Cat Suddenly Attacks And Bites

[cathvd]

I've got my cat when he was 2 months old and it's the first time for me having a kitten so i used to let him play with my hands, without knowing it was a big mistake. Soon it started to hurt a bit and became very annoying, he would suddenly jump on my legs, bite and scratch, so i have stopped ever letting him play with my hands and feet and usually try to distract him with some toys.

Now he is 4 months and grew quite large, and sometimes his attacks are very scary; during the day he is really sweet and cute with me but attacks my mother's legs when she walks or sits in the living room, while during the night, he suddenly gets crazy and attacks me when i'm laying on my bed. It's definitely not for overstimulating because it usually happens when i'm just minding my own business, i think it happens when he gets hyper active, and when he starts attacking he looks almost hypnotised, staring at my arms and legs and looking for spots to bite. I tried the walk away method where i just leave and get away from him for a couple of minutes, but then as soon as i come back he starts again. Eventually i would just cover myself entirely in the blanket so he would lose interest and play with something else.

Is there an explanation for this behavior? Is there something i can do? He behaved really good the past few weeks and never bit me but now he started again with this crazyness and i don't know what to do.

 

[nazzurai]

Playing with your hand when he was a kitten was a big mistake as you know

He is still a kitten so he has super energy and for him everything that moves is a prey

Your ankle is one of them

He's a predator so you need to distract him with toys

Get a good variety of toys and play with him

At least 10 - 15 mins

He'll soon realize to play with toys rather your legs and hand

This article has some great tips and advice
How To Get Your Cat To Stop Biting You - (8 Easy Steps You Can Follow)

Hope this helps
PS Enjoy your time with him when they're young!

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on your new kitten.

You've learned the hard way, as many have, not to use hands as toys. It's also possible that some of his behaviour is due to him being adopted out at only 8 weeks. These days the recommendation is to keep kittens with their mom and siblings till 12 weeks, so they have time to learn cat manners. Of course, that isn't always possible, so then it is up to the new cat "parent" to teach the kitten how to play nice.

Here's one article with info: Teach Your Kitten How to Play Nice : The Humane Society of the United States

Plus a couple TCS ones:
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats
Cat Aggression Toward People