Hi all,

Im new to this form, and id really like soe advice.

Myself and my boyfiend have recently bought a little black long haired kitten, her name is 'Sky'. We got her when she was 7 weeks old, and she was/is lovely, the only trouble is, over the last 4 or so weeks she has gotten really violent! She doesnt get like this all the time, but its a dead cert that for at least 2-3 hours each day she'll run up and bite mine or my boyfriends feet/hands/arms/elbows pretty much anything exposed, and she bites really really hard.

I am guessing that this is just normal kitten behavoir, because kittens rough house with their brothers and sisters, the only problem is we're both covered in bites and scratches, some times she will even do this in the middle of the night so we arent getting any sleep.

We tried keeping her out of the bed room, but then she just cried all night - she is quite a needy little thing - we play with her as much as we can, and she has countless toys.

What I really need is some advice on how to deal with this behaviour - we dont smack her or anything, we tend to just try and distract her with a toy when she goes into 'attack' mode.

Is there anything we're doing wrong? I have heard that a spray bottle is a good way of getting a kitten to learn not to bite, but im worried that this is a little mean and that she might not like us any more!

One other thing I should mention is that she still seems to like to suckle on our fingers - is this normal at 10 weeks? And how can we discourage this?

Thanks so much in advance.

bugglet.

She was very young leaving her mum which helps explain the need to suckle.
It is normal kitten play, but it needs to be channeled to stop it getting too rough on you and your boyfriend. Do you have a cat tree or scratchpost she can use? Fishing rod type toys are fantastic for helping kittens work off their energy and role play their hunting skills without you getting the sharp end. If she does start biting too hard, you must discourage her, do it the same way everytime so she understands. With my boy I just have to say 'Ah' now and he knows, and stops.
You can get some fab toys online or at petshops, and a few play sessions a day will help tire her out.

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Hi - thanks for the reply.

Yes, she has a pretty big scratch post - it was a little big for her at first, but now, if you put her by it, she will thrash around with it and take her anger out on that, but her first port of call always seems to be flesh!

I did try saying 'ouch' quite loudly when she nipped, but I dont think I was consistant enough with it, and now it doesnt mean anything to her - if I started up saying 'ouch' again when she bits, do you think that might work?

Sometimes, if she bites - i'll take her over to her scratch post to try and get her to understand she needs to play with that and not me, but she just run's straigh back over and bites even harder, as though she knows what im trying to do!

She is a gorgeous little cat when she is just playing normal with her toys, she loves to chase after this piece of string that has a ping pong ball on the other end, and we try to give her as many play sessions a day as we can so that she does get tired - as you say its normal kitten behaviour to want to rough house - I just dont want her to be like this when she is an adult, because im guessing a bite from an adult will be alot worse than a bite from a little kitty!

No you're right, if you ever get a bite from a cat you need to get to the dr fast, they can give you horrendous infections if they puncture the skin, so you are absolutely right to discourage her. Just keep persevering with what you're doing, keep putting her on the scratcher , and if she runs back to bite you [cos it's more fun ] then put her down and ignore her. No more play if she gets too rough. She will get the msg if you are consistent.

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Thanks for all your help.

I think the other problem is that my boyfriend forgets the harsh side of her, and when she is being nice, he lets her play with his hands, so she thinks its ok - which is obviously going to confuse her!

Thanks again.

Welcome to the forum xx

Kittens will be playful, but as already said she was very young coming to yourselves and wouldn't be properly weaned from mum and not progressed socially yet xx

Try just saying No, as this then can be used for a multitude of things like telling her not to climb in your plants as an example xx

i have always used NO and DOWN and my lot got used to these fairly quickly and now understand that if the tone is there too that they shouldn't be doing it xx They do also work off the pitch/loudness of your voice too and how you call them or say things xx

Persevere and she'll get there and become a fabulous little well behaved kitty (with the odd "sod" moment lol)

as mentioned, any toys to tire her out will always help xx

i find the door way hanging toys that squeak when they bat them keep a lot of mine happy for hours on end too xx though the squeaking eventually annoys you when they've been playing for a good hour xx

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Men they are all the same lol! My OH is exactly the same, and always plays those hand fighting games, which is cute when their claws are soft and titchy..... but they forget that kittens grow really fast She will learn though, so you will be puncture free even if he isn't.

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Just an update - ive put a few coins in a coffee jar and when she bites - I shake that and she stops right away

I just need to get her to learn that now.

If anyone else has any tips or advice for me, id really appreciate it!

Thanks to everyone who has commented so far.

Bugglet