why does my kitten like to bite, she did leave her mom fairly early. Some of the bites are from anger. How can I stop her before she gets older and hurts someone. For example, I was holding her and she was purring and out of no where she bit my lip. Playing with her, she will bite and scratch at you. Any suggestions?
2006-08-23 05:48:06 · 7 answers · asked by MIke D 2 in Pets ➔ Cats
My 8 week old kitten has a tendency to do this also, don't worry I've had cats all my life she or he will grow out of it. She's still a baby and babies do strange stuff, my kitten did this to me this morning, but trust me it will be alright she'll grown out of it. Just keep telling her no and stop. Also you can get a spray bottle and fill it with water and every time she does something bad you know what to do.....
2006-08-23 05:52:39 · answer #1 · answered by Fairy 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She will most likely grow out of this but you need to do a few things as well:
A.) Make sure she has plenty of toys to play with. You might want to invest in some teething toys as well (yes, they have these). Some of them you can put into the freezer and they will feel really good against your cats gums.
B.) Never ever use your body parts when playing with her. This will teach her that they are a toy and she can bite them just like her other toys.
C.) Biting is more likely to occur when your kitten is over-hyper. If this happens, ignore her and do not play with her. You might want to even lock her in another room until she calms down. This will teach her that it's bad behavior.
D.) If the biting still continues, act hurt and make a loud noise (like "Ow!") whenever she bites you. This will startle her and will teach her that it hurts you when she does this. I've also used this in Pavlov's dogs kind of way. Whenever my kitten bites me, I make a noise he does not like and he's connected the fact that biting leads to an awful noise.
Of course, these aren't fool proof. My babe still bites me, but like you would with any naughty child, I correct the behavior and he stops.
2006-08-23 13:01:48 · answer #2 · answered by bee 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Socialization also comes from littermates. Young kittens teach one another how to "fight fair". Another kitten would correct this biting behavior in short order.
If you are your kittens only playmate you have to do the teaching. Spraying with water in this situation is ridiculous. Use that when you don't want kittens on countertops or their nails on furniture. Even then it may not be the best technique for training.
Who wants to sit on a couch with a water bottle by their side? You, the kitten and the couch will just get wet and may have no effect on the biting behavior. Be sure that you don't play with the kitten with your hands. Use a cat dancer or feather toy. The kitten needs to learn that human hands are for loving and petting, not toys.
2006-08-23 13:10:39 · answer #3 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The momma teach the puppies and kitten that their bites hurt. Socialization mainly comes from their parents and this is a trait that commonly appears when babies are taken from mom's before 8 weeks
2006-08-23 12:58:56 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
its animal instinct to bite and scratch when playing. Also kittens are crazy and young shell probably grow out of it.
2006-08-23 12:54:54 · answer #5 · answered by Kelsey Yeslek 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Heck, I've never known a kitten that DIDN'T do this. Sorry, I don't have any advice for you.
2006-08-27 12:07:22 · answer #6 · answered by smallweed 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
that's the way they are, you need to teach them that it is inappropriate for them to bite you, they will eventually grow out of it too, but need to be taught.
2006-08-23 12:52:34 · answer #7 · answered by macleod709 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋