Kitten won't stop biting!

[Sussch]

Our 4 month old kitten bites everything including me. I've tried verbal correction ("NO!"), light taps on the nose, and even holding him down on the floor until he calms down. After I do this I'll pet him a bit so he won't be a bitter cat. It doesn't seem to be working. He is friendly and purrs all the time, but has been a little terror lately. I'll be petting him and he seems to be enjoying it, when suddenly,he will lunge at my arm and knaw on it. These episodes are short lived but he is quite insistant that I'm a chew toy - seems like I'm a sibling and he views it as normal play. He doesn't show nearly as much aggression with my husband, which is strange because when we first brought him home he was in my lap constantly and was such a "Momma's boy". Any suggestions? I understand cats very well but this is the first kitten I've raised -- perhaps he'll grow out of it? I've heard a lot of people say that it's a phase and once they get past 6 months they'll calm down. In the meantime, ouch! Those teeth are sharp!

[Lucky Rescue]

4 month old kittens are terrors. It's what they do and males are worse than females in general. Tapping him on the nose and holding him down will not work. No punishment for cats. They do not respond to it as dogs do and will often retaliate with all their force, or will fear you.

The best thing you could possibly do is get another 4 month old kitten for him to play with. Kittens should always have playmates, especially when you think that their most active time is at night when you're sleeping and they have nothing to do and no one to play with.

Two are actually easier than one.

If you don't want to get another kitty, then when your kitten bites you, freeze. Do not pull away or do anything punitive. Don't move a muscle, and just say "AH AH!". When he lets go, you can continue playing.

[Sussch]

Thank you - I have been leaning toward this... cats are not like dogs at all and I don't want him to fear us. We'll give it a try...in fact getting another kitten would be fun and taking care of two is just as easy I'm sure.

[Lucky Rescue]

in fact getting another kitten would be fun and taking care of two is just as easy I'm sure.

Oh that's great! Not only are they hilarious to watch together, but you can let them beat the crap out of each other and leave your arms alone.

Another young male would be perfect!

[cindyann]

Typical 4 month old behavior. The best thing to do is as soon as the kitten starts his rough playing biting you. Leave get away from him. This enforces that its not Ok to bite his human.

[sjb]

Our kitten (now 5 months) has bitten since 9 weeks when we had him.We enjoy playing with him and don't mind him biting a little. I'm just a little worried that we may be allowing something that could get out of hand.
We live in the country and he needs to be a little aggressive but i don't want a totally unmanageable cat.Should i discontinue our rough play with Chuckles or allow him (and us) to enjoy his youth?

[jessi76]

Originally Posted by sjb

Should i discontinue our rough play with Chuckles or allow him (and us) to enjoy his youth?

don't play w/ your hands w/ the kitten. ALWAYS use a toy. If kitty latches on to your hand/arm, like was stated, FREEZE, but then dangle a toy to redirect the play.

you should definately encourage play - but with the use of kitty toys.

[jawert1]

Also to consider, if you haven't already, is getting him neutered immediately (or when he hits 5lbs, whichever comes first). That too will decrease the aggression drive, but like everyone else has already stated, a second playmate will also help this.

[chico2]

I always recommend another kitten,I have never had just one cat.
They are fun to watch and are never lonely,the awwww factor when they get cute together is awesome.
I have 3 cats,but I believe 2 is a must

[CyberKitten]

Agree with all that has been said!! NEVER hit a cat - it just makes them fear you, even just a tap on the nose. They do not associate it with the behaviour you are tryuing to correct so not only is it useless, it hurts and affects your bind with the little guy. Kittens bite- they are babies and it is what they do (among other things we'd rather they did not but I can recall YY at 4 mos - and many other cats too numerous to mention) - and I woud either hiss like their feline mama when YY wanted to nip my fingers - and I never ever plaued wuth my hands with her in that way. (Never let a cat think it is OK to bite or to play with your hands with their teeth, they think it is OK). I hissed or yelled loudly NO (tho my friends and family tell me a loud no from me is not that loud, lol) and ignored her, In no time, she'd figured it out. Cats are vert smart aznd they learn best by positive reinforcemnent if one must use bahviour mod (It works better with dogs - cats are smarter, more complex <Ducking from the dog ppl - of which I have been in the past and love my family member dogs but they to be serious, they just are different species and learn differently.) But I do not care for negatiove reinbfrocement for dogs either - positive training (even tho I hate the word training), is the best way to go.

Good luck!! Are we going to see picts of the new baby?

[KarenS.]

I have the same type of cat, who was always biting me. If she wasn't chasing me and biting the backs of my legs, she was staring at my forearms and pouncing and wraping 4 paws around my arm and chewing very aggresively. CONSISTENTLY I always said OUCH very loud and walked away. She eventually got the message that it hurt me. Well, she is now 2 1/2 and she will sometimes (rarely) still try to gnaw on my arm. If I say OUCH she will look at me, give me the "I'm sorry" look and let go of my arm and literally walk away (just as I did). They are just playing but they have to be taught not to bite. I learned to take note of her eyes - if they change the slightest, shoo the cat away immediately - don't wait until she wraps. I used to watch for the dark black eyes - they were usually trouble for me. Another good sign is to watch the ears - if they tuck back to the sides of her head, that was also trouble. I also cured the biting of my legs by turning around and saying to her "I can see you, now stop it". If I turned around every 5 steps or so, she couldn't get to me. She didn't seem to want to bite my legs if I was looking.

I am not a cat expert by any means, these are just my personal opinions.

Good luck! And buy Polysporin

[rainbow]

I always recommend another kitten,I have never had just one cat.
They are fun to watch and are never lonely,the awwww factor when they get cute together is awesome I have 3 cats,but I believe 2 is a must

I agree!!!

I`ve always had two (or more) cats. They are so much fun to watch especially when they`re little.