3 Month Old Kitten Bites ALL THE TIME!

[crossbones3129]

I have provided a video showing my kitten's aggressive biting. He bites all the time. I was just trying to pet him in this video. I don't know how to get him to stop. When he was younger I tried hissing, blowing, whipping and nothing has worked. He'll let me pet him when he's sleepy or hungry. He'll come crying for food and rub all over my legs and if I'm not quick enough he'll start biting my feet as if to say "Hurry Up Now!" I need some help because is biting is getting worse!

 

[ondine]

The only thing I can think of is that he may not be the type of cat who wants a lot of petting, so he may be attacking you because he's overstimulated.  Same with waiting for food.  He sounds like he has a strong personality.

I couldn't see how old he was, but is he old enough to be fixed?  If he isn't fixed yet, that will really calm him down, although he may never be a lap cat.

For now, anytime he lashes out or bites, walk away.  Say nothing, no reaction, nothing.  If he approaches, put your fist out to him (looks like a cat's head, waiting for a head bump).  If he reacts appropriate (head bumps you), fine.  If not, walk away.

BTW whipping him won't help - it will just make him afraid and perhaps more aggressive.

 

[crossbones3129]

The only thing I can think of is that he may not be the type of cat who wants a lot of petting, so he may be attacking you because he's overstimulated.  Same with waiting for food.  He sounds like he has a strong personality.

I couldn't see how old he was, but is he old enough to be fixed?  If he isn't fixed yet, that will really calm him down, although he may never be a lap cat.

For now, anytime he lashes out or bites, walk away.  Say nothing, no reaction, nothing.  If he approaches, put your fist out to him (looks like a cat's head, waiting for a head bump).  If he reacts appropriate (head bumps you), fine.  If not, walk away.

BTW whipping him won't help - it will just make him afraid and perhaps more aggressive.

He's only about 3 months old. He does come and sit on my lap and sleep sometimes. He sleeps with me also. It's just sometimes when he's really active he does all this.

 

[ondine]

Even though he's playing, he's responding to a couple of things.  First, you are standing over him - it likely looks like you are a predator, so he's amping up his response - ATTACK!

Also, for some reason, cats see an open hand as dangerous,  Try to offer him your fist, at his level and see what happens.

But in the video, he's obviously playing - just being a little rough.  He hasn't learned yet what's too rough, so you need to teach him.  You can walk away or perhaps a short, intense hiss when he goes too far.  This is how mom or his siblings would have taught him.

He's a cutie!

 

[crossbones3129]

I'll try all that. I really hope he stops all this.

 

[crossbones3129]

This can't be playful. He bites feet hands, he'll just come attack you. It's quite annoying and my family and me as well are getting pretty annoyed by it. He also chews on anything including electrical wires. What to do?

 

[wendysue]

I watched your video and although we are not there, it's seems to me he starts out play bitting then turns to aggressive/fearful biting. I do agree, your going after him with your hand is scaring the cat. (My opinion). My suggestion is to stop engaging him and let him come to you. Pet him only once or twice, when he is by you, on your lap, feeding etc. Pet when only in your lap or on the floor with him. Don't chase him down. If my cat bites I say NO and stop all interaction. My kitten is now 5 months old and has improved. I hope this helps.

 

[tammyp]

At 3 months, he'll be teething - hence the chewing.  Provide lots of things he is allowed to chew: soft toys, get some identical wire like jewellery tubing as a substitute for the electrical wiring and put the dangerous wires away in closed areas/cupboards or purchase wire protectors (they look like coils, or you can get box ones - I have some links on my blog about this if you want to see what I mean.  It will prevent electrocution).  You can also feed some raw boney meats, like a cut up rabbit, or cut up chicken necks maybe 3 times a week.  You can also put a damp wash cloth in the fridge and give him this to chew on - the fabric is soft, the coolness will soothe the pain.  Make a chasey game with it to get him chomping.  I'm going thru late teething at the moment...

My first kitten was also a biter.  He has eased off a LOT now we have kitten number two, so if this is possible, it really works.  One thing you must not ever do is rough house with your kitten - it teaches rough is allowable.  Same with physical punishment methods - rough is allowable.  These methods also amp a cat up rather than soothing and dispelling energy and re-routing the behaviour.  With my first cat, we didn't know any better at that stage, and I swear it was a game of one-upmanship where he was GOING to win.  I also had a husband who played with his hands, sigh.  So get everyone on board with the rules...'hands are for loving, toys are for playing'.

And that leads to toys.  You will need to wear him out a couple times a day with appropriate play - wand toys are best.  Play with him till he flops, and flops, and flops for whatever flop is his final one.  And also give him play with soft toys, around his own size, so he can blow his 'kill' drive on them.  This works wonders.  You may need to start the interest by moving the toy around...he'll catch on quick.  You can then use this toy to push into his maws and paws if he gets mouthy with you.  If he does bite you, don't pull away.  It triggers the prey drive, plus this is the way YOU will tear your skin.  Just hold real still and get sad with a sad sound or a pained sound.  Don't get loud and angry.  When he lets go, turn your back.  You can also walk away if he is not too riled up - sometimes if I walked away with Kato, he was so amped he'd attack again, so it was sometimes best just to be really still, and keep turning my back.

If you do just these things, his biting will greatly reduce.  It is possible there is some fear in there as well - I know, we'd never believe it as we don't intend for that response, but cats see things differently.  I agree with letting him approach you for petting.  You can do loads of things to establish and build trust without your hands - blink you eyes slowly at him as an 'I love you'.  In cat speak, it is a cat kiss.  If he does it back, he's saying it back to you!  Get down on the floor - remember, you are the all powerful giant.  Getting down to his level is nice.  He may even come to you - let him, and resist the urge to grab him for a cuddle!  You're establishing trust; he is in complete control of how much contact.  Again, you can extend your fist (or gently closed hand - open hands are more confronting) and allow him to come for a sniff.  Avoid the urge to pat him on the head, over the head is too much in the early trust days, and may always be too much depending on your cat.  If he is happy to come and sniff your fist, the next move is to gently stroke his chest - much less confronting.  And when you finally do get to the petting, remember that every cat has their own level of what is too much and is overstimulating.  For our Kato, he was not much of a one for petting, it was too stimulating and he would bite.  He was communicating - 'too much'.  He's settled a lot, being almost 3, and with much sensitive work on our part, but he will always be a cat that doesn't love heaps of patting - and certainly never a full body stroke.  We keep to chest and chin and ears if we're lucky.  And this is not to say he is unaffectionate - he is highly affectionate, but we had to understand his terms of affection.  Nowadays he has such a good trust bond he'll ask to come inside my jumper for a sleep (but i'm not allowed to pet him, lol!)

I must also recommend the best cat blog I've come across - it will answer every q, deal with every aggravation, and give you amazing insight into cat psyche.  I picked out a few pages for you:

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/overcharged-cats/2304

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/getting-to-the-petting/22233

http://www.wayofcats.com/blog/extreme-measures/99

 

[thevegancuddler]

Sophie did this a lot as a baby. In fact, I had to sleep with my feet covered, because otherwise, she'd attack them all night.

If getting another kitten is possible, I'd HIGHLY recommend it. Kittens teach each other what is appropriate for play/interaction. At one point I had four kittens (Sophie is now an adult!), and Sophie bit less, while the other three don't at all. Plus, I'm sure he'd love the company!

As for the wire-chewing, that's normal kitten behavior, as annoying as it is. You just have to try to kitty-proof the house as much as possible, and stop it when it happens, unfortunately. I had to replace my friend's $100 Macbook charger because my kittens chewed it to hell. Sigh.

 

[santan]

Well, TammyP pretty well nut shelled it! LOL!

That would be the definitive how-to for you. I'd just print that out and stick it on your fridge!

Good luck with it!

 

[gizmos mom]

I'm going thru this with Gizmo, I noticed that after he tries biting me he also licks it, to make it well after I say "ouch...Gizmo hurt momma" in a sad voice.  He has plenty of toys that he is learning to play with. I will try the frozen washcloth trick, since he is a rescue kitten he has no social skills except what he is learning now.