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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

Kitten is a bit bitey

30 replies

ElizabethinherGermanGarden · 12/07/2020 22:02

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?

OP posts:
ElizabethinherGermanGarden · 13/07/2020 21:42

@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 :)

Thanks - I will look into a kickeroo
OP posts:
Shmithecat2 · 13/07/2020 21:45

One of my (6) cats is 7yo and still bites when he gets over excited. A loud, short, sharp 'OW!' stops him, but he'll just do it again at some point. It's just how he is. He super loving and affectionate, not a nasty bone in his body.

Silvercatowner · 18/07/2020 09:21

Hiss at her when she bites. I cured my cat of biting by doing this (I posted on here and that is the advice I was given). It's what mummy cats do when their kits do something naughty.

ElizabethinherGermanGarden · 18/07/2020 10:30

I've been trying the extra play thing since it was suggested a few days ago and it has made all the difference - she's not bitten any of us and she's absolutely exhausted so she's much cuddlier. We just weren't tiring her out entertaining her enough, I think.

OP posts:
Pancakeorcrepe · 18/07/2020 17:13

Aaaww that is a lovely result! She is too gorgeous.
Kickeroos are an amazing toy, also look up a toy called Cat Dancer on Amazon or Zooplus. Super plain and cheap toy but mine go beserk for it. Ping pong balls are great because they are very bouncy. Those tunnels which they usually have in the pet section in Asda or Tesco are always a success with my foster kittens.

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