What To Do If Your Kitten Bites You During Playtime
When biting simply stop and stay still
Kittens are trained to bite moving targets. If your kitten bites you during play, stop immediately and stay still. This will stop playtime, and your kitten won’t have the opportunity to continue biting.
Kittens like movement
Prey does not stand still, it continues to move to try and escape. So, movement attracts kittens. If you continue to move and play, this is an invitation for your beloved to continue kitten biting!
Kitten bite overload? Ignore them and give them a time out
Ignoring your kitten after a bite is the best way to handle the situation. Kittens love attention, so you don’t want to give them attention when they repeat an undesired behavior. You can practice time out by stopping playtime momentarily.
Then restart play and be calm
When you stop playtime, your kitten should stop biting. After a moment, you want to reward the desired behavior of not biting with more playtime. Always remain calm. Cats are sensitive and can pick up on our energy and emotional state. You want your kitten to know that you appreciate that he stopped biting during the time out.
Create a message that biting skin will mean an end to the game
When you stop playtime after your kitten is biting too much, you are teaching your kitten that the fun stops after a bite. This will train your kitten to understand that kitten biting is an undesired behavior. Be patient and persistent with stopping and then rewarding desired behavior.
Why Do Cats Bite During Play
It’s important to understand why cats engage in play-biting behavior in the first place. Biting and bunny-kicking are normal play behaviors for kittens. This is how they play with their littermates and their mother. The play mimics how cats will later pounce on, grab, and bite prey.
When littermates are playing, they teach each other how to use their teeth gently, reigning in their bite. If a kitten bites a sibling too hard, that kitten will yowl and swat or bite back, then refuse to play with the other kitten for a period of time. Mother cat will also discipline a kitten for biting too hard.
Cats that are removed from their litters too soon may not learn to moderate their biting as well. But even if they do, the reigned-in bite that’s acceptable to another cat is probably still too much for a human hand or foot. We must further instruct our cat that using his teeth on us at all is not acceptable.
Get 30% Off And Free Shipping On Cat Food
To Find out why we recommend chewy.com, click here
Trimming your kitten’s claws regularly is a must as well. This will keep you safe from scratches, and you don’t want the claws to curl. If you follow this advice, and your kitten is still biting, it is recommended to clear up any underlying medical issues with your vet.
Teach Gentle Play To Your Kitten
When kittens are with their littermates they learn how to engage in social play. This is the time when each learns how to use an inhibited bite so as not to cause injury. 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. Facial expressions and body postures displayed during play also indicate that the session is friendly and not truly .
How To Get A Kitten To Stop Biting
Toys
Kittens are extremely energetic and playful. So, the best way to stop a kitten biting is with toys. It is recommended that kittens and cats get at least 30 minutes of exercise daily. You can break this up into two or three sessions a day.
We should mimic prey behavior with toys to get our kittens to play. Make your kitten hunt, stalk, run around, and pounce at these toys. Always let your kitten catch and “kill” the toy to complete the hunting experience.
It’s much better to encourage them to kitten bite their toys and not your hand! This will help prevent other behavioral issues. Cats require mental stimulation indoors, and this full hunting experience with toys is perfect for stimulation. Kittens can get stressed easily without proper stimulation.
Train From the Beginning
Cats thrive on routine so it’s important to train your kitten as early as possible. The mother cat trains kittens to bite prey at a young age, so now we have to train them to kitten bite toys instead of us. Create a schedule for multiple play sessions every day. Make playtime a routine and stick to it.
Stop Playing Immediately if Your Kitten Bites During Playtime
If your kitten bites during playtime it’s important to stop immediately. We should not reward undesired behavior with more playtime. When you stop playtime, this will teach your kitten that the fun stops when he bites. Again, make sure you are persistent.
What Toys to Best Use for Kitten Bite play?
Interactive toys
Fishing pole design
Avoid Reinforcing Unwanted Biting Or Scratching Behaviour
Though it may be tempting to fuss or continue playing with your kitty after they bite or scratch you, this attention can reinforce that these behaviours are ok – they may even begin to bite or scratch you for more attention. Instead, always step away and ignore your cat immediately when unwanted behaviour occurs.
General Tips For Cat Training
Cats are quite trainable if you keep a few things in mind. Always use patience and be kind. Remember that you are asking your cat to do something that doesn’t come naturally to him. Be sure to give lots of praise when your cat does what you want him to do. Simply reprimanding unwanted behavior without showing your cat what to do instead won’t get you very far.
Sign up for the Purrfect Post Newsletter:
How To Train A Cat Not To Bite Understanding Why
Ive mentioned that cats are known to bite from time to time, be it their owners, strangers or other cats. But the question is why?
There are several scenarios in which a cat may feel the need to chow down. Sometimes it may be harmless, but other times it may catch you off guard. And on rare occasions, it may be indicative of an underlying physical or behavioral condition.
Here are a few of the main reasons you can expect your feline friend to chow down on an arm or ankle and what you can do about it.
Choose Your Toys Wisely
As stressed above, dont pick out cat toys that encourage kitty to bite your hands. It will be hard for them to understand that playtime gloves mean they can bite your hand, but when theyre off, you do not want to be bitten.
Dont encourage them to play with rings, shoelaces, bracelets, or other items on your hands or feet, and stay consistent with your message of what they can and cannot play with.
Also understand that kittens do enjoy biting things as part of normal play, so do provide appropriate soft cat toys that are large enough for them to hang onto and bite, such as stuffed mice.
What Makes The Cat Bites
Upon deep observation, we observe that all these factors share one common thing of mental stimulation that governs this behavior.
No matter how playful your cat might be cat bites are always hazardous. If left unattended, these cat bites can also prove dangerous. Cat teeth are very fine and sharp, they tend to puncture the human skin and wounds in the skin. If not cared these wounds can cause a medical problem known as cellulitis.
Using Toys As Distractions
If your kitten is bound and determined to attack you, your feet, your shoes or shoelaces, use a cat toy as a distraction. For example, when putting on your shoes, have several cat toys at hand. When your kitten is eyeing your shoe laces, take one of the toys and toss it across the room. When your kitten is chasing that toy, he isnt attacking your shoe laces.
This isnt rewarding the kitten for attacking your shoelaces; instead, its distracting the kitten. Preventing bad or unwanted behavior from occurring is good training.
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.
How To Stop Your Cat From Biting
Its never a good thing when your cat is biting. Its not just painful it can potentially be dangerous if left unattended. Many cat bites require medical attention and can quickly become infected if left untreated.
Declawed cats are more likely to bite than cats who have their claws.
Cats bite because they are fearful, stressed, or frustrated. They do not act out of spite or anger.
So how do you prevent your cat from biting? First, identify why your cat may be biting in the first place. Cats bite because they are fearful, stressed, or frustrated. They do not act out of spite or anger. There is always a good reason behind the behavior.
Its also important to note that declawed cats are more likely to bite than cats who have their claws, as their main defense mechanism has been taken away.
Why Do Kittens Bite And How Can We Stop Them
Kittens biting can be in a playful manner. Just like human babies, kittens have an urge to chew or bite on things while teething. At this age, they are still learning how to behave around humans. They can also bite to communicate with the human.
- In most cases, the kitten stops biting after reaching a certain age as its teething process stops.
- Kittens also learn to behave when they interact with humans. The more time they spend with humans, the more they learn to show positive behavior.
- But if you have brought a new kitten home and he still does not know how to behave, you need to train him. It is only possible by making him understand that biting hurts.
How To Train A Cat To Not Bite
Cats are natural predators. They love to chase and catch their prey. They can show attacking or biting behaviors due to their instinct. We can notice this behavior from an early age. Your kitten will start to chase and bite objects after he is four to five weeks old. It is a completely normal thing. But you have to worry about it when they start biting your fingers or feet. You need to train them not to bite you or any other person. Kittens have good learning skills, and this training will not be so difficult for both you and your kitten. But first, you need to understand why do they bite?
Kittens Grow Out Of Biting But You Need To Do These Things
Kittens do grow out of biting to an extent, and will likely bite less in play as they get older. However, they also need to be trained not to bite. If you encourage any behavior, your kitten will continue to display it into adulthood. Ignore your kitten when they do, and give them appropriate play.
In short, kittens who are taught not to bite will eventually grow out of the behaviorbut kittens who are encouraged to bite will not.
In this article, Ill teach you how to train your kitten not to bite, why its important, and how to teach your kitten to play and interact with people in an appropriate manner.
Ill also discuss why you shouldnt provoke your kitten into biting or punish them for it, and explain why getting a second kitten might be a good idea for your household.
Why Is My Cat Biting Me
Cats may sometimes behave in unusual ways at least, they may seem unusual to us. Still, to a cat, who has no other way of communicating, these extreme behaviors may be perfectly acceptable.
One of the ways that your cat will let you know that he is not happy is by biting and whilst this may be painful or shocking to you, your cat will find it to be completely normal, and perhaps justified.
There are several reasons why your kitty might be getting a little more vicious than usual. Primarily, a cat will lash out in this way if he is not enjoying the current contact. This could be because he is uncomfortable or in pain. What you deem as a bit of harmless roughhousing, could be petrifying for your cat.
When humans interact with each other in this way, we have the ability to let the other person know when we are not longer happy your cat does not, and biting may be his first line of defense.
Cats may use biting as a way of telling you to stop doing something, but there are some cats out there who will use biting as a way of showing affection, and this can be a little confusing. These bites are usually not intended to warn or cause harm and so will be generally softer perhaps more like a loving nibble.
How To Train A Cat Not To Bite Your Hand Or Skin
How to train a cat not to bite? Cats and kittens naturally bite, pounce and claw, it is not always because of their aggressiveness, rather its their natural instinct. Cats are felines and by-born predators bite and scratch. It is the cats biological habit to explore their world by biting things. Therefore, biting does always not mean their aggressiveness and attacking attitude. Rather you will find playfulness and affection in many cases.
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.
Theyre Bored And Want Attention
No, you wont have a cats teeth marks permanently scarred into your skin just because they have nothing better to do. Playful biting occurs when a cat is trying to get your attention, usually when theyre in the mood to play.
A stimulating and fifteen minutes of your time is all it takes to satisfy their need for attention and put a stop to the biting.
Teaching Your Cat Not To Bite
See files for
Cats have many virtues. They are very smart animals, and, in general, very affectionate. However, they may have unpleasant behaviors, such as biting and scratching, habits that certain cats and kittens tend to practice while playing with them.
Although many cat owners tolerate these loving bites, it should not be forgotten that this behavior can lead to uncomfortable situations with guests, especially if there are children involved. That is why, in this AnimalWised article, we’ll give you some of the best tips for teaching your cat not to bite.
What Else Do We Need To Know About Cat Bites
If you do experience a relatively serious or painful cat bite, make sure to gently wash it with soap and water for a few minutes if possible.
If the bite is more serious, seek medical attention to avoid developing an infection. Signs of infection include redness, swelling, pain and inflammation.
Its important to note that while biting should be addressed, it must be done via a calm and healthy approach. Avoid punishing your cat by yelling or hitting them. This approach will not get the message across.
If anything, it will likely just place more tension on your relationship and cause them to become fearful or display truly aggressive behavior towards you.
While a cat bite may sometimes seem like its coming from nowhere, in the eyes of a cat, the action is always justified. So while you may think its for no reason, a more in-depth look at the circumstances surrounding it will give you a better idea of what your cat is really trying to say.
Getting a new kitty? Check out my guide to How to Look after a Kitten, 6 Best Kitten Wet FoodOptionsand 8 Best Kitten Dry Food Options
Young Cat Play Biting
At 12 weeks of age, kittens are refining their grabbing, biting, and predation skills, says Sally Foote, DVM, of Foote & Friends in Illinois. Rubbing tummies, grabbing feet or tails will entice the kitten to grab at hands in retaliation and bite. So no feet or hand-rubbing playthat turns into nips and bites, she says.
Remind yourself you are not your kittens equal. If your cat is using your hand like a prey animal, let it go limp and stare off in the opposite direction. They wont engage your hand if its dead. When they relent, stand up and walk away for a minimum of 30 seconds, then return to redirect their energies to an appropriate toy.
Dont discipline your kitten for biting. If you swat at or shove a kitten for what is, to them, a normal play-bite interaction, they will view your reaction as mock fighting. This can lead to aggressive interactive play, or worse, an outright fear of you. Then, as your kitten matures, the bites will become more serious. Hand play will later create a cat who bites at any hands trying to examine their mouth or administer oral medication, Foote says.
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.
Games And Mental Stimulation
Many people do not dedicate time to intelligence games for cats. Even the ones you can invent at home are great for your feline to start developing their mind.
Playing with your cat and making them ‘think will help them a lot throughout their education. Repetition and using positive reinforcement in cats is essential to make your kitten understand what you are trying to communicate to them. Best of luck!
If you want to read similar articles to How to Train a Kitten, we recommend you visit our Basic education category.
Do Not Punish Your Cat
Above all, any type of punishment for biting is not recommended. Always respond calmly and do not further escalate the situation. Research shows that punishment, including yelling, squirt bottles, scruffing and physically hitting your cat is not effective and the cat does not learn from it.
The cat is unable to make the connection that the punishment is the consequence of him biting. You should ignore any unwanted behavior and praise good behavior. Any type of negative reaction will only damage your relationship with your cat further.
Content provided by | Laura Cassiday
Find Out Why Your Cat Is Biting
Check out the list above to find the cause. If youve added a new dog to the family he may be stressed out by your new dog. So, give him extra time and attention alone without the dog around.
2. Never yell or hit your cat.
This wont stop his behavior, but it might make it worse. Be patient with him. Give him extra cuddles or he might need some time alone. Your behavior can help defuse your cats anxiety or aggression.
3. Remove stressful triggers
After youve removed everything thats upsetting your cat and you are patient with him, but hes still biting, then you might need to be more direct.
4. Time out
When your cat bites you, remove him to another room away from you.** This is like a time out for him. Hopefully, as you do this every time he bites, hell eventually understand that you dont like it when he bites. Be consistent, hell stop biting over time.
5. Reward for good behavior
Another idea is to give your cat rewards when hes being good and doesnt bite.
6. Get his attention
You can try to frown at him when he bites you. Say, Ouch! loud enough that you catch his attention.
7. Ignore cat if he bites
The idea here is that sometimes cats bite to get your attention. If you ignore his bite, hell try another way to get your attention.
8. Give your cat more attention
9. Hes bored
Get some cat toys, or even another cat will help your cat. We will link some toys below that we recommend trying out.
Petstages Tower of Tracks Cat Toy
What To Do When The Cat Bites
Shout politely to make the cat clear that its painful. Slowly get your hand out of the cats mouth and redirect it with another sort of play. Make your cat clear that biting is not a play and you dislike it.
Be consistent with your attitude and apply the same procedure in case the cat bites every time. Reward it for not biting. Give them new toys to play with. Using some code word like AHH or OW or UHH in every bite, your cat will get a signal that means he should stop it, or let it go.You always have to be patient to deal with the cats biting. If you go with physical punishment or a harsh scold, the cat might be frightened.
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.
Sign up to receive our exclusive e-book full of training techniques, problem-solving and important information about caring for your pet.
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:
Ways To Stop A Kitten From Biting And Scratching
Does your kitty sometimes get carried away and leave you with a sharp bite or scratch?
Though occasional play biting can be expected, its important to teach your pet not to scratch or bite you while they are young. That way, youll still be able to play with your happy, friendly kitty once theyre grown – without the risk of injury!