I have a five month old kitten and he loves to play. The thing is that when I play with him, he starts to bite and kick. I need all the advice I can get.
2006-10-09 03:26:05 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
1. Good job for playing with the kitten. Daily sessions have a great effect on cats.
2. Biting / scratching _should be_ discouraged as early as possible.
3. Kyle has some pretty good ideas, I would only add two things - when you're playing with kitty and kitty becomes aggressive, offer a toy against which he can be aggressive (e.g., a stuffed toy - just be careful it's one approved for babies). Kitty needs to get it out of his system, but he _must_ learn that human hands are not for that purpose - by discouraging him (hissing) and offering an alternative.
4. If kitty persists in aggression, walk out of the room and close the door. That is, if you've tried hissing, offering the toy, putting him down, and it doesn't work, leave him alone (don't pick him out and carry him out of the room, it's you who should leave him on his own). cutting a play session short is a grave punishment, and so is isolating the kitten. Just don't leave him alone for long - with me, about 30 seconds are enough for my cat to settle down.
2006-10-09 06:02:09 · answer #1 · answered by AlphaOne_ 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's time to put a stop to some of his unacceptable behaviors. The biting and kicking are just play fighting and since I guess he never had littermates long enough to train him to "fight fair" you are his playmate and you haven't taught him this yet.
Absolutely stop playing with him with your hands. Use a cat dancer or feather toy for play time. If he uses his mouth or claws when you are petting him then pick him up gently by the scruff and get him close enough to hiss in his face, say "Ouch!" or "No!" firmly and put him away from you. He will soon learn that using teeth and claws on you is not acceptable. The hiss is important - it is what the mother cat and siblings do to correct kitten behavior.
You should also have an appointment to have him neutered right away. Five months is a good time to do it as he will not do any spraying behavior now and you want to nip that possibility in the bud so to speak.
2006-10-09 10:42:02 · answer #2 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
My sister has a very playful kitten that bites and kicks sometimes. She is getting better with some advice the vet gave her. When she does that, you hiss at her like a cat, tell her NO and put her down. That way, she gets the normal cat version of NO, the human version of NO, and you putting her down lets her know you aren't going to deal with her that way. Her kitten is starting to stop doing that so much now, and acts nicer when you hold her usually.
~Kyle
2006-10-09 10:28:57 · answer #3 · answered by Kyleontheweb 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
kitten rough play should be discouraged. What I suggest is this: when you play with your kitten, do not use your hands to tickle him or roll him about - use feather teasers or balls or some such toy. If you pet him and he starts to scratch and bite and kick at your hand in play, discourage the behavior by "shooshing" that is, saying something like "psssssttt!!!" or saying "yow!!!" really loud. This will startle the kitten and it will stop. Help him associate your hand with loving petting and not rough-playing. In fact. as soon as your kitten begins to rough play with you, stop the play seession with him right away. Leave the room. He will soon get the message that rough play will not earn him any brownie points.
Hope this helps.
2006-10-09 10:41:28 · answer #4 · answered by Phoebhart 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
get one of those "fishing pole" type toys, that way you can have interactive play without getting scratched or bitten up. if you only have the one kitten, it would be a very good idea to get another one around the same age for him to play with and have companionship with. this changed what i thought was a "demon spawn" kitten into a very affectionate and gentile kitty. remember, all kittens, for the first 6 months or so, are very aggressive when they play. know that he isn't trying to be vicious, its just his animal nature and how his instinct intends him to be. neutering will help a little bit, but really, time does the best work on the "A.D.D." kitten.
2006-10-09 10:31:00 · answer #5 · answered by Some Lady 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
As someone else said,,, when the kit gets too rough stop the playing-hiss and tell it 'No, no bites"
You don't have to yell, just a voice like you would use for a kid that's acting up. Put the kit down and ignore it for a few minutes. It will make the connection that rough play means he looses out on play time with you.
Don't tolerate the bites and clawings- doing so will make him think it's ok. Avoid tickling his belly when you play- you can condition him to allowing belly touching when he's calm, laid down and accepting strokes. If he grabs and wants to rough play when his belly is stroked, just tell him no, set him down and ignore him.
2006-10-09 11:21:19 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
He cannot calm down he is a kitten who thinks biting and kicking is normal unlike you who is a human view his behavior as abnormal..My cat is two years old and still bites and kicks and that is the cutest thing he does..
2006-10-09 10:35:06 · answer #7 · answered by Astarte 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
he is a kitten for pete's sake.. why get a kitten then complain about the fact it likes to behave like a kitten????
you should have gotten an adult cat...
when they play too rough simply get up and walk away - that is the end of play time...if you continue to play when he is too rough he will not understand that its not acceptable and will think you enjoy it
2006-10-09 10:34:58 · answer #8 · answered by CF_ 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you must stop the biting and scratching now, try making a loud noise when he does it, that's what another cat would do, he'll then get the message that he shouldn't do it,and if he seems to be taking too long to learn, try a tap, and I mean a light tap, not a slap, on his head when he does it, or blow, sharply but not heavily, on his face, they hate it. If that fails, flick him with water, he will still want to play, but won't bite so much.
Or play with him using a toy on a stick instead of your hand?
2006-10-09 10:30:47 · answer #9 · answered by rami #1 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋
the kitten is just playing and doent know that it is doing anything wrong so either let him know that when he does that it hurts(like telling him no and walking away) or you can stop playing with him when he does that, or you can get some other kitty toys that ur cat can be rough with, or you can wear some gloves when you play with him.
2006-10-09 11:43:59 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋