Biting Cat Doesn't respond to various training techniques

[camilamilfuegos]

My kitty (9months) loves play fighting. I'm fairly certain it's not actual aggression due to the lack of hissing, but of course I could be wrong.

Nox will, at least two times a day, start biting and pouncing on my arms, hands, and feet. Hard. 

I had tried water spray(less than a week? only a few times?), realized it was a bad idea, and stopped. Tried to ignore it, but at nine months, this guy's teeth are really sharp. 

My friend said something about holding his head down and saying "no" but that just made him more convinced it was a game, I think. 

I guess my real question is, what is the best way to handle this? 

I have tried getting up and leaving the room, but I'm in a studio apartment. I'm forced to move to my closet, which also really doesn't work when he does this while I'm trying to sleep.

A follow-up question would be how long should I keep with a method before trying a new one? 

With the right training, when can I expect this to stop?

He hasn't drawn blood, but I definitely get micro-scabs (so maybe he has drawn blood, just minimal) and it really hurts. 

I don't want to be afraid to stay in my own home. 

Other techniques tried included replacing the body part with the toy (putting a mouse toy or ball near the biting cat or throwing near him so he is attracted to the motion), but no dice.

EDIT: There are tons of articles on this, I know. Does anyone have advice that may work in a smaller space, or any tips they can share not found in the standard articles?

 

[talkingpeanut]

Quick question - did you ever get him neutered?

 

[elliesvictim]

I have a 9 mth female kitten who was calmed a little after desexing. Her and I play quite violently but it's the play where she learnt boundaries. I would play and if she bites or scratches to hard is say the same phrase "is only play" then stop playing altogether. Repeated this consistently.
Now when we play as we play I can say "is only play" and I can feel her take the play down a gear and bite and scratch softer.
She does tend to play more aggressively if haven't played in a while or is a little anxious
Maybe play with him more or try to get him jumping/chasing. If he bites of scratches too hard pick a phrase and stick with it.

 

[kaylee892015]

I had this problem with my first cat. She is a full time indoor cat so I worried that was the problem at first (despite the fact she's never so much set foot on the outside ground). I tried absolutely everything. I even bought a cat wheel and had it shipped to me in Canada. She actually uses the catwheel and I still think it was worth buying because she can burn off energy on it, but unfortunatly along with all the other methods I'd tried, nothing stopped the random attacks. I eventually got desperate and had to go with my last resort. Everywhere I read about "Lonely Kitten Syndrome", advised getting another kitten so they could attack each other and play in the way us humans do not appreciate. It was advised I get one as close to my cats age as possible and the opposite sex. I was planning on doing that but my cat was about 10months and a lot is learned in that period of time so I decided to adopt a young male kitten. The kitten I got was 6weeks old so I didn't introduce them right away. He had his own room that he stayed in and then I proceeded in a lengthy introduction process which I researched online. The whole thing was definitely a pain and took longer then I would have liked but I didn't force it and eventually they were successfully integrated. My first cat hasn't bitten or attacked since! She is much more calm and happy. The only problem is now I have the same problem with the other one! Since he is so much younger, he has way more energy then she is willing to help him burn off and now I'm being attacked by him. So I definitely would reccomend going with the same age.

 

[camilamilfuegos]

He's been neutered since July.

His background is in a previous post, but the TL;DR version in case it's relevant:

abandoned farm kitty taught to use litter box and fed semi-regularly gets taken home, then moves in with me in my studio apartment. I try to provide at least 20min of play daily, trying to harness train him so he can still get to go outside.

 

[elliesvictim]

May need to play a couple more times a day. My 9 mth does what you described when I have only played with her once or twice. Kind of her way of saying play with me and vent a little frustration.
Maybe 3 10 minute play sessions. This is possibly a sign of him enjoying playing with you and wants to do so more often. If he's not drawing blood he's not intending to hurt you. Don't be scare If he wanted to hurt he could hurt you.
When my Ellie was 2 months old she used to go toe toe to playing with a 9 month old kitten the lived in our backyard. 3 times her size.
We may just have exuberant strong cats on our hands.