13 week old kitten biting

[abbycat513]

I have a 13 week old kitten who bites if we pet her anywhere more than 3 strokes or so. She doesn't bite so hard that it hurts but it looks like aggression (grabs with her claws out, kicks with back feet, ears back, eyes wide and pupils dilated). We've tried diverting her attention with toys when she does this, yelling no, picking her up by the scruff and setting her down, ignoring her, and even hissing at her but nothing has helped. She has always done this ever since we got her. She was separated from her mom at 6 weeks of age, which I know is very early, but unfortunately that was the situation she was in. We play with her a lot and have a ton of toys around the house she plays with all the time. 

She's usually very sweet. She follows us around the house, sleeps in bed next to us, and purrs constantly when she's around us. She even head butts and kneads. However, she doesn't let us pet her for more than a second although she doesn't seem to mind too much if we pet her when she's sleepy.

Is there anything wrong? Is there something I'm not picking up on here?

Any input is appreciated - thank you!!

 

[fluffybeard]

My cat was the exact same way. He has always followed me everywhere and sits and sleeps next to me and loves to play, but since he was a small kitten, he didn't like petting or being held. If I tried, he would take it as an invitation to "play" and attack and bite my hands.

I think most cats love cuddles and being stroked, but some just like to hang out, especially when they are hyper, playful kittens.

I would not force the petting thing. When you try to pet her and she nips you, just let her be. She's telling you she doesn't want that. Keep petting her when she'll let you though, when she's sleepy. My cat is now a year old and he is enjoying more affection little by little. He likes to cuddle in my arms for a few min when I get home from work, but only if I hold him while I'm standing. And he'll let me randomly scratch under his chin, but only for a few seconds before he pushes my hand down, lol! And I taught him to head butt! I kept giving him head butts and for a long time he was like "what are you doing, weirdo?" but now he butts back, lol!

So just find little ways to give her affection that she likes that doesn't lead to her play biting your hands. Cause you want to respect her boundaries and not condone any playing with hands either.

 

[chloe80]

This is exactly the same as my cat, who we got when he was about 8 weeks old. He was a rescue kitten and when we got him he didn't really seem to understand why we were stroking him - he'd obviously been separated from his mom very early, so didn't connect our strokes with his mom's licking or whatever.

It just takes time and patience. After a few months he grew to understand that stroking and petting was a good thing, and now he comes to us demanding it! He even finds being held quite relaxing, I think. I bet your 13 week old kitty will follow the same pattern

 

[blackcat416]

My Sophie, now a year old, still bites. She started as a kitten and has continued to adulthood. She bites to play because that's what she does with her 5 brothers and sisters. It's always play bite. Never breaking the skin. She likes biting my long nails. I think that some cats are just biters. Naturally when she bites me I now have to squeeze her belly and play with her. She's a real hoot and a nice girl. So she bites, no big deal for us.

 

[abbycat513]

Thank you all for such helpful responses! You definitely put my mind at ease  

 

[mservant]

Your kitten biting sounds very normal, and I think @fluffybeard  is spot on when saying she is letting you know when she has had enough.  Little kittens can be endless play machines and sometimes stroking just winds them up like a coiled spring too and it doesn't take long for them to bounce with revived energy.

If she bites just hold still until she stops and then slowly and smoothly withdraw your hand so she doesn't think you are going to harm her or want  her to chase your hand in play. Give her a little space and see what she does next - let her take the lead but if it is to play with your hand then try the re-directing with toys.

13 weeks is a very cute and very energetic phase and a good time to get really clear with the no biting rules.  There are some good articles here on TCS about how to go about it:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playtime-aggression

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people

I don't think she is being aggressive towards you at this point but this last article has a nice little paragraph about biting when a cat is being petted.

Hope all goes well and you enjoy every moment of her growing up.  

 

[caelesto]

My cousin had a cat just like that (how he got the name "Dracula"). He was lovely, and liked being around people and playing, but he just never liked to be pet or cuddled.