Kitten Biting

I have an 8-week old kitten, Jedi. He has a habit of biting my hands constantly. I tried reprimanding him by saying "NO" sternly and moving him away from me when he bites. This hasn't worked very well. Jedi went to the vet today and I asked his opinion. He suggested picking him up by the scruff of his neck, saying "NO" and then putting him down away from me, spraying his face with water or giving him a "timeout" in his kennel for 15 minutes. Has anyone had this problem with their kitten? If so, what worked for you in detering this behavior? Thanks!

Another thing to try is when he bites your hand act like you are mortally wounded. Meaning make loud 'I'm in pain' noises. Most of the time they will get the idea. Also never play with your kitten with any part of your body, even if your hand is under a blanket.

BTW Jedi is really cute! He will be a beautiful cat.

-safron

Yes, Jedi is adorable. I shouldn't do it, but I let my babies play with my hands. They're always scratched up. HOWEVER, I do the same thing Safron does. I cry loudly if the kitten gets too rough. It has always stopped them in their tracks. No. 1, they don't like loud noises, and 2., they don't really want to hurt you. They know it's you under the covers, but they're having so much fun they hate to stop.

Jedi is so cute! The suggestions the others have posted have been really good, so I won't repeat them, however the one your vet gave you was not. Please don't pick this baby up by the scruff. Only Mom cat should do that. Good luck with the biting problem.

I don't have any great new answer to your problem, but I was very interested in reading your post and the range of responses to it, because I have a similar concern: 3-month-old Wiggles loves to chew, too, on fingers, knuckles, hair - sometimes he dives down under the covers and goes for the toes. What complicates things is that while I try to act stern and say "No", my husband and son thinks it's fun. (Is this a guy thing?) They say it's playfighting, and he's just doing what he would do with his brother or sister, if they were around. So my question, if any more experienced kitten owners happen to read this: Is this just a phase, or are we raising a psychopath?
By the way, I do have one suggestion. When my son was in his terrible two's, I often used distraction to keep him out of mischief, and I find the same thing helps with Wiggles. When he goes for my fingers or toes, I say No, put him down away from me - and give him a toy to chew on. (I now keep a bunch of his favorite "mice" in the drawer of my bedtable for when he gets the early morning munchies.)

Wiggles is acting like a normal kitten. However, you have to decide when and where the play has to stop. Your feet moving under the covers are her "prey." Chasing moving objects is instinctive. Yes, she is using you like a litter mate or mommy cat. Poor mother kitty has her tail attacked on a regualar basis. I enjoy watching kittens play, but, as I stated in an earlier post, I let them know when enough is enough. Otherwise, they could bite or scratch too hard. They will also want to eat the food off of your plate and jump on your table. I clap my hands to startle; you can shake a can full of pebbles, say no, no, or whatever is effective for you. Many people use a spray bottle of water to spritz misbehaving animals. Just be kind, but firm, and try to enjoy the play. They're not kittens long enough. All of us wish we had playful kittens. Find some fun toys for the baby too! Good luck.

OMG he is SOOOOO CUTE!!
I generally try not to play too much with my hands, and not make my hands seem like a toy. I also stop any play activity if it gets too rough. When my Spidey uses his nails instead of his paws, or bites, I say "Gentle" in a firm, even voice, and oddly, he seems to get it. I also never remove my hand from near him very fast, or he gets that 'attack' desire. I've tried making him smell the blood when he really gets me, that seems to have no effect.
Good luck!

At my house we try to discourage cats from playing with our hands. Occassionally when Snowball is being groomed he will start feeling really playful and he will grab my hand with his claws out and also with his mouth. The method I use is similiar to Alicia's. I use slower movements to get free and I say "Snowball no" in a calm firm voice, he never actually bites or scratches so there's no blood.

ok, so i'm glad i'm not the only catmom who's having trouble with this aggressive behavior in my kitten. boris is about 12 weeks. my husband and i adopted him from the humane society about 4 weeks ago and he's our only child. he is precious...when he's asleep. i'm concerned that he will grow up to be a rotten terror and in all of my cat history, i've never had a bad one.
i had read a couple of days ago that when he goes into attack mode and wraps his limbs, claws extended, around my hands and begins to bite like there's no tomorrow, that i'm supposed to pat his paws until he lets go!? geez, i'm lucky to have any blood left by then! when i can pry him off he gets even more vicious and comes right back at me full force. and if i try to walk away before he's finished, he runs after me and stabs my ankles!
he's getting to understand the word "no" and fortunately responds to a loud, sharp clap by the unattacked spouse. but when these tactics fail, it's off to the peroxide bottle we go!
will he outgrow this?

Several things you can do, because he is just being a kitty and is more than likely teething at the same time. You can give him an alternate chewing toy, I use a small beanie baby. You can blow in his face when he starts chewing and once he starts to chew on you, put him quickly on the floor and totally ignore him for 3 minutes. Everything else that has been mentioned works as well. Also, if you are rubbing his tummy as a form or play, I suggest you stop doing it for awhile because some kittens look at that as an attack and not a pleasureable thing. Once he has outgrown his biting, you can resume to rub him, but don't be surprised to find out he really does not like it much. I will say it again, he is a cutie!

Hissy sounds like a real expert, and I don't have much to add to her (his?) advice, but I will add one word of encouragement for "Imachewtoy" - something I keep telling myself: Kittens are like toddlers, and you don't expect instant obedience from a toddler. You have to be consistent & patient, and gradually they learn. If Boris already understands "No" and responds to a loud clap, it sounds like you're halfway there. (By the way - one thing you mentioned - patting his paws till he lets go - actually sounds like a rotten idea to me: Your moving hands may just inspire him to keep going. My son sometimes pats Wiggles' paws to encourage him to "playfight". They seem to have a grand time, but of course all my attempts at consistent firmness go out the window!)

Hey - if I ever got lost, they could identify me from all the little scratches and bite marks..... All of my cats have chewed on me at one point or another and have stopped when they got older.......

Hi! My two kittens are 9 weeks old, and they are awful about attacking my hands and feet. I read on this great website that when the kitty attacks your hand (or whatever) make a loud sound like you have been mortally wounded! I make like a mom cat meow sound. It is important that when they bite you, not to jerk your hand away (although that is what I always wanted to do!) Doing this makes kitty think it is a game. Now, I recognize the look in Scout and Sock's eyes, and when they start to lunge for my hands, I say NO! loudly, and then they start acting all innocent!!! Hope they grow out of it soon, for your sake. We will never be able to have a job in hand modeling!!!

The screaming like you are really hurt works very well for me. Leo, a huge 20 lb. kitty, sometimes gets excited and grabs my arm and bites me. He has the potential to do some real damage, so I get pretty drastic with him. He stops immediately and hangs his head like he is SO sorry.

Sounds like we need to form a "new mothers" support group!!!!

Oh, maybe we already have - hi guys - welcome aboard!!!

Reading jeff24girl's and imachewtoy's posts was like reading my own diary! Glad I'm not alone in this daily struggle - maybe my Kona really is normal after all.

If you haven't already read my post entitled "Water Gun Works" you might want to take a peek. I started using a water spray bottle on my 10 week old Siamese kitten last week and it works amazingly well - a firm "No" when biting and if he continues after that he gets a spray! Of course, we have lots and lots and lots of toys that we try and divert him too aswell.

Good luck - can't wait to hear of your progress!

Lisa

hi there i am getting a new 8 week old kitty today to live with my 18 month old called jazz, after reading all these stories about biting and scratching i'm not at all sure i am doing the right thing!
i will post and let you know how i get on, his name is gonna be Buzz by the way

Finn uses me and hubby as a chew toy on a regular basis, and alot of I think is that he's teething! (Loosing his kitten teeth- I acutally found one.) Lots of drooling and knawing more than biting.
We keep several toys around specifically for biting. Bity-Fish, Bity-Towel, Bity-Belt... When he starts biting us, we give him a toy to play rough with instead. That seems to work and keep him happy.

ignoring the kitty does work. I have used that with all of my kitties and they don't attack hands anymore.

just get up and walk away- they are smart- they will get the picture FAST. there might be a little extinction burst where they do it more to get attention but if you keep ignoring it will stop the behavior for good.


charlottiek, Ninikitty, Lila