6 week old kitten biting ankles, toes, fingers, arms, and cheeks!!

[xiomaramariaa]

Hello
So I have a 6 week old kitten by the name of Picasso

1376507083106.jpg

• xiomaramariaa
• Aug 15, 2013

Apart from being so cute hes a been very good to train. BUT my boyfriend and I are having alot of trouble getting him to understand that biting our skin is not ok. We've done the whole picking up and say NO in a not so harsh but commanding voice. Weve even put him in his crate for time out. Weve tried the toys too but he always wants the fingers!!! (No I have not tried the water spraying method and I dont want to) my last option is to ignore him but that would be quit hard. Anybody have any suggestions on what might work????
Were also setting up a play date with Picassos sister from the same litter my boyfriend and I are still debating on whether or not we should do it. Hes thinks our kitten will become more aggressive with us after the playdate. While I think the play date it would be good for Picasso he'll be able to let it all out.
Love to hear feedback
xoxo!!!

 

[karen b]

Hello! I've had a lot of cats (most of mine live to be 16-18), but unfortunately not too many kittens. (Most of mine were adults when they found me.) But my experience is that this is very typical behavior for a kitten aged about 6-12 weeks, when they're first learning to attack prey.  I wouldn't get too shook up about it.  Just say "no" (not loudly or crossly) and gently try to stop him/her from chasing or biting your toes, fingers, and nose. Also provide other more acceptable outlets - feather toys, etc. This stage passes.  It's also the stage at which kittens are clowns.  As they get older, they are more prideful and don't like to be laughed at.  Kittens relish the attention and will do silly things to make you laugh!

Karen 

 

[white shadow]

Were also setting up a play date with Picassos sister from the same litter my boyfriend and I are still debating on whether or not we should do it. Hes thinks our kitten will become more aggressive with us after the playdate. While I think the play date it would be good for Picasso he'll be able to let it all out

Hi xiomaramariaa and welcome to TCS !

I strongly believe that what you're seeing is a kitten who has not learned all the normal social skills - the feline ones - that kittens who are allowed to remain with their siblings and mother do naturally learn.......

I think that you're going to need more than a "playdate" to 'socialize' this kitten.

You are the ones who the kitten is treating like littermates......and, there's a problem there, because you aren't treating him as they would. He can't learn normal limits with you, because you can't teach him the way the family would.

I think he would benefit from a few more weeks 'back home'.......but, certainly he needs more than this "playdate".

Meantime, there's hope: SOCIALIZING KITTENS

 

[mservant]

Hi. I agree that what you are experiencing is kitten behaviour and think you are wise to want to approach the biting behaviour positively and address it from a young age.  You are not alone, since I joined a matter of weeks ago I have seen and joined a number of threads with this as an issue.

For information these included:  My Cat Bites, A LOT,   Touching face/head with paws during play,  (also has some good training tips), and Unrepentant Pouncer Help (long).

I am sure there are many more.  I'll not repeat the information that's in them as quite lengthy so hope you can find them, if not I'm happy to give you bits of info' that I have. When not sleeping/snoogling Mouse was a hyperactive chew monster as a kitten - it does get better if you persevere, honest!

Welcome from the Mouse servant.

 

[tulosai]

Why is he not with his littermates?

Honestly, I don't believe in the 'saying no not too firmly' thing regarding biting.  I think this is a serious enough issue that it is okay to scream NO as this is the only real way to impart to a kitten that actually, yes, this hurts. (It is important , though, to scream it only once and to scream it WHILE he is biting so he associates the scream with it). Have you tried hissing when he does it? Have you tried loudly shaking a can of coins?

Other than that, I think time outs are a good idea even though there's been limited success so far.  Time him out in a separate room and don't go in there or acknowledge him during the time out (which combines ignoring him with the time out).  Time outs can be up to 15 minutes without issue.  Make sure they are long enough for him to calm down.

Finally, I agree with the above comment that this is because he's not properly socialized.  To be honest, it may be a recurring and difficult to fix problem due to this.  Good luck :/

 

[mservant]

.........

Honestly, I don't believe in the 'saying no not too firmly' thing regarding biting.  I think this is a serious enough issue that it is okay to scream NO as this is the only real way to impart to a kitten that actually, yes, this hurts. (It is important , though, to scream it only once and to scream it WHILE he is biting so he associates the scream with it). Have you tried hissing when he does it? Have you tried loudly shaking a can of coins?

...........

Yes, it has to be a sharp 'NO' or 'OUCH' immediately as the bite is happening.  Also, be really careful not to pull back as that is easily misinterpreted as a play response, but rather push quickly but slightly toward your kitten as you give the verbal warning. You then freeze and hopefully the bite will be released. If it is repeated you repeat the process. If your kitten gets more excited that's when you go for the lift up and start your time out.  It has to learn from you as it hasn't got other little kittens to do this.  I have an only cat who had no litter mates and had to learn 'no biting ' from me when I adopted at about 15 weeks - it can be done, you just have to persevere and be consistent. And continue to try and encourage Picasso to use the alternatives for the biting such as bigger soft toys like Kickeroo, fishing rods, and wand toys. If he really wants to chew, and  ]a lot of kittens do,encourage chewing on things like cardboard.  Picasso should be able to learn with you. 

 

[stephanietx]

Welcome to TCS!  You've received a lot of helpful information already.  He is very young to be separated from his littermates and mom, but this isn't a lost cause.  One thing I would recommend, if you can afford it, is to also adopt one of his littermates.  This type of behavior is normal for this age kitten. He's still so young and tiny that this type of behavior would normally be corrected by his mom and littermates when they tussle.   It will take consistent, gentle correction to curb.  I have a couple of biters and one thing I do is to always have some kind of soft chewy toy for them with me when they start getting like this.  Also, I hiss at them as that's what the mom cat would do.  The stern "NO!" is a good trick to.  Sometimes deflecting with a toy works like a charm as well.