Kitten Pulling Nipple off Bottle? Aggressive Biting!?

Question

My kitten is now roughly 4 weeks old, and is still being bottle fed. She has been eating much better.

Anyways, she bites. Hard. It's like she goes into a little convulsion while she's doing it, she grabs something with her claws and presses herself against it and really sinks her teeth into it. At first, it was just me she would do this too, and then it became my friends. She breaks skin all the time now, nothing works, even scruffing her doesn't make her let go. The only way she'll let go is if i either spray her with water or if she gets tired of doing it after a few minutes. Lately the water spraying has been less and less effective.

She does it to her bottle, too. Today she pulled the nipple off and almost swallowed it. HELP! I had to reach in with my fingers and pull it out of her throat while she was making choking sounds. I don't know what to do, i'm afraid to bottle feed her after that but i can't get her interested in a saucer. I need suggestions.

To the person who says feed KMR she's not getting enough to eat etc... what the heck. I realize there are many idiot pet owners who aren't responsible who post here, but i've been feeding her KMR since i got her at 2 weeks of age, and she eats plenty. When i first got her she was eating about 20 CC LESS then she should, and for the past two weeks she's been eating perfectly for her body weight. She's been to the vet and had a checkup, she is healthy in every sense of the word although she did have some minor adjustment issues to the new environment.

The biting is aggressive, it's much different from nursing behaviour. I've had kittens before, most kittens will bite as a form of seeking food and nursing behaviour. This kitten is not doing the nuzzling, nibbling type biting. She's breaking skin. She's not desperately starving either, and she's been on KMR and vet provided vitamins, so she's not nutrient deficient.

Oh, also she does NOT have worms, she's been checked out by the vet.

Answer 1

I would try to see if she is ready for some soft kitten food like from a can. Then see if she will eat some moist food and then the hard food it sounds like she is hungry and the bottle is not filling her up. She is not getting full from the bottle and she want to chew on something and needs to fill up her belly so I would try that and see if it helps. She might be a little older than you think and ready to eat more! Just a thought.

Answer 2

Okay let's put this into perspective..she's 4 weeks old..not aggressive.

I am betting that she isn't getting enough to eat..what are you feeding her..she should be on KMR milk replacement formula for kittens (available at Petsmart, Petco, vets office etc..) and feed it often. As far as her yanking the nipple off I am betting it is because she is very hungry.

As far as biting your hand..she could be confusing your hand with a place to get milk (you are using your hands to hold the bottle).

So my best advice (and I bottle fed 7 kittens at once) is to up her feedings with KMR milk replacement for kittens ONLY, STOP spraying her with the water..and make sure you use a damp warm washcloth on her privates in order for her to go to the bathroom.

4 week old kittens are not aggressive..she is hungry...and/or not getting the nutrients she requires..if this continues for a day or two..take her into the vet or call a local cat/rescue group for assistance..she could have some sort of health issues that is causing her to not be able to absorb the food OR most likely she is riddled with worms which are literally taking everything she is eating making her starving for more.

Best of luck to you and the little one

P.S. I bottle fed the kittens at least every 2 1/2 - 3 hours..

Answer 3

My kitten did the same thing. Kittens sometimes just don't know how to express their anger or rage. Mine use to do it whenever I played with her. She'd grab me with her claws, bite me and kick me. Holding her by the scruff only made her more angry., and she'd growl and hiss and jerk around like I was killing her. It was actually pretty scary. Eventually she did grow out of it.. and she's sweeter than ever. I was told it's just something kittens do, but.. as far as the bottle situation goes, I'm not sure. It can be dangerous to her.. I would suggest just watching her carefully and use your best judgement on what to do.

Answer 4

1

Answer 5

Bite Nipple Off

Answer 6

try mixing chamomile ( just buy a tea bag and rip it so you can get the chamomile out), with her formula, its all natural and will calm her down while not making her sleepy. its recommended by vets too. i used it on my puppy that would not calm down at night!!

Answer 7

your kitten just wants to play! so maybe feed it when it has to be fed and lightly play with her.