[Maleke]

My kitten is now 7 months, almost 8 months. We made the BIG mistake of playing with him with our hands when he was little.....it was HILARIOUS how he would attack us. Anyway, now every time we play with him he's fine...but if we try to pet him while he is still excited from playing he bites....and not play biting, it's aggressive aggrivated biting followed by swishing of his tail and dialated pupils!!!!! I know it's totally our fault.....but I really need advice! We have learned a lesson and we won't use our hands to play with our new kitten, even though it may be tempting.

Maleke has even hissed at me once when I was holding him after playing. Every time he bites we say no loudly and lock him in the bathroom for a few minutes until he is calmer. When we let him out he meows SO pathetically as if saying sorry then he is totally sweet. I'm really not sure what to do about this problem but I don't want to raise an aggressive cat!

 

[Ioana]

Frosty let me know a few times he didn't like me holding him for too long or I might have hurt him and gave me a look and saw his claws a little. When I clip his nails and he is trying to escape I always talk to him letting him know that I won't put up with the bratty attitude. Just be very firm and Maleke will certainly learn. It is a good thing he is still young therefore more manageable.

 

[kitkat]

If your cat bites at your hand make sure you say "NO" and don't play with him after they do that. Maybe you can try getting those play mittens and put it on your hand before you play with him so he isn't really attacking your hand, but the mitten that is on your hand.... it's really big and covers up to your elbows so he probably won't associate it the same as with your skin on your hands.

 

[Bean]

It could be just the cats personality; I don't think it's your fault. I had cats that were that way - they just were very fickle with handling.

 

[Jeanie]

Maleke, I did the same thing with my Pixie -years ago. No one else allowed her to play with their hands, so she didn't! If she got a bit rough, I made a little cry and she let go immediately. Try crying out. I think the noise and realization that she's hurting you will work together to stop her. I hope so. Let us know! Pixie was my special baby, and I knew she was only playing. She was not serious. But I'm sure Maleke loves you too.

 

[drjean]

aggressive

Roughhousing a kitten with your hands is a good way to raise a biter...it *is* hilarious when they're little, but unfortunately not so funny when they're 15 pounds with 1" fangs! Hopefully it's not too late to for him to "unlearn" his bad habits!

There are three major strategies here: (1) prevention and (2) discouragement and (3) alternative activities.

For prevention, when you're petting him, watch the eyes, ears and tail for signs of excitement building up--eyes dilating, tail twitching, ears folding back--stop and/or leave before he gets worked up to the point of attacking.

To discourage him, when he grabs a hand, simply go limp. I mean completely, utterly limp. You are only interesting as a toy as long as you are moving. Usually they will quit gnawing within a few seconds, give a few licks, then lose interest and walk away. I have heard good reports about "crying" also, you might want to add this too.

He's still a kitten at 8 months, so you'll want to find other substitute activities to help him work out his excess energy. Interactive play with a fishing-pole type toy (Da Bird is the best--www.go-cat.com, but turn down your speakers first!) for 15-20 minutes twice a day should go a long way toward reducing the problem. (For play basics--see free article at http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... w&item=012)

It took me a full 6 months to train 9-week old Mitty to stop biting, and she was only in another home for a week! Even now (she's 6) I have to watch her, and I still get a nip now and then if I'm not paying attention. So be prepared for a long hard journey, for which you will need infinite patience, and tough skin.

As I'm sure you know, never ever tap or swat cat--in this type of situation, it will usually accelerate the problem. Even yelling or saying 'no' loudly is probably not a great idea, because the loud noise may stimulate him even further.

Of course, if he's not already neutered, be sure to get this done ASAP! Training is hard enough without the hormones!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[ForJazz]

Dr. Jean I'm so glad you're here!

 

[drjean]

Thanks, me too! Hope I have time to keep up with you all!

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

[marijun]

i know all about it :shock:

when she was a wee kitten, i always played with her with my hands. she liked to roll over on her back and let me grab her belly. she'd get this wild look in her eyes and go to town biting and scratching at my hand. as a kitten, she barely left marks, no harm was done, and it was massively cute...but after a few months, it was really starting to hurt! my hands were shredded all the time! i broke her of the habit rather quickly using several techniques. seeing as she's a really sweet cat and has no real intention of harming me, i would sternly say NO and stop moving my hand, but not take my hand away from her. she would halt and look apologetic, and we'd play some more. sometimes she'd lick my hand to apologize. if she got too rough again, i'd say NO again and stop playing with her altogether. sometimes i would say OWWW instead of NO to let her know she was being too rough and hurting me. after a couple weeks of that, we could play and she rarely played too rough. at that point, i would just stop playing with her if she hurt me, and i'd hold onto one of her paws and say NO. she's very cautious of how she uses her claws now. even when she kneads on me when i'm laying in bed, she kneads the covers and not my skin. she likes to knead as close to my face as she can though, sometimes she nicks me. accidents happen

you just need to make the connection in kitty's brain that claws + skin = OUCH

 

[Jeanie]

Pixie used to lick my hand if I cried too! It worked like a charm.