Kitten attacking me

[QuestionableMouse]

My kitten (9 months old) keeps attacking me. I'll be sitting doing something (was just sitting reading with her next to me) and she'll jump on me and bite my hands/wrists/arms. It's not playfulness, she is really angry and it's hard work to get her off me. Its just happened and I had to scruff her to get her teeth off my skin. My arm is pretty scratched and sore and she's drawn blood in a few places. I love her to bits, never play with her with my hands and don't pester her but I'm getting a bit scared of her because of this. What can I do?

Has she been neutered yet?

Not yet. She will be though (she's pretty tiny and the vet said it was best to wait.)

I'd have her spayed at the first opportunity and see how her behaviour is then. It could make a massive difference.

Mine did this as a kitten. Best thing was to shut him away from us (shut the living room door in our case) for five minutes or until he stopped crying each time it happened. It was awful but the only thing that worked, he never attacks people now. We eventually got another cat which stopped it happening entirely - it does seem to be a play thing, kittens play rough and don't understand that people are less resilient. You can try transferring the attacks to a toy that's big enough to bite/kick (firm no, then give them the toy to play with). We had limited success with this but worth a shot.

In the meantime, what games does she have to play?

Here's the current guidance on neutering.

I take the point about her tiny size but don't leave it too long. I doubt you'll see much improvement in her until you have it done.

She has a huge amount of stuff to play with. She has a teddy that's about the same size as her, a load of balls, a treat toy thing (you fill it with dry food or treats and they fall out as it rolls around). I also have a snake thing she loves. (a stick with a long fluffy snake attached).

Will ring the vet on Monday and see when I can get her in.

Well done. At the moment, you might have the cat equivalent of a stroppy teenager. (It's possible she already has hormones coursing through her. Possible. So keep the doors and windows tight closed.)

PS - and consider having her microchipped at the same time. Even if she's to be (primarily) an indoor cat, it's a good idea in case eg she gets outside.

She's already chipped. I've never seen her have a strong season and even when next door's tom (he loves my other cat) was sitting on our windowsill she didn't seem interested.

Good news about the chip. Even if she shows no interest, I fear that it doesn't mean that he won't be interested in her if he's unneutered. Nor does it mean that she hasn't already got those hormones. The fact that she may not know what to do about them is a different matter entirely.