Biting problem!

[smichelle88]

Hello all!
I have an 8 week old kitten. I got him when he was 6 weeks (I know, very young to be from his mother) and he's been such a wonderful kitty. The only problem is, he bites! I definitely understand that he was taken from his litter mates soon so he never learned when to stop or how hard he's biting. I've brought him toys ranging from mice, to balls and string toys that he enjoys very much! But still he ends up either biting our hands and feet. When it happens I grab a toy and try to redirect his attention to the toy and it works for a little bit but somehow he manages to always come back to my hand or arm. I've tried staying still to bore him but he still goes at it at which point I just grab him and put him somewhere else. I know he's being playful but he's starting to get a little more aggressive since he's growing up I think. Does anyone have any ideas on what else I should do?

 

[teagranny]

My kitten was about 8 weeks when she came to live with me.  She is the most playful and determined to play kitten I have ever seen.  She also wants to play with fingers whenever I tried to pet her.

By petting slowly and away from her face I am able to shall I say, not tempt her to bite.  However, she still does at times, after several attempts at just moving her face away, removing my fingers and trying again, I simply flicked her face.

It felt a bit mean because I know she just wants to play BUT she was quickly getting rough with her playing and cats can leave pretty bad scratched very quickly.

I continued to cuddle and slowly petting, quick moves seem to encourage her play reaction,  flicking any biting, now she seems to understand she is not to bite/play with my fingers.

She is so playful and disinclined to sit on my lap I was dispairing of having  'lap cat' but today,  a month and a day after she came home she 'asked' to be picked up and is now sleeping on my computer desk as I type.  Yippee!

 

[riley1]

I would never punish a kitten in anyway.  They do not understand and then don't trust you.  If your kitten bites I would have a small toy ready to put in his mouth.  Making a loud high pitched noise helps as well as putting him down and leaving.  He will quickly understand that if he bites; no more play and playing is what he wants.

I hope he is not declawed as this is one of the reasons cats bite.

Hope this helps!

 

[smichelle88]

My kitten was about 8 weeks when she came to live with me.  She is the most playful and determined to play kitten I have ever seen.  She also wants to play with fingers whenever I tried to pet her.
By petting slowly and away from her face I am able to shall I say, not tempt her to bite.  However, she still does at times, after several attempts at just moving her face away, removing my fingers and trying again, I simply flicked her face.
It felt a bit mean because I know she just wants to play BUT she was quickly getting rough with her playing and cats can leave pretty bad scratched very quickly.
I continued to cuddle and slowly petting, quick moves seem to encourage her play reaction,  flicking any biting, now she seems to understand she is not to bite/play with my fingers.

She is so playful and disinclined to sit on my lap I was dispairing of having  'lap cat' but today,  a month and a day after she came home she 'asked' to be picked up and is now sleeping on my computer desk as I type.  Yippee!

Thanks for the input! I can't imagine myself flicking him I do however yell out ouch or say no but he still continues. He's a sweetie when he's not being playful. He sleeps on my chest when he's done eating or comes purring when he wants to be pet.

I would never punish a kitten in anyway.  They do not understand and then don't trust you.  If your kitten bites I would have a small toy ready to put in his mouth.  Making a loud high pitched noise helps as well as putting him down and leaving.  He will quickly understand that if he bites; no more play and playing is what he wants.

I hope he is not declawed as this is one of the reasons cats bite.

Hope this helps!

Yes I do yell out ouch or say no. But he continues anyway the toy helps for a little bit but he comes back and I have to do it over and over again. And no he is not and will never be declawed. I'm against that. So I do have some scratches from his claws when he's pouncing around lol.

 

[southern belle]

My fur baby (15 months) was just as bad when he was younger.  He was abandoned my his mom and siblings.  I've read/heard that cats see us just REALLY big cats.  So, I acted like his mom would, I hissed at him and either froze or walked away. 

Of course, I got some bad scratches but he now knows what my hiss means.  He still bites but very gently and then licks my hand.  I guess that the instinct will never go away.

Others here have said that the first 3 months is the most critical learning stage.  The best advice has been to either adopt another kitten or find her a playmate.  A friend of mine adopted a little older shelter cat at the same time.  He would bring his cat over about 3 times a week.  My kitten learned a lot about playing fairly and safely and also doesn't seem to have a fear of unknown cats now.

 

[mservant]

It can be a fine line between redirecting to a toy and shouting no being distracting and being over stimulating and seeming either an acceptance of play or as acts of aggression to a cat.

The hissing can work well as others have said here, and if you do say something when your cat is actually hurting you it might be best to say something other than 'no' as most cats have very selective hearing with that word.  'Ouch', 'Ow', 'Agh' or similar that you only use when you are hurt, or the hiss are best and then your cat can associate and learn from this consistent response.

If you can learn to read your cat's expressions and body language so able to tell just before he comes in for the 'kill' bite it is always going to be most effective to avoid the attack.  Being big, still and firm is usually a good tactic though with a very aggressive cat removing yourself can be the only way.  Your cat sounds more playful and simply looking firm and letting him know what he's planning is not OK should start to work with practice. Being still and calm is really important.  Also true for when you don't manage to avoid.

Any movement is easily misinterpreted as play or aggression for a highly aroused and playful cat so you might be better staying very still.  If he bites push your limb or body very slightly and slowly in towards his mouth and then freeze.  As long as not breaking skin and drawing blood hold still and wait, trying to relax and be calm with him.  Say nothing other than the 'ouch' response you decide on.  Cats want a response and if they don't get it usually release quite quickly.  If he lets go remain still and let him calm down and if he repeats just keep reinforcing the still, calm, ouch routine.  If he continues several times and gets more aggressive and excited you should then move slowly to put him in another room or leave the room yourself and let him have a few minutes to calm down.  Only share space again once he is settled and not biting, but don't just leave him without checking for more than say 3 to 5 minutes as any learning and association will be lost if you do that.

There are some good articles in the Behaviour section of the site that might be worth you taking a look at:

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

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

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

You are right that he needs to learn from you that this behaviour is not OK.  If he had been able to he would have learned more about this from young siblings and his mom, and as this has not been possible it is important for him to learn from you.  Consistency and calm are really important, as is patience in my experience, but it is possible for the biting behaviour to change and the sooner you start with this the quicker it is likely to be.  My boy didn't have siblings to learn from and loved to use his teeth when I first adopted him but he learned pretty fast that it was not OK, and only does it now when he gets really over excited. 

 

[teagranny]

I have never had a cat be afraid of me and my kitten certainly  isn't. If she forgets I use a sssst noise and she remembers.  Probably forgot to mention I use the ssst along with the flick.  A flick doesn't hurt her, not nearly like her scratches hurt me.   She follows me around and asks to be picked up.  So no she is not afraid.