Can I Spray Myself In Bitter Apple???

Just kidding....kind of.

Anya still bites, chews, and gnaws on us sometimes when we're cuddling. Sometimes she just hops and attacks with her ears laid back. I know it comes from playing with her with our hands when we first got her, but we have since corrected that.

Now when she does it we do either one or all three of the following, depending on if she continues the behavior or not.

a) ignore her and set her down b) hiss at her like a mama cat would do and then sit her down and ignore her c) plop her in the bathroom with no toys for a couple of minute time out.

I guess its working slowly, but I just need some patience. I love my little girl dearly, but sometimes those little teeth HURT.

This will eventually stop won't it? Thanks for the support guys!

Try being consistent. Use b all the time.

what a little terror, you wouldn't think it to look at her

use B, hissing, blowing in her face, tell her No. She'll soon get the message ( i hope!) be consistant & patient! you're doing well

Thanks guys. Its just so hard because I know when she does it its not to be mean, she just wants to play rough.

The OTHER hard part is trying to convince Brian to hiss at her when she does it to him. I guess we'll have the same problem when we have babies without fur, consistent discipline/parenting from both of us.

She'll be chewing on him and he'll say it doesn't hurt. Well his skin is tougher than mine!

hehe... just tell him, wait until that kitten is a big grown-up cat, and he's being chewed on by the same teeth that can snap a rat's neck in one bite!

I have the problem too.

When Zissou does that to me, I take a totally different approach. If I just see that look in her eye and she seems to be getting ready to "attack" (never breaking the skin, mind you, it's totally different with cats that really attack you) I say "No".

If she does it anyway, I make a big scene, fake crying, whining "Owwwwww!!!", holding my arm or leg like she bit it to the bone, etc.

She always immediately feels horrible, stops biting and starts trying to cuddle with me. Warning: some cats, like those who have been abused or feral, will become scared of you after a production like that. I know my cat, and I know she's a tough cookie. Try it once and see how it goes, and don't yell or be angry or anything.

The logic behind this is that kittens learn how to play with each other, and quickly learn each other's thresholds for how hard they can bite/scratch each other in play. When you played with your hand with your kitten, you presented yourself as a kitten/playmate rather than a parent. So you have to teach them that your threshold for biting/scratching is at zero.

It's worked. Zissou has never broken skin except by accident (falling and catching herself on your leg for example, in which case I don't make a scene as described above).

Also, when your cat bites/scratches, it's an invitation to play in our cases. You do not want to reward them by immediately giving in and playing, but let at least 15 minutes pass, and start playing with your kitty. They won't get the connection after that length of time, but you'll be giving her what she wants, to play and release some kitten energy!

Heh, I've been wanting to spray myself with something too, LOL

I love cuddly cats, but all this loving can be difficult and somewhat annoying when you are trying to do stuff.

My oldest cat Chynna is 14 1/2 years old and she has what I thought was a cute habit of going onto the shelf under my computer and tapping my knee to tell me that she wants some lovings. The routine has been that if she does that I pick her up and give her 'love bugs" where I scratch her head, chin and ears and she kisses me on the nose and then she settle down on my chest while I rub her tummy or brush her and that lasts about 15 or 20 minutes; it would last more but I put her on the ground at that point.

However, it's gotten to the point beyond annoying Bless her little heart that she loves me so much, but what used to be occasionally, has turned into a 2 or 3 times or more an hour. It's impossible to ignore her because she keeps tapping you until you stop and pick her up and give her cuddles, and she's very insistent about it.

Sometimes I try and cheat by using one hand to rub her head, chin and ears while she's on the shelf while I type or work on my graphics with the other hand, but it's difficult and she keeps tapping my leg to tell me that she wants "up".

I feel like such a bad "Mommy" for not wanting to cuddle her as often as she wants me too, but it just gets to be too much after awhile. Cuddling Chynna has become an almost full time job.