My kittens teething? frisky?

Question

I love my baby, but I know hes teething. He's really sweet, So i was able to look in his mouth and sure enough, hes got lots of teeth coming in. He's started playing rough, and biting (fingers, elbows, toes) but then licking where hes bitten, like he doesn't mean it.

What can I do to help him? Seems like hes in pain.

Also, he's a larger cat (like a tom cat) so it's starting to knock the wind out of me when he pounces! Is there any way to calm him down some, especially at night? Thanks!

yeah, lindsay! I've been giving him some dry kitten food to snack on (little terds always hungry), cause it seemed like he was really getting into it and taking it out on the food instead of me. lol

Maybe there are hard treats I can give him? As far as using dog toys, he might as well be a puppy - he fetches and everything haha

Answer 1

Hi there...the kitten teething process can contribute to the biting tendencies. To continue discouraging this habit, it's important to pull away and ignore the kitty for a minute and then when your kitten is calm then pet him to reward him for a being a calm behaved kitten. Cats soon learn that they won't get attention if they play rough if we ignore their inappropriate biting/scratching.

Consider by playing with him using more physical active activities (e.g. laser light) for 10-15 minutes prior to bedtime to exhaust him so he'll be more calm and sleep longer. If your cat isn't free fed (food available at all times) some people who feed their cats on schedule (once in the morning and once at night) have found that by feeding right just before bedtime also note that this has a sedating effect because their tummy's are full.

This particular method isn't known to many as most people are not willing to consider it, however one the things we as animal trainers/behaviourists do to break bad behaviours with animals is to ignore the undesired behaviour. What follows is called an extinction burst where the behaviour becomes progressively worst for awhile hoping for the same positive reinforcement as received in past. Eventually the animal learns this behaviour does not gains them any positive reinforcement and eventually fades away.

Here's another example of how an extinction burst works: This happens when a proven method of doing something that brings a desired response (i.e. stealing socks always elicits a chase from a human), all of a sudden stops working. The extinction burst is the part where the dog tries the proven method again and again, and hundred times stronger before they figure out that it just doesn't work anymore. Human equivalent: you're at the elevator. You pressed the button 10 seconds ago. This has always made the elevator come and pick you up. For some reason, there's no sign that the elevator's coming. You press it again. And again, and again and again, harder and harder, with more force (extinction burst!), until finally you just give up and use the stairs. If the original method doesn't work anymore, why use it?!

More on Extinction Burst: http://www.shirleychong.com/keepers/archives/bursts.txt

Answer 2

I have two cats (The older is a little over a year, and the younger is six months and currently teething) who have had a terrible time with teething. I would recommend Greenies. They are a crunchy cat treat that promotes good oral hygine and also cats LOVE them. There are also little things that you can give them from around the house to help. Plastic straws (like from fast-food restaurants) are awesome. They can grip on to them and chew them till their heart's delight. With one of my cats, I gave her an old stuffed puppy dog about her size which she dragged around the house and beat up. It helped her work out some of the irritation of teething and also gave her something to bite. Try giving him ice cubes on a tile floor. Yeah, it'll get the floor kinda wet, but he'll have a blast hitting then around, and they'll feel good on his teeth.

And just incase you have as hard of time as I did, I'll share a secret. A finger dipped in wine and rubbed on his gums will make the pain stop and put him to sleep. It's perfectly safe (my vet recommend it because my cat wasn't letting me sleep at all), and you'll both feel better. I only use this as a last resort, but it has worked well in the past. It's just so hard to watch them in pain =(

If the biting gets too bad, I would recommend carrying a small water bottle with you. If he tries to bite you once, give him a toy to show him the right thing to do, but if he persists give him a quick spray. I know he's only doing it because he's teething, but you don't want him to think it's okay in the long run. The sooner you discourage the biting the better.

Answer 3

When through the same thing with my jasper he has HUGE teeth for the size of cat he is. It will definalty go away so don't worry. I always found that if I say OUCH loudly when he hurts me that he learns my limits and what he can and can't do. Also be careful as the little teeth end up everywhere I sat down in my bed one night and had a tooth pierce skin on my butt. Yeah not fun!

Answer 4

I would buy a variety of toys and see if there are any that interest him enough to kind of chew on. Don't expect a cat to chew like a dog does, but perhaps it will help. I'd go to your local Petsmart or like store to see if they make any products to help with teething. As far as for calming them down at night ---- good luck :-) kittens are always hyper then. If you're having trouble sleeping, I would suggest giving him his own room for the evening and letting him back out in the morning. Buy lots of toys for the cat to play with so that he knows your hand is not a toy.

Answer 5

I am going thru the EXACT same thing with my babycakes (what i call him, haha). He bites anything that moves on me when he's feeling playfull, and licks right after! I thought it was just something he did. I find it best to make sure he stays on a dry food diet specialized for kittens, this way he has something hard to crunch on. I wish I could help more, but my vet did tell me he will grow out of this, and he most likely won't bite when he grows older

Answer 6

My Doodlebug does the same thing. Everytime he bites too hard I say OUCH loudly and pull away and he's learned to stop. He knows when he's hurting me. As for the pain aspect of teething, as far as I know there's not much you can do, they have to go through it.

Answer 7

My girlfriend does the same thing...