How do you get a kitten to stop biting and scratching me?

Question

I have a seven week old kitten who thinks my hands are toys! Everytime she wants to scratch or bite me, I give her her favourite toy but she ignores it and continues to "play" with my hands. Sometimes she goes from licking my hand to biting me. I have tried not to use my hands when I play with her.

She doesn't really have that much teeth so it only pinches me.

Answer 1

That's how kittens learn/ play. She's not mature enough to realize that you're not playing along. Either spray her every time she bites but even better make yelping, in pain sounds like a dog, "ow- ow- ow" in a wounded voice. Or in a calm, stern, slightly louder than normal voice, say, "NO!" because you do that enough times she understands that. However, don't use her name or else she'll ignore you when you call her because if you scold her using her name she thinks her name means you're scolding her.

Answer 2

Well, she wants to play with you. You are now her mommy and she needs to play and toys are one thing, but you (her mommy and her siblings) are another. So you are going to have to deal with a certain amount of biting, scratching and over zealous kneeding.

But that isn't to say nothing can be done. I never had a cat until about 14 years ago. When I first got a kitten, I told her "no" a lot. On the 2nd kitten I got, I learned a very weird trick that worked a whole lot quicker.

Since then I have raised several kittens into to adults who have all their claws. What did I do? I mimic-ed the sound the kitten makes when something hurts her. When she bites me too hard, or scratches too hard I squall like a cat. If she really hurts me, I pinch her, like a mommy cat biting her baby, and growl like a cat.

I have had 2 different cats who got so used to me, that they could sit in my lap, kneed my jeans and just touch my skin without poking or hurting me.

I have a cat now who gives me "love bites" where he grabs my hand or finger with his teeth, and at most he leaves an indention mark.

Answer 3

That's normal kitten behavior, as is being a kitten owner who looks like a heroin addict! *LOL*
You definitely should be playing with her. I would have suggested the toy situation, but you already tried that. I had "bitey toys" for mine -- a baby sock stuffed with cotton/batting and sewn up. They loved to bite those because they were "squishy". I'd keep them nearby and when they'd start chewing me to pieces, I'd trade my hands for the bitey toy. When she bites, you SHOULD remove your hands and say "no" or "No bite", and then stop the play. "OW" said loudly helps, too. She'll soon associate that the fun stops when she bites, That's a hard one because that's natural instinct and how they play with their siblings, but she will begin to learn to pull the bites so they don't hurt so much. (I have an 8 month old boy that's still learning that trick) You have a girl kitty, so she'll learn pretty fast. Perhaps try, when she's licking, praise her. As soon as she 'starts' to bite, say "NO!" It's all just repetition and consistency, really. She'll get it. Good luck!

Answer 4

Little kittens like to play that way...but it can be a problem. The best way to handle this is to take your index finger and thumb and hold the kitty's mouth closed for a moment and say "NO".

Because kitties can't really understand words, it is important that you use a forceful and low voice. If you say no in a similar manner to how you say, "Aren't you a cute kitty?" she won't understand.

It will not work if you only do this once...it will take a few tries. Also be consistent...don't let kitty bite you sometimes, and then scold her other times.

Answer 5

Get a scratching board/post for her to sharpen her nails on as they are her defensive tools if she's an outdoor cat.
AS for biting you, just give her a few small swats after
each bite & she will get the message that you're not her personal biting tool. Also if that dosn't work dab a bit of BLACK PEPPER on your hand after a bite & she'll sure get the message as cats hate things that cause them to sneeze.**** GOOD-LUCK~~~~ REBELCAT.P.S. It's a kitten so start the rules of play & house rules now.!!!!. Earlier the better. O.K.

Answer 6

Sounds like your kitten was taken from the mother too soon. She's trying to suckle your finger. Best bet is to get something she can chew on, or get a kitten bottle and liquid food from the vet. If your cat bites you, go the ER immediately. Cat bites are one of the worst bites you can have. You can actually lose a finger. I am NOT kidding - look it up.

Answer 7

Use your thumb and middle finger to flick it on the nose every time it hurts you and make some noise - No, Stop, Hey. This is not cruel, it is just like what the mother cat would do when the kittens get overly rambunctious. Then it will learn to associate pain with it's behavior. After a while, all you have to do is threaten and it will stop.

Answer 8

This is what kittens do. Enjoy the few months you have of scratched up hands, as soon when it scratches, you will feel it much more.

Answer 9

My kitty used to do that, and I used to think it was kinda cute until she drew blood! I found that using my hand to pin her to the gound stopped this behabior rather quickly. Not so hard that your hurt her or break her little neck. Just until she gets that "Oh crud - I messed up" look on her face.

Answer 10

does it play bite you?you should ask someone how to stop it.if it don't stop put something on your hands the cat don't like and when it tries to bite you it won't because she don't like the thing that's on your hands.