New Kitten Plays Too Rough With Resident

[njcatfan84]

About five months ago we got a new kitten. Our resident cat's mother had passed away six months prior and she was lonely and bored. We introduced them over a few weeks and there was no fighting so eventually we just let them be. They played some but our resident cat really just wanted to be left alone. The new kitten was tiny so a growl or a hiss from our resident let the kitten know when play was over.

Fast forward five months. Our kitten grew a tremendous amount. She is now trying to play with our resident cat and is very rough. She recently started biting. At first its playful but our resident cat does not want to play. She tries to retreat and the kitten follows her continuing to playfully pounce and bite. There have been no wounds or scratches and appears to me like the kitten is trying to play while the resident wants to be left alone. The resident is starting to defend herself and I am afraid they will end up bitter enemies while I was hoping for a friendship.

How do I stop the biting? I read a squirt bottle works but then saw Jackson Galaxy say this is not the case. Any suggestions??

Thanks.

 

[icklekins]

I've been training my kitten not to bite me. Water I do is when it starts to happen I separate myself from her and give her a toy. You should probably try the same. Scruff the biter and put her in a different room, and then give her a toy.

Eventually she should learn not to bite the other cat. Hopefully.

 

[talkingpeanut]

It's true that spraying with water isn't a good idea. It teaches your cat to be afraid of you and not to do the thing you don't want only when you're there to see.

Redirecting with other toys is your best bet. You should play vigorously with your kitten several times a day, until she is panting. Hopefully that will help with the excess energy.

 

[njcatfan84]

Thank you for your responses. I am glad I checked into before I went the spray route.

I too seperate myself from the kitten when she bites me. Its always playful, but I walk away. Both of my cats were feral early on so they run when I walk towards themm which makes it difficult to seperate them.

I was afraid of re-directing her with toys because I thought that may encourage the behavior. But it sounds like this may be the best plan.

I will also play with her more.

Thank you both, again.

 

[icklekins]

Thank you for your responses. I am glad I checked into before I went the spray route.

I too seperate myself from the kitten when she bites me. Its always playful, but I walk away. Both of my cats were feral early on so they run when I walk towards themm which makes it difficult to seperate them.

I was afraid of re-directing her with toys because I thought that may encourage the behavior. But it sounds like this may be the best plan.

I will also play with her more.

Thank you both, again.

It is important to disengage the biting as soon as it starts, and then either immediately separate or give a toy. 

Here's a great article about how to teach your kitten not to "play rough" - http://www.humanesociety.org/animals/cats/tips/kitten_play.html

Honestly, the best advice here is this bit:

Give your kitten something to wrestle with, like a soft stuffed animal that's about her size, so she can grab it with both front feet, bite it, and kick it with her back feet. This is one of the ways kittens play with each other, especially when they're young. It's also one of the ways they try to play with human feet and hands, so it's important to provide this type of alternative play target.

I have a stuffed (dog) toy about the size of my kitten, and she loves to wrestle with that thing. I have one that has been weighted in the paws and bum, and I think that gives her the feeling that it's "playing back" with her.