whats an effective way to teach my kitten to not bite.?

Question

I have another young cat and she bites all the time I dont know what I should do

Answer 1

For starters, make sure that you are not doing anything that encourages them to bite. Wrestling with the cat with your hands or letting them chase your fingers as a kitten often teaches them that biting is ok. It just isn’t “cute” anymore when they get big or bite harder! One other thing to look at is what you are doing when she is biting or right before she bites. Some cats get over-stimulated if you pet them too much or try to hold them, so make sure it isn’t something you might be doing that is triggering this behavior.

Additionally, kittens that were single kittens growing up or taken away too early do not always know that biting hurts because they missed out on socialization with their mom and litter. Other kittens bite because it gets them what they want- your attention. This doesn’t have to be the positive attention we think of, but sometimes will do it just get a reaction out of you. It becomes a game to them, even if it isn't funny to you. If your kitten is one like this that randomly bites or bounces on you, firmly say no and leave the area and ignore her for a bit. It is important not to react anymore than that. This teaches her play time is over and she is no longer going to be rewarded with any type of attention for that behavior. Cats often do this too each other if one plays too rough.

The easiest ways to fix the problem is to direct her energy elsewhere why letting her know that biting is not going to get your attention anymore. If your kitten likes to wrestle, consider making a toy for them to wrestle with if they don’t have a feline playmate. A stuffed sock with catnip works well for this. Also try to increase the time you play with your cat each day so the kitten is pooped. Letting your cat chase a wand toy is a great way to do this because it distances you from the kitten’s nail and teeth, but allows you to do other things at the same time if you like.

Answer 2

First, don't play with her with any part of your body. This will make her think your hands and/or feet are toys and, therefore, fair game.

Second, she is just playing and will chill out with age. But don't expect the biting to stop as she grows older. Some cats do "grow out of it", but why wait and see? A lot of cats DON'T outgrow it, and a full sized cat biting you is a lot more painful than a kitten doing so.

There are three things you can do. The first is to firmly say no and walk away. The second is to say no, hand her a toy, and walk away. The third is to give her a squirt of water from a bottle or squirt gun. It's not mean, and it won't hurt her. It WILL, however, make her associate an unpleasant consequence with an undesirable behavior.

Answer 3

The worst thing you could do is yell or squeal or make sudden movements, because the cat will either think you're trying to play back or it will find your yelling funny and decide to do it again. If it gets too rough, feel free to firmly say something like "No!" or "Play nice!" and walk off. Let it know that if it wants to play and bond with you, it has to do it under non-violent terms. I work at the local vet's office and we have homeless kittens come in all the time. They are pretty mean at first, but they get better. Normally if one starts to claw or bite really hard I'll just say something like "Hey!" and walk directly away from the cage.

Answer 4

it sounds gross, but try biteing it back (very lightly) keep doing it for about a week, i'm sure you'll see results. just give her a flea bath every couple of days. unless she's an outside cat, and then i'd say giving it a tap on the nose and saying "NO!" directly after every time she bites might help her to remember thats not OK. but she needs something constant and stern. if she gets away with it one time out of the 10 times you've been punishing her for biteing, it will all be in vain.

Answer 5

Hi fellow cat-lover
You are right for wanting to break this habit, as it only become more of a problem as they get older. As a Cat Socializer, I was taught never to play with a kitten with my fingers or let them play with my feet. These are two things they will want to do, almost as an insctinct.
As others have said, when the kitten does grab your hand and want to play bite it, carefully withdraw your hand while saying "no" or whatever you want to say, but in a firm, not loud voice. Then immediately give them a toy to play with. Be consistent with the tone of your voice when you withdraw your hand, and they learn from that tone. But they still want to play, so they learn to play with the toy instead of your hand.
Another method is to put training products like Bitter Apple on your hand, the give it to her to bite-play with. Then give her a toy. She will get the message.
Biggest thing...patience
Good luck, Judy

Answer 6

My kitten was soooo bad for this. We would tap him on the nose and say "NO" in a firm voice. Now he will ever so gently touch his teeth on us when we are playing with him.
We would also roll him over onto his back and hold him there (not hurting him at all). This teaches them submission. Now he is a very happy and well behaved cat.

Answer 7

She is just playing with you like she would with another cat. I would flick her on the nose if she bites, but do it right after the bite or else she wont know what she did wrong.

Answer 8

Annoying isnt it? My kitten did this all the time. What I did is, when he bit me I would gently flick him on the nose and say "no" firmly but not loudly. After doing that for awhile I would switch to when he bites I would gently take my fingers and close his mouth and hold it for a moment. GOOD LUCK!!!!

Answer 9

Bite Back!!! just kidding Could be getting some teeth in or something, try telling her no or to play nice. My girl gets all excited when she plays with me sometimes, but when I tell her to take it easy she does. Took some time to get her that way but was well worth it.

Answer 10

Every time she goes to bite you, make sure its the end of your finger, she can't hurt this way, as she is biting with her tiny front teeth......then stick your finger real quickly down her throat. After a few times doing this, she will quit. (she might gag a bit but it won't hurt her).