How To Stop Your Kitten From Biting

She Wants You To Play With Her

Cats are always looking for ways to be active and mentally stimulating. If your cat has been nosing around in toy boxes, playing with string or fur, pawing at books, then it’s time that you let them out. When they lick and bite you and the toys are around, the toy is something of interest or value in their world that gives them pleasure when playing around.

It is always important to be on the lookout for your kitty’s mood. Cats have unique ways of communicating their needs, so you don’t need to be an expert at reading them. A quick way of knowing if a cat wants playtime or not would be by looking deep into its eyes if they have dilated pupils, arched back, ears and whiskers pointed forward, it means she is in the mood to play.

You can easily differentiate between playing and overstimulation. If she is happy to see you and wants more attention, then it’s a sign that they’re into playtime. Otherwise, if she tenses up from being too stimulated by what was going on around them at any point during this encounter, she will move away. Especially since their body language may give hints, you’ll know for certain there has been some negative reaction that starts this issue. Licking, biting, and nuzzling against you is a cat’s way of telling you that she trusts you and wants to play with you.

Learning To Play Nice

Kittens learn to control how hard they bite from their mothers and littermates. A kitten who is separated from their family before two or three months of age may not have learned appropriate play behavior, leading to unwanted nipping. Kittens also learn acceptable play from humans: if people use their hands and feet instead of toys to play with a young kitten, the kitten may learn that hands and feet are play objectswhich is cute when theyre kittens, but painful when theyre adults. Consistency is key. Everyone in the household must be on the same page: your kitten can’t be expected to learn that it’s okay to play rough with certain people but not with others.

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In most cases, it’s easy to teach your kitten or young adult cat that rough play isn’t acceptable. Follow these tips to keep playtime fun:

Dont Provoke Your Kitten

Some people think its funny or cute to provoke their kitten into biting. Others may think that its the cats job to put up with theirs or their childrens behavior and learn to deal with things they dislike.

Both of these are bad ways to treat a cat. You wouldnt want someone constantly poking you, getting in your personal space, or touching you in places you dont want to be touched. The same goes for your cat.

If they only bite when you touch their tummy, feet, or tail, dont touch those places unless its medically necessary or youre grooming them.

Teach any children who live in or frequently visit your home to respect your cats space and autonomy. Keep them away from your cat during mealtimes and make sure they know about cat body language so they can tell when your cat wants to be left alone.

If your cats tail is quickly swishing back and forth, their ears are back, theyre hissing, growling, or showing other signs of annoyance, leave them alone and let them calm down.

Provoking a cat is unfair to them, and could cause serious injury to you if you keep it up. Allowing children to mistreat cats can become even more dangerous as one or both of them could be hurt.

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Seek Medical Attention For Cat Bites

If your cat breaks the skin while biting you, it can get infected very easily.

This is because cat teeth create tiny but deep puncture wounds that heal over quickly. Once the skin has closed over the wound, bacteria from your cats mouth are trapped inside.

The same can happen with cat scratches.

If you have a severe bite or notice signs of infection, seek medical attention right away.

Reacting To Bites And Scratches

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Get Your Kitten A Sibling

I know that it is not practical for all families, but if you can have two cats, it will be an excellent way to solve the problem with biting. After introducing a playmate, your cat will not need to bite you. Instead, it will play that with someone who understands and does not mind the rough play.

Adopting an adult cat to pair with your kitten is a good idea. The older cat will quickly teach the younger kitty what is and isnt acceptable behaviour.

How Can I Stop My Cat From Biting My Fingers

9 Tips to Stop Cat Bites. Never allow your kitten or cat to play with your bare hands, fingers, or toes. Kittens and cats should be taught that hands are not toys. If you offer your hands as toys, you are encouraging a risky habit. Offer a legal and interactive toy for the cat to bite and bunny kick. Stuffed animals are a hit with many cats.

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Kitten Biting: Why Kittens Bite

It turns out that kitten biting is part of the play behavior kittens learn when they are with their littermates. This is the time when each kitten learns how to use an inhibited bite so as not to cause injury, explains Pam Johnson-Bennett, certified cat behaviorist and owner of Cat Behavior Associates. A kitten who bites too hard is either reprimanded by the queen or gets a very negative reaction from a littermate. This social play is important, and each kitten soon learns the rules.

Teach Your Cat That Your Hands Arent Toys

Cats love to play with toys. You know this if you ever catch your cat fidgeting with electrical cords or leaping after balls.

However, you want to teach your cat early on that your hands and fingers are not toys. Cats play with their claws, paws, and teeth, so they will naturally want to give you a nibble if they think you are romping around.

Always have a toy to offer them instead of your fingers, ideally one that allows for hands-off play . This sends a clear message that you are off-limits when its time to play.5

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Start Hissing Like A Cat

One of the most effective ways to interrupt biting is to mimic a momma cat. As soon as your kitty bites you, make a sharp hissing sound- SSSST – like a mother cat makes when she wants to warn her kids to stop misbehaving.

Since a feline hissing means ‘back off,’ this method is very effective, especially if your furry baby is under four months of age.

Have You Received Medical Treatment For A Cat Bite

This article is accurate and true to the best of the authors knowledge. It is not meant to substitute for diagnosis, prognosis, treatment, prescription, or formal and individualized advice from a veterinary medical professional. Animals exhibiting signs and symptoms of distress should be seen by a veterinarian immediately.

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How To Stop Your Kitten From Biting

Provide them with toys

All kittens love to play, so redirecting those sharp teeth and paws away from your vulnerable flesh makes for a good start. The best way to do this is to tire your kitten out regularly with a variety of toys, preferably ones that are separated from your fingers to stop your kitten from biting you.

Check Your Kittens Behavior

While most kittens are simply biting because theyre hunters and your hand happens to be the target biting can sometimes be a sign of an underlying issue that might be causing your kitten pain.

Gently check your kitten by petting them. Take note if they respond to you touching them in a certain place by yowling, turning, or biting. If they are showing these signs consistently when petted in the same spot, their biting may indicate pain. Its worth booking a check-up with your veterinarian in this situation.

If a child or other member of your family is complaining of being bitten, see if you can observe your kitten interacting with them. Its harder for children to understand that kittens are small and delicate, so check that theyre not playing with your kitten too roughly. Other older members of the family might not know how to play with a kitten, such as backing them up into a corner or never letting them catch their toy. In this case, your kitten may feel threatened or frustrated and be biting as a result.

Once youve ruled out any of these scenarios, you can put plans in place to help reduce the chance of being bitten by your kitten.

Lets go through these one by one.

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How Can You Teach Your Cat To Keep His Teeth To Himself

Here are some techniques to use that will help teach your cat that human skin is not for biting:

• Never use your hands or feet to wrestle with a cat that is being too aggressive with his teeth during playtime. Doing so only encourages escalation of the behavior. Similarly, don’t use gloves with toys hanging from the fingers because it doesn’t teach your cat not to bite hands. Still, your cat needs to exercise those hunter instincts and play hard to relieve stress and boredom and maintain good physical health. Always use a toy between your hands and your cat’s mouth during play. Three types of toys work well.
• Wand toys are especially effective for interactive play with cats. You can control them from afar, without putting your hands within tooth-striking distance, and you can also make them move like a cat’s prey, which is irresistible to a cat.
• Throw toys are also wonderful for keeping your body parts away from your cat’s mouth during playtime.
• Kick toys can be given to your cat to allow him to get the biting and bunny-kicking out of his system. Long toys like these cigars or these body pillows work well for this purpose.

Kittens Need To Bite Something

The reason kittens bite us is simple: theyre natural predators and they want to practice their attack on a moving object. In fact, kittens are biologically wired to attack an object that moves, so its important to teach them how to play with toys–not fingers or feet–from a young age. Actively playing multiple times a day before meals is a great way to help kittens develop their motor skills, learn appropriate habits, and get out pent up energy.

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How Do I Stop My Cat From Biting Me

Although you love cats, they are not always predictable pets, and often can react to different stimuli with something that bothers their owners: bites. In the majority of cases it is a warning not the bother them anymore, or a reaction to something that they find unpleasant, so rather than train him to stop doing it we must be careful in how we approach our feline. On OneHowTo.com are some tips so you know how to prevent your cat from biting you.

The first thing you need to learn is to know and respect your pets. When a cat threatens you with the act of biting, or eventually does bite you, it is usually because you did something it disliked, often consciously, hence the animal reacts with discomfort. Therefore it is necessary to avoid this type of behaviour, cats don’t have our reasoning ability, and react with the resources they have at their disposal.

When you caress your cat look at how it reacts. They are not always comfortable with all affection, for example some don’t like it when you play with their tails, others when you play with their stomachs. Many times these annoying touches end in bites, so avoid them.

Opt for using toys to play with your cat instead of using your hands and feet. In this way you will avoid that in the middle of the game your cat uses its mouth to entertain you.

If you do this every time they bite you, the cat will eventually understand that it should not.

Basic Needs Not Being Met

Just like the rest of us, cats need food, water, shelter, and some attention to thrive. If a cat expects his food bowl to be replenished every day at 5 pm when you get home from work, and by 5:30 pm there is still no food, your cat may resort to biting to let you know they need something from you. Cats cant talk to let us know what they want. Biting, in addition to meowing and other vocal sounds, is one way they can get your attention.

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Redirect The Kitten’s Attention

Often playful biting of hands or feet occurs simply because your cat is bored, and is looking for a play object. Give your kitten 15 minutes of active play several times a day with an interactive toy. Da Bird or other teaser toys are a great choice. Alternatively, try a laser-beam type toy that kittens can chase and pounce on, or even commercially available “gloves” with very long dangling “fingers.” Once you’ve taught both yourself and your cat that hands are not toys, your play sessions should be more enjoyable for both of you.

In addition to the active play, a scratching post are a positive addition to your home. To the kitten, these are now places where scratching is encouraged. Try both horizontal and vertical posts and ones with different textures to find the type your kitten likes best.

Help Kittens Expend Energy

As we always say, a tired kitten is a happy kitten. Kittens are a lot like human children. If they have too much energy by the end of the day, they will be more likely to expend that energy with minimal impulse control. Be sure your kitten gets enough stimulation and exercise during the day! Allow him to express his instincts by hunting and jumping for a chase toy for 10 or 20 minutes each morning and evening. If you are home for lunch, or work from home, do this periodically throughout the day. If you are away from the house for long hours at a time, consider bringing home multiple kittens together. That way they can play, chase, and wrestle each other in your absence.

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Create A Calm Kitty Environment

A stressed or anxious kitty may also be more likely to display biting or scratching behaviours. To help your kitten feel calm, make sure their environment is just right. Check that you have provided enough resources for every cat , make sure your kitty has a regular routine for meals and playtimes, and try to limit any extra noises or changes in the house.

Using a FELIWAY CLASSIC Diffuser, plugged into the place where your cat spends the most time, can help to support a calm environment, and is clinically proven to limit scratching, spraying and hiding behaviours.

She Is Feeling Stressed

Cats are one of the most calming and expressive animals, but sometimes they can show their stress by licking or biting. Your kitty may start excessive grooming that can lead her to pull out hairs until she has scratches down both sides of her head. If your hand happens to be close enough for them to grab onto it with their teeth, they may end up licking and then biting you instead.

Cats can get stressed out by many reasons such as loud noises and rapid changes in temperature or lighting conditions, too much time spent indoors, not enough space to play or explore, seeing another animal come into their territory, and the moving house often poses many additional difficulties. If your kitty is under enough pressure, she may start acting differently than usual too. You can use a pheromone diffuser to help your kitty relieve her stress.

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