Hi guys,
I am getting extremely frustrated with my four month old female kitten, Lulu. She will not stop biting our hands/arms, etc. I understand she is teething, but this is becoming more than that...she's clearly not just biting to relieve her sore gums. My boyfriend and I have tried everything. First and foremost, we have done our best to NEVER used our hands as toys or even tease her with our hands. Second, we give her plenty of play time (we both work full-time M-F, so as much as we can, anyway) and she has many different types of toys to keep her busy and for her to chew on. Third, I have gotten her kitten teethers/binky toys to help with the teething process and help alleviate any pain/pressure she might be feeling.
At first she just used to bite when we were playing with her, but now she often does even when we pet her or pick her up she bites constantly. It's not hard enough to draw blood, but she definitely knows what she's doing. She will even bite our feet sometimes when we are laying in bed, or arms when we are hardly paying attention to her. When she does bite we either yell "Ouch!" or "No!" or "Bad!" immediately, stop playing or petting her right away, and sometimes even clamp her mouth shut briefly with our fingers when she does. I don't know what more we can do...she's not getting the message and I don't understand why.
I understand that she's a kitten and this is what kittens do and I'm willing to wait it out. However, my biggest worry is that she WON'T grow out of it and will never "get the message" that she should not be biting humans. I would hate to have a cat that you have to be super cautious around and are afraid to interact with because of random biting/lashing out with claws.
Any advice? Tips? Let me know what you think.
Thanks so much!
Crystal
I am getting extremely frustrated with my four month old female kitten, Lulu. She will not stop biting our hands/arms, etc. I understand she is teething, but this is becoming more than that...she's clearly not just biting to relieve her sore gums. My boyfriend and I have tried everything. First and foremost, we have done our best to NEVER used our hands as toys or even tease her with our hands. Second, we give her plenty of play time (we both work full-time M-F, so as much as we can, anyway) and she has many different types of toys to keep her busy and for her to chew on. Third, I have gotten her kitten teethers/binky toys to help with the teething process and help alleviate any pain/pressure she might be feeling.
At first she just used to bite when we were playing with her, but now she often does even when we pet her or pick her up she bites constantly. It's not hard enough to draw blood, but she definitely knows what she's doing. She will even bite our feet sometimes when we are laying in bed, or arms when we are hardly paying attention to her. When she does bite we either yell "Ouch!" or "No!" or "Bad!" immediately, stop playing or petting her right away, and sometimes even clamp her mouth shut briefly with our fingers when she does. I don't know what more we can do...she's not getting the message and I don't understand why.
I understand that she's a kitten and this is what kittens do and I'm willing to wait it out. However, my biggest worry is that she WON'T grow out of it and will never "get the message" that she should not be biting humans. I would hate to have a cat that you have to be super cautious around and are afraid to interact with because of random biting/lashing out with claws.
Any advice? Tips? Let me know what you think.
Thanks so much!
Crystal