Kitten biting and scratching!

[Gabriella93]

I got a kitten about 3 weeks ago, he is around 18 weeks old I believe. He is the most cuddly and affectionate little boy, he loves being picked up and will sleep on me whenever he can. But recently he has started playing really roughly with me and my boyfriend, he bites and scratches our hands or legs all the time. He hasn't got less affectionate and still wants to curl up on our laps but will randomly scratch and bite us for no reason

We have tried playing with him more and I don't stroke him much now because I think he just prefers to be laying on us rather than being petted, but still he wants to bite me!

Is this just a phase or have we done something wrong? We've never been rough with him or used our hands to play!

That's what they do when they get over stimulated. You need to make a loud kittenish squeak if he's hurting you to let him know he's gone too far. It's usually preceeded by the tail wagging faster

Ours does it too.. maybe a boy thing?

It's normal and why they recommend you get kittens in pairs - so they can play with each other instead 🤣

Mine is six months and will still bite and scratch when we play. My older two haven't done it for years now. He'll grow out of it!

Redirect him to a toy. He's a kitten, that's what they do.

And yes, that's why they are usually rehomed in pairs.

That’s what kittens do if they are alone. They learn faster that it hurts if there is more than one kitten. Sole kittens try it out on you and you end up shredded.

It’s definitely not “a boy thing”. It’s a cat thing. They are hunters.

Exaggerated pain responses worked for me.