Kitten is a bit bitey

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

5 month old beloved kitten/nearly cat still bites when play fighting. We thought she'd calm herself down as she got older and haven't worried too much so far but she is getting bigger and occasionally bites quite hard. I think she just gets carried away. Occasionally, though, she puts her ears back and leaps at us with her mouth already open like a bloody tiger!

I'm loath to raise my voice at her or to use any negative reinforcement other than putting her down when she does it and refusing to play along.

Are there any tricks to training her out of it?

[Fluffycloudland77]

Wear her out with lots of play and distract with a toy she can kick.

You literally can’t play with them enough at this age. Is she spayed yet?.

[Veterinari]

Play biting is a known phenomenon in cats - it usually occurs when they're over excited. If you think about it it's normal predatory behaviour - high excitement always results in pounce/bite, so it's how cats naturally end/control over excitement. Be careful as they can bite hard/draw blood - they aren't trying to hurt you but when their excitement is triggered they aren't thinking.

The only way to stop it is to stop using your hands to play - use a fishing toy or similar so that she can naturally play/pounce and bite at it without any problems

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

I've basically been shredded since she moved in! She's very loving, too, so don't think she hates us, but she doesn't have a whole lot of self control. Thanks both of you - I will get a few new toys and see whether we can distract her.

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

Here she is, by the way. Who wouldn't forgive her just about anything, with that beautiful face?

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

Here she is, by the way. Who wouldn't forgive her just about anything, with that beautiful face?

[caitlinohara]

Yes, definitely don’t encourage her to play fight with your hands/feet, even feet under the duvet.

[caitlinohara]

I like her fancy socks

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

Here she is, by the way. Who wouldn't forgive her just about anything, with that beautiful face?

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

Sorry for the weird multiple posts

[wherestheotherone]

Play with her lots with appropriate toys. The minute she bites you stop and give her no attention at all. Kittens need a lot of play time.

[ivfdreaming]

My tabby also does this but he's 8 - he is definitely the more wild animal like in his play behaviour compared to our other cats who aren't phased by hands waving at them.

It's taken a while but if he gets over excited we just remove our hands from his vicinity and step back, when daughter was young we'd physically put him out of the room and eventually he has learnt if he wants to play then he needs to behave himself

[Sunnydayshereatlast]

Get another dkitten.

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

@Sunnydayshereatlast

Get another dkitten.

Tell me more...

[Maryann1975]

My cat bites me, but no one else. I am however, her favourite person, she isn’t too bothered about the others, but will sit with me, prefers my bed. I’m not generally the one who feeds her the most, but am here the most normally.
I have read she might be a biter cat because she was taken away from her mother and litter mates to early. She did leave her mother at 6 weeks And we had her at 9 weeks from the cats protection.
When she bites me I tend to blow on her, which she doesn’t like and she lets go and jumps down. I have no idea if that is an accepted method of cat discipline, but it removes her teeth from My arm quickly, so I’m sticking with it.

[IHaveBrilloHair]

She's beautiful.
They do that, mine still do and they are 8, so long as its not nasty or breaking the skin I wouldn't worry about it.

[SirVixofVixHall]

Isn’t that the definition of “kitten” ?

[SirVixofVixHall]

Oh and she is lovely.

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

You were all right about playing - got her big green feather on a stick out and she is leaping about like a mad thing. Feeling v guilty that we haven't been playing with her enough! She can jump so high now.

[Fluffycloudland77]

I would forgive that little face too.

Have you tried her with laser pointers? You can get toys that fire random laser patterns she can use when your not there.

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

She does love a laser pointer. We properly tired her out yesterday after advice on this thread - she was leaping about after her toy until she just lay down and panted with her mouth open...and no biting.

[sluj]

Don't "play fight" with kittens, you just wind them up, confuse them and set up behaviour problems. Play with dangly toys and laser lights instead.

[Sunnydayshereatlast]

We had 2 dkittens and very minimum soft furnishings damage!! Ds 3 carried one on each shoulder and they happily sat there!! Cutest pair ever!!
Dd is currently dkitten hunting for a pair from today!!
A pair and a spare are even better!! (3!!)

[IamMaz]

We have 2 brothers from Cats Protection - now 9. But a few months old when we got them. The bigger one is such a licky cat - more like a dog! I've never known another cat like it.
BUT after he has licked and licked, he blooming bites! Not a ferocious one, just a slow little nip. It doesn't even hurt but I'm on edge just waiting for it...

[samlh]

Leo is/was a bitey kitten. He wasn't malicious with it, generally when playing.

We got him a Kong Kickeroo from ZooPlus and when he goes to bite and "bunny kick" we grab the kickeroo and he does it to that instead.

He nipped my toe the other day when I was lay on the sofa (which he hasn't ever done before) and I just picked him up and put him on the floor near his toys and he started playing with them instead and it's not happened again :)

[ElizabethinherGermanGarden]

@sluj

Don't "play fight" with kittens, you just wind them up, confuse them and set up behaviour problems. Play with dangly toys and laser lights instead.

I think I may have given the wrong impression - I don't play fight with her. That's just me putting the kindest spin on her trying to kill me! I take my hands away when she bites but she often leaps from one end of the bed to the other and goes straight to biting.