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  #1  
Old August 29th, 2001, 10:07 PM
Lauren Lauren is offline
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How to stop our kitten from biting

We are first time cat owners. Our kitten is 13 weeks and is very good most of the time, our only problem is his biting. He'll be playing nicely, start getting a little rough by nipping at us then he will sit back, look at us and attack our hands and start chewing. He would usually stop if we were to say "be nice" or "no biting" but now that doesn't seem to work anymore. Is this a theething stage he'll grow out of? Is there anything we can do to get him to stop attacking and biting? He has never attacked our face, just our hands, arms and feet. If anyone has any sugestions, please send them my way.
Lauren
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  #2  
Old September 13th, 2001, 05:27 PM
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Hi Lauren,

May I suggest that every time your kitten bites your hands to give it a cat toy to divert it's attention to the toy and not your hands. We should "not ever" play with a kitten with our hands or feet. Try not to make quick movements with either your hands or toes as this can cause your kitten to bite you.

Good luck,
Nancy Kitching

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  #3  
Old March 20th, 2002, 11:10 PM
Melissa F Melissa F is offline
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How to stop my kitten biting

I have a 10 week old kitten who does the same thing. We are always try to distract him from playing with our hands by giving him other toys, but he never gives up! I read that biting can be caused from the kitten being seperated from its mother too young, does anyone know if this is true? My kitten was 8 weeks old when we bought him.
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Old April 11th, 2002, 05:19 PM
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michele carey michele carey is offline
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Unhappy cat biting

i have 3 cats the youngest is 4 (april 29th) and still bites.

as for only biting if taken from mother too early, the"beast" as i like to lovingly call her was hand reared by me!

she attacks me all the time.
my mom is friend but me hates me, i saved her life her mother got sick and could not feed her so i sat up for 3 weeks and did the job (all aspects on raising a 3 week old cat)

she is getting better but have been told that if i had been firmer with her she would not be quite so wild (i was also told that hand reared kittens would be more calm)

keep trying the toy thing never give up!!!!!!!
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Old October 24th, 2003, 10:43 PM
stardust_maiden stardust_maiden is offline
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I'm there too...

My kitten, Jinx is like, 10wks old and we've had him since he was 7wks.

We've gotten him toys and stuff but he bites and even when I try to just pet him he tries to bite.

I know he's still a baby but even when I give him toys he gets rough.

Help!
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  #6  
Old October 25th, 2003, 12:05 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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Kittens bite and attack anything that moves. They are predators who are practicing stalking, pouncing and attacking. It will get better! It has nothing to do with being taken away from mom too early - it's just instinct.
Agree with N.Kitching - never ever play with your kitten with your hands.

Use toys on strings, like a Kitty Tease, or other toys that keep your hands away from the kitten's teeth and claws.

If the kitten bites you, don't yank your hand away or wave it around - he will think it's an invitation to play. Stop moving your hand and give a sharp "UH UH!!" The instant the kitten lets go, toss him a toy or distract him with string,etc.

If he doesn't let go, gently blow in his face. Do not punish a kitten for these attacks - he won't understand and it will either make him fear you, or make him aggressive.
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Old December 5th, 2003, 02:12 PM
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Lucky Rescue.I have a 3 month old kitten we adopted.We don't play with him with our hands.He has tons of toys.And the one on the stick.But he still bites us like crazy.And man it hurts.We can't give him a stern NO cause he's deaf.We give him a light blow on his face and that pisses him off even more.When he starts to bite us we quickly give him his toy.He plays with that for a bit.Then comes to bite us.Heck he will even come and attack us if we are sitting down.He does have a gentle and loving side to him.And we praise him for that.As the vet said.He even attacks our feet.He loves water so the squirt bottle is out of the question.Heck he jumps in the shower when your having one.
I have even given him a time out in the room.As the vet suggested.But nothing.Any suggestions?
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Old June 4th, 2004, 02:07 PM
Sharkieismydawg Sharkieismydawg is offline
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Though this does sound cruel it may work

I have a 10 wk old kitten and unfortunately he bites all the time and even scratches and bites my face... After a little searching on the Internet i found an article on a website that says if you push down on their tounge after they bite you, it will help them get the point that you will bite back. So far it has worked he bites me less and less.
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Old June 4th, 2004, 02:32 PM
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Are you serious or making that up? I have never heard that before, what website?
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  #10  
Old June 4th, 2004, 02:50 PM
djeffer djeffer is offline
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I am currently trying to stop my 1 year old cat from biteing me after playing with her with my hand and getting some very nasty bites. I know how hard a cat can bite and would not want to put my hand anywhere near her mouth or tongue after she bites me. Not really sure how pushing on her tongue down would work......Sounds a bit cruel really.
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Old June 4th, 2004, 07:15 PM
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Interesting, Never heard of pushing down on the tongue??????? Really????? what website ????

How is this done ?......the cat bites and what......you open its mouth to insert finger and push on the tongue??????

I'd have to say .....HOGWASH to that I only have 8 cats so what do I know? I have always found a stern voice to stop the biting worked , but be sure that the whole household goes by the same rule!!!!!
You can't have one person teaching it then another playing with no concerns of biting, the cat gets confused and doesn't learn properly, this all takes time it is not a learned overnight behavoir.
Good luck

Strange thing though alot of first time posters with the same question......lmao

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  #12  
Old September 25th, 2006, 11:44 AM
2tango 2tango is offline
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Thumbs up Tongue pushing works!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharkieismydawg
I have a 10 wk old kitten and unfortunately he bites all the time and even scratches and bites my face... After a little searching on the Internet i found an article on a website that says if you push down on their tounge after they bite you, it will help them get the point that you will bite back. So far it has worked he bites me less and less.
In response to your post, it does work! I work in a dentist office so I didn't mind trying it. When the kitten is biting you hand just stick your finger in his mouth and push down on his tongue. He doesn't like it, he ususally jumps down and wonders why that happened. He will try again, but less and less because he is getting a negative response....Thanks so much for your advice.
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  #13  
Old September 25th, 2006, 08:44 PM
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I have a couple of kitty hand puppets that I play with my kitten with like her brothers and sisters....she can go to town, kicking and chewing and grabbing and it is completely disasociated from my hands.....
We have never had a problem with any of our 3 cats biting......they all started with hand puppets and were never played with our ankles, feet or hands......

Nessa is now 6 months old and extremely loving and when she wants to play rough, out come the puppets.........the dog's noses work well too...lol
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  #14  
Old November 15th, 2006, 11:39 AM
rainydayjazz rainydayjazz is offline
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I've grown up with cats, and many of them we've either obtained as kittens, or were birthed on our property. Actually... there has only been one (a stray. barn cat probably) that we took in as a fully mature feline.

I'm now living in a city apartment (versus a country home) and we got a kitten about a month (maybe a little over) ago. Out of the dozen+ cats I've lived with throughout my life, I've never had one as badly behaved as him. He uses the litter box fine, but he is hyper active, and will pounce on anything, whether it's stationary or mobile, sedentary or provoking. For example, he'll violently attack the underside of our coffee table or the broken drawer nob on the side of it, or he'll be sitting on my desk and he'll pounce on and start gnawing on my hands.

Also, he won't learn that things are bad. Like climbing up our legs, climbing up the table cloth to get on the counter or eating our hands/faces. We've tried water, clapping, nose taps, "psssts!"and persistant removal of him from said legs/counter/etc, but he continues on. my roommate apparently sprayed water at him, and he just looked at her then proceeded to lap up the water droplets on the counter. wtf?

Is this kitten just overly obnoxious or are we actually doing something wrong? I've never had a strictly indoor cat, so I don't know if it's the lack of an outdoor environment that doesn't allow for him to have an outlet for energy. He's got some jingle balls and a plethora of paper wads and pens to play with... and we do play with him. I play with him the same way I do with our cats at home --- either by rubbing his belly (thus resulting in a hand attack) or with strings. The only problem with that, is that he attacks our stationary hands and toes, too, where my home-cats do not and never did - it was always when provoked.
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Old March 19th, 2012, 07:44 PM
2tuxedos 2tuxedos is offline
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Smile

Quote:
Originally Posted by Sharkieismydawg View Post
I have a 10 wk old kitten and unfortunately he bites all the time and even scratches and bites my face... After a little searching on the Internet i found an article on a website that says if you push down on their tounge after they bite you, it will help them get the point that you will bite back. So far it has worked he bites me less and less.
Dear Sharkieismydawg, I have a 3 month old rescue kitten who would bite my hands, legs and feet constantly! I was desperate today to find an answer on how to stop it so I went online and found your post about pushing down on the tongue. I tried it and it worked!!! My kitten has not bitten me all day. I only had to do it 3 times and after that, Mittens remembered I am so happy you shared that.
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Old May 20th, 2012, 12:48 AM
danilove danilove is offline
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i have two cats. one is about 3 months old. I recently found another about 4 weeks old. Micha is a really sweet kitten, but whenever stray gets around her, she hisses and tries to bite her. i've tried the tips on this site and they work really well. Is there anything i can do to stop micha from hurting stray?
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  #17  
Old May 30th, 2006, 01:47 AM
Kupotek Kupotek is offline
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Here's a few things that work very well for us and our 8 week old kitten, Jupiter.

1. Blow lightly on the kitten's face, it will stop biting immediately.. they get a cute, confused look on their face too.

2. Replace the focus of attention with a cat toy, this usually works every time.

3. Take a light washcloth and gently swipe the kitten, this works very well too.

I find using spray bottles only scares the kitten and can make them fear you and not grow mentally stable as cats, so stay away from severe treatments or punishments!

Above all, your kitten doesn't understand you're not playing, they're too young, they're your babies, try to be patient!

Look at his first pictures, finally online isn't he adorable See Jupiter in all his kitty glory

:love:
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Old May 30th, 2006, 01:57 AM
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mafiaprincess mafiaprincess is offline
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This thread is nearly a year old..

I doubt the OP needs the advice now..
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  #19  
Old May 30th, 2006, 03:22 AM
Kupotek Kupotek is offline
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But the subject never gets old, more kittens are born biting every day
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  #20  
Old May 30th, 2006, 11:04 AM
Prin Prin is offline
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I'm sure there are newer threads on the same subject though...
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  #21  
Old May 30th, 2006, 07:37 PM
snipez snipez is offline
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thats all I do with lil COOKIEZ

fight fight fight

and then she bites, bites, bites

she loves it

and she bites hard....but why do people see this as a problem

I provoke her she bites me, its great,, it makes her happy
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Old January 29th, 2007, 05:48 AM
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anjelle anjelle is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mafiaprincess View Post
This thread is nearly a year old..

I doubt the OP needs the advice now..

This is my first post on this site, as I just found this thread about 10 minutes ago. Even though this thread was originally started close to 5 1/2 years ago I am thankful people kept posting and I plan to post again after a week or two of trying different advise on how to get my 4 month old to stop biting.
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  #23  
Old August 5th, 2007, 10:35 PM
lindamichelle05 lindamichelle05 is offline
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Question Help me!

Hi,
I have an 8 week old kitten yet it seems that he is biting more and more. I know this is out of play yet I do not want him to bite friends and so on when they come over. He has already did it to my neighbour when only play biting he claimed it hurt. I have tried alot of ways to get him to stop and rescreached it all yet he does not response to them. I will be cleaning my dishes not even paying attention when he attacks my legs. When I am watching tv he has gotten into the habbit of crawling up my back and that hurts. It seems that he will never clam down and I am doomed to the sctarth marks that I have all over my body. I know what spots not to touch he hates his belly and ears being touched. So i avoid those and try to destract him with a toy does not work.
I know he trains will because he already knows to give paw and bag for a treat (He will get up and swap at the treat in the air. My other cat he use to do that).
I love Charlie he is a joy to have yet between sleeping he is always hyper. He has also started this on my mom who comes to visit. He use to cuddle in with her and now he will not do that. Yet he will get up on my lap and fall asleep purring. Also he is in habbit of chewing on my lap top cords. Ones that would make me broke to replace. I am trying and stressed at max end about how to stop him from doing this. I have taped up the cords yet he just loves that part of my apt. I do not know what to do it seems that what I do is not working help. He likes humans more then all the toys he has. When he even sees my hand (Almost all the time not moving) he is does his attacking retine which is actully so cute to watch.
I know that I will not allow him to bite and he has learned other stuff fast why not this?.
::{{Crystal}}::
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  #24  
Old August 6th, 2007, 12:37 AM
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This is normal kitten behaviour. Kittens don't hang about like a mature cat does, they have an overwhelming need to play. You have to continually re-direct his behaviour with toys that put you at arm's length from his claws. Anything on a stick, screwed up balls of paper or crinkly balls thrown in the air for him to catch, laser tag, you just have to wear him out with regular play. Hand these toys to your visitors as well.

Isn't there some kind of plastic tubing you can get to cover electric cords? These are particularly dangerous (and as you say, expensive to replace). You will just have to kitten-proof your living space. Put anything that might be risky out of reach or even in a drawer. Make sure he can't get at elastic bands, short pieces of string, twist ties, etc.

A kitten this young can only amuse himself for so long without getting into trouble, like a small child. If he attacks you, withdraw your attention immediately and give him a time out. As he gets older, his little brain will start to make the connection between behaviour that gets him good things (more play) and bad things (being ignored). Patience is the key.
When he climbs you, yell loudly enough to really shock him and put him back down on the floor or even in another room.
Try not to respond aggressively, it will only set things back.

Maybe the mods could make this into a new thread, biting kittens is a recurrent theme.
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Old August 6th, 2007, 07:01 AM
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A kitten,is a kitten,is a kitten,I would suggest another little kitten to keep him company
Double the fun..and they will chew on each other rather than your feet.
Anything dangling,cords etc..is a toy to him,is not only expensive to replace,but can also be a killer to kittens.
Like Badger says,this behaviour will change as he gets older,at 8 weeks,he is just a little furball of play.
Discouraging him from climbing your back or legs by putting him down,no yelling or hitting,will eventually make him understand.
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Old August 6th, 2007, 11:00 AM
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My vet suggested a quick hiss to let them know you don't like what they are doing.... it's their language and funny enough they do understand.
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Old August 8th, 2007, 06:31 PM
lindamichelle05 lindamichelle05 is offline
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Thanks

Thanks all my cords is up and away yet he likes to climb my computer desk and attack them. I have heard of plastic tubing and I am looking into that problay at wal mart. I play with him alot and he goes like crazy to the ball he loves my other cat that I use to have ball. It does keep him away from the computer until he gets it under the stove and the look is to cute "Hey where did it go?". I will have to get more toys because my guest coming love cats and will give him alot of attention. I know he will grow out of it. I like him the way he is so playful and fun to watch.
I hate to say I am only allowed one cat where I live so my neighbour is great coming over and keeping him company. I am happy for Charlie he is a blessing and I love that kitten and the cords did worry b/c I know they are not good for him to chew.
I will try yea all suggested thanks.
.::Crystal::.
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  #28  
Old October 9th, 2007, 11:00 PM
dolphbox dolphbox is offline
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I got a stray kitten around 8 week old which i save.

She got a nasty attitude, even the vet quote, "she got an attitude."

She will jump bite at our hands and leg. will even rabbit with her hind leg. all the craws will display. it hurts badly.

The worst thing is she dun even allow us to pet her on her back or head., when we touch her, she will just turn back her head to bite. I suppose all cats like to begin stroke on them? or am i wrong

Is it normal? cos i am a first time cat owner. i am lost at what to do with the kitten, if it continue, my parent got to sent it outside in the street again, cos she keep attacking them.

need advice badly.
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  #29  
Old October 10th, 2007, 08:25 AM
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Love4himies Love4himies is offline
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Because your kitten was a stray, she is not used to human touching and is just scared right now, not the kitten's fault at all. She will need lots of love calm, soothing talk and cuddles. This is best done when the kitten is tired and ready for sleep. She is like a baby who needs to be taught in gentle ways. Kittens like to be warm, I find holding the kitten with both hands close to my chest so their bodies are enclosed by my hands and only their heads sticking out, seems to calm them and put them to sleep.

Do not use your hands for play with the kitten, use only kitten safe toys. If she goes after your hands, a firm no and redirect her to her toys. Do not hit the kitten, this will only teach her to fear you.

To gain her trust try putting cat food on your fingers and allow her to walk up to your hands and lick it off. If you can, give her a gentle pat and talk to her soothingly. Be aware, if she is really hungry, she may accidentally bite you trying to eat the food quickly, they are still learning coordination.

Good luck.
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  #30  
Old April 29th, 2008, 04:07 AM
spuddawg02 spuddawg02 is offline
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oops

my kitten kept biting me too, mostly it was just when i played with him though.
so i flicked his forehead like i would flick a coin to get it spinning on a table every time he bit me, just to show him who was boss... that is until i knocked the little guy unconscious...
just kidding people... so don't freak out all you animal lovers.
really though, a firm sounding "no biting" was the best way to stop him from his playful attack. obviously, i took my hand away from his face after i made sure he stopped bitting to prevent any further damage. to be honest, i think the combination of my forceful sounding voice, and the backing away from him (ending playtime), led him to understand that when he bit me, that would be the end of the fun. he clearly thought that sucked, so slowly but surely he began to fight his desire to chomp on my digits when we roughhoused.
i mean really? i'm no vet, but dude kittens play... biting, pouncing, and clawing is their way of playing (which, according to the folks at the discovery channel, in the wild gets them ready for hunting down their own grub later in life). if you can't handle that, you can't handle parenting a kitten. that's my opinion anyway.
my adderall has lead me to ramble. i apologize if you're still reading this.
oh, and by the way, flicking your kitten in the head is NOT a way to handle the biting issue. i really was kidding. i'm not kidding.
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