Kitten behavior Qs

Two kittens, siblings, 10 wks old, got home from last Friday, here're a few questions:

1. They fight sometimes, I don't know if it is too rough or not... They won't hiss, but would definitely use their teeth and claws, sometimes arc their back and chase, sometimes bite each others' ears (or other places), sometimes one start to cry and we used spray to discorage them. I understand that kittens learn a lot from playing and it is very natural, but how much is too much? Also they played very nicely the first few days home, but become more aggresively from the recent two days. Why is that?

2. They can't jump high yet so sometimes when they really want to get on the couch or human's laps ( ) they use their claw and climb from our legs. It hurts!!! How can we discourage that? We put shoe boxes near the couch, sometimes they use that, but most of the times they just use the easier way...

Thanks!

I'm sure you'll get better advice than mine, but for the kitten's rough play, from my experience, it's pretty normal, especially with siblings. As long as you're sure no one is actually getting hurt, I'd let them sort it out. If one is bullying the other, that's another story- you should be able to tell as you get used to them.
When they use your leg instead of jumping- OUCH!- just gently put the kitty down. Keep gently discouraging him, and he will stop. I've had lots of kittens do this to me! They'll learn to stop, and learn better ways to get around.

Wow they look nothing like siblings from their pictures! Maybe Foxy just looks darker in her pic though

1. My rule of thumb is, if someone screams or yelps then that's when it's gone to far. Sometimes mine will even growl while their playing, but it's still all in good fun. If they're really aggresive then seperate them for a few minutes, that way they know that they're not going to get away with it. A lot of people will tell you not to spray your kitty, and in this situation I would agree b/c you're punishing them for doing something natural. When mine get out of hand I clap really loudly, it gets their attention right away.

2. I laughed when I read this because I remember mine doing that when they were babies too. Oh boy does it hurt haha! They used to climb all the way up us when we were getting ready to feed them wet food. First I would start by clipping your kitties nails. It's a good way to get them used having their paws handled. Maybe try something softer like a pillow or blankets instead of a box. They probably aren't using the box because it's still a leap to get on top of it, and why do that when they can just use your legs? Hope this helps some!

Keep towels all over the place for a couple of mos. and if you see them coming, put the towels over your legs (and preferably be wearing pants at the time too), because I don't think you're going to train them out of it to any extent. They don't train well anyway and at that age are pretty hopeless.

Please don't use a spray bottle as a deterrant for unwanted behavior. You run the risk of teaching your kitties to fear you because they are likely to associate the negative experience of being sprayed with you rather than with what they are doing. If you think they are hurting each other, redirect their attention by clapping loudly and saying a firm 'no' or tossing their favorite toys into their field of vision.

My kitties are siblings too, and they used to be rough during play-fights as well. Generally, if there's hissing and screaming then it's too rough. Obviously if there's blood drawn that's too rough too. What you're describing sounds normal to me, so I wouldn't worry.

My kitties also used to climb me as babies. They just grew out of it as they got too large to do it anymore. (Not without damaging a few pairs of my slacks though ) If you want to stop sooner, then when they do it tell them "no" firmly and put them on the floor. Repetition will hopefully get the message across. If they ever do manage to get up on the sofa the right way be sure to give them lots of praise and a treat too.

Enjoy your new kitties. They're darling!

Thanks to you all!

Yes we will try not use sprays any more... we normally hide when spray them and used very tiny little, just a few drops like shake ur hand after wash (if no towel present ) We'll try to use other ways

The "towel cover leg" thing looks interesting we'll try that

BTW, they are siblings but might from different farther, Foxy is fluffy long hair and Soy short.

Thanks again for helping us!