble on my (or hubby's) face! I move him back to his spot, but he only comes up to wake me again. I tried removing him from the bedroom but then he cries and paws at the door. I checked his bowls and the water is clean and there are biscuits incase he needs something to eat.


Basically my question is what does he want and how can I teach him not to do this? I haven't had a full night's sleep in weeks. We never had this kind of bother with his sister. It's cute now he's a kitten but won't be so cute when he's older!


Help :-(
Sounds to me he was bottle raised or weaned early. I found 4 kittens still alive in my back yard after 3 litters didn't go that way, so I put the dogs the just wanted to play away and checked back for mom to see if I could get her to move them to the cat houses in the cat yard...it didn't work so I bottled raised all 4 together in the house with the dogs learning they aren't toys - now he is 4 years old (the one I couldn't find a home) and he still suckles because his suckling need was not met they normally they find a nipple and suck until mom gets up but most of the early life he was fed with a bottle every 2 hours around the clock which by the time I finished feeding, stimulating and cleaning up it was time to start again. So I didn't sleep for six weeks but they didn't get that constant suckle so what I did for stimating them to potty I needed rough cloth to get warm water on and it played "mom cat tongue" so I cut rough washcloths and old rough towels into smaller pieces like a washcloth in half and a towel in those size pieces (but I had 4 and I was also stimulating to use the restroom with those so you don't need nearly that many), but he stole from laundry when he needed a suckle, so I gave in and left them in there kennels and when I was down to one, he wanted it to smell like me-not the littermates since I have been mom since about day 1 - but if you sleep in your bed with a washcloth or a towel (probably 2 washcloths cut - here, they get hidden, in my slippers, under pillows, sometimes in laundry, either way just like with a baby - you need spare "binkies") for a couple of days to pick up smell and then you cut it into about those size pieces it will become a fun toy that gets thrown, chased, and pounced on but it will also become like a binky for a baby or you know something to suck on and that will typically take care of the problem for you but it needs to smell like new Mom and Dad (his people). Your baby just needs to suckle and punishment, ignoring, or those kinds of things with a baby that is saying I am having emotions and I am lonely - not fixing the need is asking for bigger issues later. Your baby needs to know what comes next also, just like a baby has a bed time routine, maybe he needs to play hard for an hour since he is little (less if he plays with you before meals and things), but after we get the energy out, next is maybe cookies, cuddles and loves, then mine was put in a basket with an edged bed so he couldn't get kicked but would be in bed, he had a couple quiet toys hung from the hanndel and he had a junkie or 2 and maybe a quiet ball or toy - cats are most awake at dawn and dusk, not times everyone wants to play, so making it so your not annoyed, baby can play alone, and basically self soothe. Then when baby out grows basket we went to a rectangle bed with high sides, now we do nothing since he is big, he k owe where his night toys are, he has his day toys, and he eats at 5am and 5pm (if it's 5:15 or 5:30 then either his papa or I get a reminder because we set the schedule and he knows what to do and expect when, and if something is off...he wants to know why).

Hunting toys are great for very active kitties, you can make them or buy them - cats love to hunt, catch, kill, eat, bathe, nap- so I find making that good and easy for them a little at a time and change things up to keep interest will all help with what people think are behavioral issues that are really your cat saying "hey I have needs that aren't being met, how do we fix it?"

Good luck!
 

JMJimmy

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Sounds like completely normal kitten behaviour to me.  Basically this is what your cat is doing:    The key is not to engage.  He's seeking your attention and the more you feed into it with pets/play/etc the more he'll do it.  Try to do a good "workout" routine before bed.  Once he's exhausted, feed him, then time for bed for everyone.  This will help train him to sleep more at night.  Being a young male, he'll be a ball of energy for the next year or two, so the workout routine won't be fully effective to get him to sleep through the night but it will help. 
 

nydjasams

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Cats are somewhat nocturnal. He will not outgrow it. The best way to get sleep is to confine him nearby while you are sleeping. It becomes a routine and he will feel happy and secure.
Let me know if you try it.
 

catlover73

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My oldest cat Starbuck was weaned too early by someone else. She was 6 weeks old when I adopted her and she used to groom our faces and give us love nips multiple times throughout the night. It was hard to do but I just ignored her and pretended to go back to sleep. It took a few months but she did outgrow this behavior. Now she follows us to bed and grooms us each for a little bit and goes to sleep. She does not wake us up anymore.
 

mservant

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I agree with the advice you have had about taking time to tire Gizmo out before bed followed by a little snack, essentially working with the normal cat energy patern for dawn and dusk hunting activity.  It also establishes a clear routine for your kitten, so even if you don't feel like bed at a regular hour it is worth going with the flow for a few weeks so he can learn what bed time is, and get used to his humans need for rest in the darker hours.

Of course it is easier said than done, esp when any part of you above the covers or accessible to little fangs and claws will be shredded or nibbled in attempts at play and attention.  What ever the reason Gizmo decides he wants to gain your attention the important thing is not to respond.  Whether you play, lift him up and put him somewhere else, pet, or chatter his experience will be the same - he got a reaction so he will do it again.  Even if you shouted or pushed him away, or other less friendly actions, for a kitten it will come across as a reaction and therefor risk repeat action.  Kittens and cats are even more easily confused by our human behaviour than we are by theirs.

It might seem impossible to ignore your face being nipped and pawed, but it is a phase you need to get through.  He can learn pretty quickly as long as you are consistent.   The tactic is the same whether a cat or kitten is biting and scratching hard or gently like Gizmo is.   Work out which bed covers work best for you (depends on temperature of course), get yourself tucked in around 3 sides so no invading cat can sneak in unwanted (to let them sneak in you need to wait until they have learned that bed time isn't play time), and keep enough cover at the head end for you to pull over your human faces.  If you like to breath and have to hold the cover up for a while then using a sheet under any other cover works well.  As soon as there is any sign of Gizmo coming in to pester you need to get the sheet or cover wrapped over your fingers and knuckles and pull the cover over your heads leaving no skin for him to nip.  You stay still and quiet until he gives in, and then relax once he settles.  He may choose to curl up on your bed, or he may wander off to another comfy spot or find a few toys to hunt down - just be sure to leave him a few options close by that don't need you to be involved.   Nice snuggle buddies like similar size cuddly toys, cozy fleece covers, a circuit toy or a few scattered mice can work wonders.   Beware, there may be some dive bombing pounces aimed at your bladder and head before he gives in, and it can be really hard not to laugh and give in to his wiles, but if you can hold your own for a week or two you will see big rewards.

Mouse was a seriously scary kitten when I first brought him home, and would bite my face and hands hard to try and get me up at night, or to keep me playing for an extra couple of hours once lights were out.  It took a few weeks but he did learn, and was transformed in to a really well behaved kitty that would snuggle in once his bed time play session ended and he had a couple of bites of supper to fill his belly.   Luckily for me he is also very good at staying quiet until I get up - though it did take a similar routine in the early mornings to get to this point.  
   
 
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