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Cat Forum / General Topics / June 2004HELP-Kitten Biting Anything & Everything!!!
My kitten is about months old and she bites constantly... She bites people, furniture, destroys clothing, carpet and bed sheets, and anything else that she sees. The vet says that she could be acting out because of something that is stressing her out, but there are no other pets here, nor children or anything else that should be aggrevating her. She has tons of toys and scratch posts, which she also scratches and uses, and she also curls up in my lap and purrs on occassion, so I have a hard time believing that is that stressed and acting out. Even when she is being playful tough, you cant even touch her without her trying to bite you. I have tried a spray bottle, a firm NO, and even smacking a rolledup newspaper next to her when she is doing it, but it still continues. I need help! I don't want to get rid of my kitty but I can't keep her if she is going to destory my house and everything in it while drawing blood from every guest that walks in the door. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! > My kitten is about months old and she bites constantly... She bites > people, furniture, destroys clothing, carpet and bed sheets, and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > it while drawing blood from every guest that walks in the door. Any > suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! How old is the kitten? She could be teething. Try giving her some doggy chew sticks. Is it possible to ignore her when she bites you? Camilla > > My kitten is about months old and she bites constantly... She bites > > people, furniture, destroys clothing, carpet and bed sheets, and [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > chew sticks. Is it possible to ignore her when she bites you? > Camilla What ws said on the Simpsons when they gave Stampy to the reserve. Some people as well as animals are born a.sholes? I think that's not a direct quote but anyway.. sometimes animals are just mean sometimes. Tina  Signature----------- Just when I manage to convince myself I'm a superior being, I walk into a door... Thanks to everyone who responded so far. To answer your questions, the kitten is about 3 months old. I dont think it is teething because she likes to claw when she bites as well. As for ignoring her, that doesn't work. She chases you down when you walk anbd will attack your feet or your ankles, and at times she will even jump through the air and atach herself to your pant leg, take a quick nip and jump off and run away. I am beginning to think that maybe she is just crazy and there is no hope. hehe If anyone coudl suggest anything else though, I am more that open to listen to suggestions. :-) >> My kitten is about months old and she bites constantly... She bites >> people, furniture, destroys clothing, carpet and bed sheets, and [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] >chew sticks. Is it possible to ignore her when she bites you? >Camilla >Thanks to everyone who responded so far. To answer your questions, the >kitten is about 3 months old. I dont think it is teething because she [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] >>chew sticks. Is it possible to ignore her when she bites you? >>Camilla The problem is: You have a kitten! Suggestion: Leave some spray bottles filled with water around the house and when she attacks you, give her a spray right in the face if you can. It doesn't hurt her, but usually lets the cat know you don't like what she is doing. Try it. > As for ignoring her, that >doesn't work. She chases you down when you walk anbd will attack your >feet or your ankles, and at times she will even jump through the air >and atach herself to your pant leg, take a quick nip and jump off and >run away. Kittens do that when they want to play with you. Try to have scheduled play sessions with your kitten. There are wand toys designed for this purpose. As Jess suggested, don't play with her directly using your hand, else she will think of your hand as a cat toy. My kittens used to bite my hands. After a few months of redirecting her behavior (stop petting her when she bites, play with her using a wand toy, give her a cat pillow for biting and clawing, etc.) she has pretty much stop. You shouldn't punish your cat for biting; you just need to show her that there are better altenatives. Dik > Thanks to everyone who responded so far. To answer your questions, the > kitten is about 3 months old. I dont think it is teething because she [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > am more that open to listen to suggestions. :-) > Was she the only kitten in the litter? Has she been socialised with people from a very early age?How old was she when she moved in with you? It could sound as though she is bored. It is normal for kittens to play and fight with each other. I think she is using you for this, while lacking another kitten. When kittens play and get too rough, one will scream loudly in a high pitch - this is "STOP you are hurting me" in cat language. I often use this method when teaching my kittens that I am not a scratching pole, nor am I a biting toy - with some patience it works. You must scream *every time* you feel those teeth. Camilla > Thanks to everyone who responded so far. To answer your questions, the > kitten is about 3 months old. I dont think it is teething because she [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > there is no hope. hehe If anyone coudl suggest anything else though, I > am more that open to listen to suggestions. :-) As everyone else has mentioned this is normal kitten behavior and she will continue this until she learns proper play etiquette. I agree with both the scream and the redirect. Works with puppies biting too. Just yell ow and substitute a toy. For the kitten I suggest a small stuffed animal type toy that she can actually wrestle with. Should be large enough for her to wrap herself around but not so large as to scare her. Helps to rub a bit of cat nip on it. AG It sounds as though she may be 'not quite right upstairs' - it happens with all higher mammals. You should choose what you want to do about it while she's still young. > Thanks to everyone who responded so far. To answer your questions, the > kitten is about 3 months old. I dont think it is teething because she [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > >chew sticks. Is it possible to ignore her when she bites you? > >Camilla circa Sun, 30 May 2004 20:17:11 -0500, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, Jeffery P. (neonboy@nospam.mts.net) said, > Thanks to everyone who responded so far. To answer your questions, the > kitten is about 3 months old. I dont think it is teething because she [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] > am more that open to listen to suggestions. :-) > Perhaps she'd like a companion (cat). Laura SignatureI am Dyslexia of Borg, Your a.s will be laminated. > Even > when she is being playful tough, you cant even touch her without her > trying to bite you. I don't know if it's too late, but one thing that worked with my latest addition was to never, *ever* use your hand to play with the kitty. Everyone who came in the house was told that "the hand is not a toy" and we had lots of actual toys so we wouldn't be tempted. The two kittens grew up with some attempts at biting but *nothing* at all like my older cat. With her, I played with her with my hands all the time when she was younger, and even now she is not shy at all about biting me or anybody. So, in addition to the spray bottle (if your cat doesn't like it, that is -- some do), and trying to ignore her, I would recommend never playing with her with just your hand. Be careful with petting too :-). Finally, you can try a "time-out" in the bathroom or other small area if she is truly out of control. Sounds like she is peaceful sometimes, so this has a good chance of working. Good luck! Jess K. > My kitten is about months old and she bites constantly... She bites > people, furniture, destroys clothing, carpet and bed sheets, and [quoted text clipped - 11 lines] > it while drawing blood from every guest that walks in the door. Any > suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! As others have said a loud "no" high pitched "ouch" and put kitty down. If this doesn't do it then "no", "ouch" and a time out in another room (bathroom works w/door closed) - consistently. It's worked for two of my cats who had a yen to gnaw on me. A fairly large stuffed animal (big enough for them to wrap their arms around and kick the sh*t out of) can help. You may also want to try a feliway diffuser as this can calm kitty down. W >>My kitten is about months old and she bites constantly... She bites >>people, furniture, destroys clothing, carpet and bed sheets, and [quoted text clipped - 16 lines] > (bathroom works w/door closed) - consistently. It's worked for two of my > cats who had a yen to gnaw on me. that works really well with my kitty. i wish we did that with our cat, who is at my moms' house now. she grew up to be quite vicious. she doesn't draw blood and doesn't claw, but she has a temper and will hit pretty hard, actually, and accidentally scratch. > A fairly large stuffed animal (big enough for them to wrap their arms around > and kick the sh*t out of) can help. > > You may also want to try a feliway diffuser as this can calm kitty down. > > W |
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