My kitten bites like crazy?

Question

My kitten is a male and is a month and 3 weeks old. My kitten bites me like crazy. All of a sudden, my kitten got quick and alert. He goes and attacks my skin so suddenly( and it HURTS!!) Why does he do that? I fed him kitten milk(from vet) and he still does that! and I asked my vet and she was like " oh he's just playing around" and I'm like I don't think so!!Hmmmm.... Any advice??

Answer 1

He is learning his hunting/playing skills..and he doesnt know that the word ouch means it hurts and he must stop. He will grow out of it soon.

Answer 2

Ideally kittens should stay with their mother until they are at least 8 weeks old, as during this time they will learn their socialisation skills from their mother and their siblings. I don't know how long you've had your kitten for, but as he's still only 7 weeks old he's obviously never been taught these life lessons by his mother. It's up to you now to teach him feline manners.

He looks upon you as his playmate. When you play with him do you use your hands as toys? If so, he may think that you enjoy the games as much as he does. He is still just a baby and simply doesn't realise how much biting can hurt. Kittens have lots of energy and as they grow up, they enjoy practicing their hunting skills. They enjoy playing games that closely resemble hunting techniques. Use toys attached by a piece of string to the end of a wandstick when you play with him, make the toy move as if it were a mouse or bird. These games should involve him chasing, pouncing and leaping to catch the toy, as if he were hunting them. Let him win by catching the toy. By using toys where he can't reach your hand, he can be as rough as he likes with the toy, and you won't get injured. Some cats also like to play fetch, so you can try throwing a small ball of scrunched up paper to see if he shows interest in playing with that. If he gets over-excited and tries to bite you, very gently scruff the back of his neck and tell him "no". If he doesn't stop immediately, then move him aside and walk away. Once he learns that the fun stops if he get's too rough, he will soon get the idea. It's how his mother would treat him, and he will quickly learn that biting isn't acceptable behaviour.

When he's gentle with you during play or sitting next to you, give him lots of praise or treats. Cats are very smart, and quickly learn to adopt behaviour that benefits them in some way. They are also very independent animals and rewarding good behaviour works much better for training them, than punishing bad behaviour does.

He is still only a baby and will make mistakes while he is growing up, so please be patient and gentle with him.

Good luck.

Answer 3

All babies do this but it isn't pleasant - I had huge problems with my cat getting her to stop, but she has a naturally aggressive streak anyway I think! If he is grabbing you with his front paws and kicking madly with the back then that is him learning how to hunt and kill, which he would usually learn from his mother. Kittens need lots of stimulation at this age or they really WILL work out on your hands and feet - so get toys that he can grab and chew or kick. My cats like toys on strings that I can make jump for them (make sure he doens't get the string caught round his neck though when he plays) and soft toys that they pretend are alive - it is funny to watch them stalking something across the floor, and you will probably soon see your kitten hiding behind objects to pounce on his toys if you get him some. Be firm with him about biting you though, as it is a habit they carry on into adult hood and then it really hurts! Just a gentle 'no' or drawing your hand away and offering him something else to play with should do the trick. If you punish him too much he might get nervous and withdrawn - they are very impressionable at this age. Just discouraging him or distracting him should be enough.

He sounds a real sweetie though, good luck with him :)

Answer 4

Some kittens really like to play and biting and scratching is part of it. I read somewhere that the biting is their way of saying they love you. Anyway, he'll eventually outgrow excessive biting, but now is a good time to teach him that biting is not appreciated. Try grabbing him gently by the scruff (don't pick him up though, just hold him still) and firmly saying "NO" in a loud stern voice.

If he's still hyper, give him a time-out where you leave the room. Leave with a "I couldn't be bothered with you" manner as opposed to "I'm afraid of you and have to run away". He will get the hint that you won't put up with being his chewtoy.

Answer 5

Very wide-spread for a 12 week previous infant. First tip, whilst he/she starts to bite, furnish a small cat toy thats gentle something that they are going to savor chomping down on somewhat of your pores and skin. If this doesnt help, do away with the cat from playtime. whilst he/she bites, place the kitten on the floor and entirely overlook approximately them. finally, Say No in an company voice or possibly a sharp loud scream. maximum cats freak out and that they understand that they have got bitten to problematic and could supply up. Dont problem he/she would be able to quickly strengthen out of this point.

Answer 6

The kitten is probably just playing but you do want to stop the behavior as soon as possible. It hurts even more when they get older! My kitten had a thing about biting my chin when she was younger!! If you are playing when the kitten bites you tell him no and immediately stop playing with him. If he is doing it at other times (when petting etc.) tell him no and spray him once with a water bottle or you can tell him no and blow gently on his nose.

Answer 7

Do you use your hand as a toy to play with your kitten? If so, STOP! All this is doing is teaching your cat that your hand is a plaything! Get a stick and put about 2 feet of string on it with a ball or something else for your cat to grab and use this as a toy to play with your kitten. Let him catch it every so often so he dose not become bored with it. Only use your hands to pet, hold and scratch your cat, if he continues to bite you, tap him lightly on the nose and hiss at him when he dose it. The hissing is telling your cat "NO" in his language, and he will associate the discomfort of a nose tap with biting you and learn to stop!

Answer 8

I agree with your Vet... Kittens of this age would normal play this way with litter mates.

When it does this to you.... give it tap on the nose and say No!

Get a couple cat toys. One that cats love to play with is feathers on an elastic line attached to plastic rod that you hold. Cats are nuts for feathers. These cost about 98 cents in the pet section at Wal Mart. Get your kitten play with this and it will forget about play attacking you.

Answer 9

Sounds like he's a feisty kitty and wants to play very rough---and YOU don't, just like I wasn't amused when one of my kittens started this. Get yourself a small, clean spray bottle and fill with plain tap water and keep it real handy--not across the room, but right next to you at all times. As soon as he starts this biting business, blast him a good one right between the eyeballs while firmly saying "NO!" Cats HATE this, and it shouldn't take very long before he stops this business. Also provide him with several different kinds of cat toys that he can amuse himself with rather than chewing on YOU!

Answer 10

my cat does that and he is five years old. when i feel like playing with him i will slip some socks on my hands and wrestle with him. he normally knows when he gets too rough because when i say stop he will normally stop but if he doesnt i will tap him on the head or throw a pillow at him(nicely) and he definately stops. if you dont want your kitten doing this to you then i would prefer you to get a cat stuffed animal and when he bites you, wiggle the stuffed animal around like it wants to play or wrestle with your kitten. your kitten should start biting the stuffed animal instead of you and if you do this long enough you wont even have to wiggle the stuffed animal anymore, your cat would just run up and attack it when it feels like playing.

Answer 11

He is teething and learning hunting skills at the same time.
I have had several cats do this. If it bites too hard, use very strong verbal comands, I really mean shout. They do learn that it is not O.K. Try a hard toy that it can bite onto to help with the teething, just like a baby.