Cat bitting and attacking!!!

[gabbyk]

So I got my kitten at around 3 to 4 weeks old and he is now 5 months old. He has always liked to bite hands. Lately he has been going after feet and hanging on and it hurts. He does this when I wake around the house. I will be petting him and he will grab my hand and gnaw on it really hard and holds on tight with his claws. Also in bed he will be laying with me or laying on the ground being sweet then the next he tries to bite my face or he bites my hand. When he bites my face he prounces on. He goes from being really sweet to just bitjng and attacking. He is sweet only when he wants to be. I just wish he wouldn't do this. He is not neutered and will be next month.
I have tried EVERYTHING to get him to stop this behavior for about 3 months and he will not stop. Ive yelled and said no. Tried scuffing, he doesn't care, he just keeps moving and trying to bite. I've tried hissing at him. I've tried squirting him with a water bottle which I did not want to do but he does not care about it. When I squirt him he just locks himself and doesn't stop. He also tries to climb my curtian but lately I haven't seen him do it. I don't know what to do?? please help!!! Other than that he is a sweetheart.

 

[talkingpeanut]

Sorry you're going through this! It's not uncommon behavior for young cats, especially those that left their mothers and litters early.

Two questions - is he neutered? (Just saw you answered this first one. Do this ASAP! It will help!)

Do you play with him? This means not using your hands at all, but using a laser or a wand toy to really wear him out a few times a day.

 

[fhicat]

Once he is neutered, his behavior will generally improve dramatically. In the meantime, he needs lots and lots of play. We're talking at least an hour, maybe even more, a day. Kittens are play machines and they tend to be destructive when they're bored.

You may have to stop petting him for a bit while he's being playful. He thinks your hand is a toy, which we need to teach him that it's not. When he goes for your hand, immediately redirect his attention to a toy (you may want to consider carrying around a small toy with you so that you can do this immediately), such as a furry mice or a wand toy. Pet him when he's sleeping or not interested in playing (pretty hard as a kitten).

Lots of play is key here. Lots as in "tire him out until he just wants to lie down and nap".

Don't punish him by squirting water. It rarely works. Cats don't respond to physical punishment well. He either doesn't care, learns how to avoid YOU, or becomes fearful of you.

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[serenitythecat]

He might just be a hyper little dude. I'm sure that after you neuter him he will change. If he doesn't, he might be bored. Like someone said before me, play with him a lot. 

 

[ohws]

So I got my kitten at around 3 to 4 weeks old and he is now 5 months old. He has always liked to bite hands.

Your problem is that he left his mother and littermates far too early, so he is missing the discipline of his mother and is not able to normalise his behaviour by rough and tumble with his siblings. Ideally, kittens should not leave their mother until 6 to 8 weeks at the earliest and you will find that breeders of pedigrees keep them for at least 3 months. The price of having a kitten at its fluffiest is the behaviour you are experiencing. OK, this does not help you much, but it is worth stating that your problem is the downside of taking a kitten too early.

Now, how to deal with it. I agree with what FhiCat has to say, [especially about learning that your hand is not a toy] with a little bit of modification. When he goes for your hand, provided he has not bitten, use the distraction toy. But if he bites, you need to his as you have been doing. And you need to go one step further. If he does not stop immediately, you need to disengage from him completely. That means picking him up and putting him in another room for 3 to 5 minutes. He needs to learn that a bite is the end of playtime.

 

[jennyr]

Let us start with why your kitten is doing this. You got him when he was very young - 3/4 weeks, which is normally far too young to be separated from mum and siblings. He was just at the stage when social training of kittens starts and mum teaches them what is acceptable behaviour. Obviously I do not know why he came to you so young, sometimes there is no option, but you need to understand what he has missed in order to put it right.

Mum will disciplne her kittens if they use their claws during play or get too boisterous. She does this by a little bop on the nose or by picking up the naughty kitten and removing it from the fight or trouble. Kittens also will scream if they get hurt by a sibling, which teaches them what hurts and what doesn't. And at this time she is also teaching them to hunt - to chase anything that moves and to bite it to kill. Your kitten knows he should be learning but has no one to teach him the boundaries. He is treating your hands as prey, he wants to play but does not know when to stop. And he loves you and is treating you as his family, but unfortunately without the discipline that his mom would provide. He does not understand what you are doing when you shout, and certainly not when you spray him. You must replace his mom and try and learn 'cat'.

The first thing I would do is get or make some wand toys with feathers or little toys on them. Use these to play with him every day, and if he goes for your hands or face then scream and stop play at once. He will soon learn the cause and effect. If you have a large cat carrier or a cage then use it give him 'time'out'. If he goes for toes or legs, scream (at once, so he realises the cause and effect), scruff him and put him in the carrier for ten miniutes. Longer than this will have no effect - all action on your part must be immediate. Then let him out and continue to play with the wand toy, even if only for a few minutes. Some people might say give him a little tap on the nose, but I would be very wary of this. You would not be able to use the same pressure as a mother cat, and if you hurt him he will simply learn to fear you, and you do not want that. Also, it is unlikely that you would do it fast enough for him to connect it with his bad behaviour, so in the end it would have no effect.

Provide him with lots of prey toys, furry mice, crinkly balls, experiment to see what he likes. Often kittens quickly show a preference for one kind of toy over another. Make sure they are small enough for him to carry in his mouth. Throw them for him to chase - he may even play 'fetch' - lots of cats do. I had a kitten recently who loved the little woolly pompoms that you sew on hats or costumes - she quickly learnt that they were kept in my sewing box and would knock it off my table to get at her 'toy'. She would carry them around for hours and throw them into the air. But some kittens love crinkly balls, bottle tops, or feathered toys.

Do not tolerate anything he does that hurts you. NEVER let him play with your fingers and discourage anyone else from doing so. When you are playing with him always pretend you are a kitten and act accordingly. He will learn what is correct. Remember that you are teaching him manners, but also he has an instinct to hunt, and you must always allow for that. So give him plenty of opportunity to express his catliness on his own with toys, but show him that if you are involved in play then claws and teeth will not be tolerated. To do this you must think yourself into his world - he is not yet able to understand yours.

 

[gabbyk]

MOD NOTE:  This has been moved from another thread and so there is duplication of information.

I have had my cat since he was 4 weeks old. I found him during the winter under my car and kept him. He has always tried to play with hands and feet. I tried to stop him but he never would stop. Now that he is older it has gotten worse. He is 8 months old. I have posted on here about this before but I cant get him to stop. He bites my hand out of no where and he bites hard! Also sometimes he will lick me and then out of no where just bite me! It hurts too. When he bites my hand I try to grab him by the scruff but he just clenches harder. I also tried pushing my hand towards him when he bites but he also just bites harder. He also goes after my feet. When he does this he curls up into a ball on my foot using his teeth and claws.
He is a sweetheart when he isn't bitting but he seems to bite a lot.

I have tried everything! This weekend I was babysitting and the little girl was using his wand toy and I saw his staring at her foot and he bit it and clawed her and drew blood. I took him off of her but he just tore my arm up too. I'm not sure why he does this but it's starting to really bother me because I never know when he's going to do it.

Someone please help):

He also hates other animals. I took in 5 kittens for a night to foster them and my cat wouldn't let me go near him. He would hiss and swat at me. My step sister also brought her cat over when he was a little younger and he turned into a different cat. I couldn't touch him at all. He would hiss at me and swat at me. It was terrible. I was scared to even touch him. I ended up locking him in a room because he was trying to go after the other cat very aggressively and the other cat was as sweet as could be.

I also took him when he was a kitten to my boyfriends. They have a dog who is very calm. My cat was okay around the dog until out of no where she jumped on his back and bit him. He is very aggressive around other animals and I'm not sure why. I wanted to get another kitten to play with him and maybe for his bitting but I don't think this would be a good idea either.

 

[mani]

H @gabbyk and sorry to see this is still happening.  Did you take him to be neutered?  If so, how did that go?

Jenny's previous advice and that of others is really good.. Nothing worked?

It's not a good idea to throw other cats/dogs/places into the mix as cats are very territorial and it will only exacerbate the situation, unfortunately.

 

[imocharl]

How can i teach my cat to stop bitting me he is one year old and he is a balineze

 

[talkingpeanut]

How can i teach my cat to stop bitting me he is one year old and he is a balineze

Hello. How much and how do you play with him? Is he neutered?

 

[imocharl]

I play with him when he gets bored

 

[pgalore]

When he bites or grabs on with claws, I know it is hard not to react cuz it hurts, but try not to pull away. If they get no reaction, it's not a game anymore, or at least not a fun game. Unfortunately, raising a small kitten without siblings, they have a tendency to play very rough. The sibling will cry out if they are biting too hard. You can try crying out like a kitten to startle him, but it may be too late for that,  would have worked better as small kitten. When I fostered single kittens, I would use a stuffed animal for them to claw and bite, you never want to use your hands. I have found that bad behavior in my house is instantly stopped with canned air. They HATE the sound of it. I used it at the front and back door to keep them away from my doors. NOBODY gets near the doors when they are open now! Also, all I have to do now, is pick up the can and everybody scatters! Nobody knows who is in trouble, but whoever it is stops, along with everyone else. NEVER point it at the cat, the noise alone will snap them out of whatever they are focused on. I'm no pro, but this has been working for me for years! Good luck! Last resort-kitty prozac!

 

[talkingpeanut]

I play with him when he gets bored

Playing with him when he is bored may not be enough. He needs at least 2 20-30 minute play sessions per day with super active play, like chasing a wand toy.

Is he neutered?

 

[imocharl]

I will try that and he is neutered