Lucy,

I have two male cats who will be a year old in May and they do the same
things you stated. I'm hoping they will grow out of it, too.  It takes so
much patience. Just hang in there. I try to play with mine throughout the
day and have bought different toys for them to play with also, the most
recent purchase being a cat tree. I can't offer much advice since I have
never owned cats before. I'm just hoping that as they grow older they will
"settle down" more. The whole family loves them, though and gets a kick out
of playing with them. I think it's just a stage they go through. Mine used
to climb the curtains late at night and destroyed them and someone in this
newsgroup suggested the vertical blinds which do make a huge difference.
They also chase each other all around the house while we are trying to
sleep! We decided to get a stand up fan in our room to "block out" the noise
they make...lol...I tried the water bottle as you have, and squirt them when
they are on the kitchen counters and at 6 am when they want us to all wake
up, but not too often. I find they listen better when I clap my hands. They
immediately stop and calm down. This is just a suggestion, but have you
thought about getting another kitty for him to play with during the day? My
kitties freak out when they are apart. If they can't find each other they
meow like there is no tomorrow. My kitties are brothers and I couldn't adopt
one without adopting the other. I'm so glad that I did because they love to
rough house together and sleep together, they share their food bowl and
litterbox with no problem. Just a suggestion.

Christina

Is he any only cat?  He may miss having other cats around and some of
the play biting may be because he doesn't have that outlet any more.
I've never been a great cat trainer so I'll leave that to others but if
you have him on his own and depending on your situation if you ever
intend to have two cats now might be a good time for him.  Just make
sure that if you do get him a playmate its of about the same age so they
are an even match.

Hi,

I recently brought a kitten about 3 weeks ago from a shelter that was dumped
in a box outside one of their opshops.  He is now 19 weeks old and heaps of
fun.  I have had cats before and I know what they can be like but it's been
awhile since I've had a kitten.

My problem is I know when they're young that's the best time to 'mold' them
into some good behaviour. Although I totally! expect him to be playful, he
runs around the house at miles an hour, springs of things and has plently of
toys and a huge cat post/scratch tree to play on also.  However he is a
sweet little boy and very affectionate and he is a handful but I was
prepared for that.  His bad habits are he trys to climb the curtains, climbs
up the wire screen doors and windows, occasionally grabs your legs as you
walk past and attacks them and he *sometimes* but very often when you pat
him bites over and over and starts to scratch more in play than being
aggressive but it still hurts and I want to break this habit the most.  I
don't mind him playing he's a kitten! that's what they do but I'd hate for
him to grow and be biting and scratching at people who pat him.  Othertimes
he very well behaved and I have brought a squirt bottle to squirt him when
he misbehaves in that way or I say no really loudly or clap my hands
together cos I know they don't like loud noises. This seems to work for the
actual moment he does it but I spend nearly all day with him and for 3 weeks
now repeating these when he misbehaves hasn't REALLY had that mush of an
affect. Any ideas? Or will he just grow out of it?  I'm not really sure..
however though he is a great little addition to my household and I'm glad he
is here. :-)

Any ideas for this frisky little boy would be great though! hehe
thanks
Carly

When he bites or scratches, say "no", "ouch" and put him down immediately.
If he is persistent you may try giving him a time-out in another room. The
time-out should work for the ankle biting if saying "ouch" doesn't do it.

We did this with Boots (now 6 mo. old) and he has stopped biting and
scratching people. My Tigger insists on "cleaning" my hands. Occasionally
she will start gnawing on a finger. All I need do is say "ouch" and she
stops the gnawing.

Kittens do need to run off a little steam (wellllll actually A LOT of
steam). As OP have said, another kitten might help. You might also try
playing with him with a laser light or one of those feather on a stick type
toys. This can tire him out so that he leaves other things alone.

W

Don't let this play biting go on, Carly. We did and now ours
frequently lashes out at the wife when he doesn't get what he wants.
Stop it early. In your case, I would recommend the use a squirt gun.
Cats never respond as desired to most feminine styles of discipline.

                                IBen Getiner