When we took Rufus to the vets for his check up, he said his gums were a bit red but it's because his teeth are still coming through.

The last couple of days he's started biting me - not hard, really gentle (but hard enough!). Is this because he is teething? What can I give him to chew instead of me?

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Kate x
Oscar the dog
Rufus the cat
Manny, Floyd, Boba, Maida, Nilda, George, Tom, Tiny, William & Eugene the rats
Bobby the hamster

I'd be interested in the answer too. My ragdoll is almost 6 months and as far as I can see still hasn't started teething. His teeth are like needles and really hurt when he bites, so I know how you feel. My NFCx had all her adult teeth by that age. When do raggies usually teeth?

Rufus is 6 months and 2 weeks - so if it's about the same time you'll get it soon!

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Kate x
Oscar the dog
Rufus the cat
Manny, Floyd, Boba, Maida, Nilda, George, Tom, Tiny, William & Eugene the rats
Bobby the hamster

maybe get him some biccis and maybe some bicci chews? im sure i see a kitten teething ring, maybe type it into google?

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Definitely sounds like he's teething. I've heard kitten teething toys are brilliant, but hadn't heard of such things when Locke was teething. Some of his favourite chew-things were thick cardboard (mostly the box his food came in), those big plastic straws that didn't last too long but you can buy packs of them really cheaply, and chewed OH's leather belt a few times as well!

His most favourite chew-thing was layers of scrunched up paper ball on a string. It was his favourite toy at the time, but when Locke was teething it doubled up as a great chew toy.

Freezing a damp towel in the freezer overnight apparently makes a really good chew toy as the coolness helps soothe any sore gums and because its frozen it gives a little extra "crunch". Never tried this method but I have read it is quite effective

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Thank you. I've given him the cardboard packaging that my new book arrived in today - he gave it a good munch.

When he bites me - what do I need to do? When Oscar (dog) was mouthing I would yelp and stop play then move away from him - would the same apply to a cat?

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Kate x
Oscar the dog
Rufus the cat
Manny, Floyd, Boba, Maida, Nilda, George, Tom, Tiny, William & Eugene the rats
Bobby the hamster

i normally do a little yelp/cry like a littermate would do, they i remove myself / arm and stop all play, give it 1/2mins (very short attention span lol!) and go back

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I would think the method would be the same also letting your hand go limp and lifeless can work as well, but this might depend on the cat and how focused he is in relieving his gums. Maybe try and attract his attention with a toy at the same time? Or you could test all the methods out and see which works best

EDIT: Excellent advice from Taylorbaby - said it better and in fewer words than I did!

The "swapping hand for chew toy" worked rather well with Locke. Easiest was the belt or the paper ball as it was easy to wiggle and flick around and divert his attention.

Hopefully Rufus will decide chewing other things is much better than chewing your hand

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Thanks to the OP for this question and all the people who replied.

I'll be going through this soon and I have one that is going to be a chewer!