Hello, my 6 weeks old kitten is jumping and biting us and scratching us even if we are sleeping. I guess she doesn't know that it hurts.. we tried 'time out' , 'say no loudly' , make her busy with toys but unfortunately nothing works.. I put her outside of our bedroom and closed the door because she bit my husband's month and he was sleeping. He was mad at her.. I want her to sleep with us but before she sleeps she bites and scratches a lot. What should I do? Please help!
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Biting Kitten
- Thread starter neff
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Do you play with her before you go to bed? Does she have a feeding schedule like 3x a day?
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Kittens have boundless energy. When they see their humans sleeping, they're thinking along the lines of, "hey, person, are you still alive? Play with me already!"
Spaying could help greatly with this behavior. A lot of aggression is triggered by hormones.
For overnight, there's two things I'd reccommend. First, if you are able to take in another kitten, by all means, go for it! They can keep each other entertained, so your kitten won't be begging you for playtime when you're asleep.
Something else you can do is set up a puzzle feeding system, to give your kitten something to exercise her body and give her a mental challenge during the nighttime. An example of this is the no-bowl, which is quite expensive for something any cat will probably just tear up in a matter of hours, so you can make your own no-bowl system (Cat Food Dispenser: Interactive Cat Toys | NoBowl Feeding System) with taking water or Gatorade bottles, cutting holes in them, and (making sure there's no sharp edges left on the holes) put kibble in. Your kitty will roll the bottle around, and the kibble will fall out for her to eat. Other alternatives are: PetSafe SlimCat Interactive Cat Feeder or PetSafe Funkitty Egg-Cersizer Cat Toy
Spaying could help greatly with this behavior. A lot of aggression is triggered by hormones.
For overnight, there's two things I'd reccommend. First, if you are able to take in another kitten, by all means, go for it! They can keep each other entertained, so your kitten won't be begging you for playtime when you're asleep.
Something else you can do is set up a puzzle feeding system, to give your kitten something to exercise her body and give her a mental challenge during the nighttime. An example of this is the no-bowl, which is quite expensive for something any cat will probably just tear up in a matter of hours, so you can make your own no-bowl system (Cat Food Dispenser: Interactive Cat Toys | NoBowl Feeding System) with taking water or Gatorade bottles, cutting holes in them, and (making sure there's no sharp edges left on the holes) put kibble in. Your kitty will roll the bottle around, and the kibble will fall out for her to eat. Other alternatives are: PetSafe SlimCat Interactive Cat Feeder or PetSafe Funkitty Egg-Cersizer Cat Toy
Leave out chew toys maybe? A bed that she can scratch on? A cat gave birth on my porch 2014. One of her kittens disappeared at 5 weeks then came back 2 yrs old. I took her in. She chews my bracelet and sometimes bites me while shes doing that in a nice way. Maybe your kitten was separated too early?
Just a bunch of ideas.
Just a bunch of ideas.
I bought a 50" cat tree for my bedroom with toys on it. One of my cats loves playing with the toys
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Excellent ideas! I just want to add that since she's still so young you should cut off any potential hazards on any toys you leave out, meaning any strings or hard button-like objects. For example, if you give her a catnip mouse, cut off the tail and remove the eyes (if the eyes are buttons).
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Chewy has a large selection of amazing cat trees that are also quite affordable: Cat Trees & Condos - Free shipping at Chewy.com
If you're short on space, I'd reccommend something like this: Trixie 4 Piece Wall-Mounted Cat Lounging Set You'll Love | Wayfair
There are also cat trees that look like high-end furniture: Banish the Ugly Beige Carpet: Check Out These Cool Cat Trees | Catster
You could even get an exercise wheel! Cat Exercise Wheel
The possibilities for creating an entertaining environment for your kitty are endless!
If you have room I have a 72" tree from chewy. Easy to set up and sturdy. Had it for years!
We have some more tips and ideas in the articles section -
How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night?
Playing with Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know
And yes, kittens are just crazy. You adopted a toddler, basically
And raising a toddler is challenging so you're in for an interesting few months. The good news is that they do settle down with time. Just make sure you don't alienate her in the meanwhile and don't punish her in any way or form. She's just being a kitten and punishing her will only confuse her and get in the way of creating a good everlasting bond with you.
How To Stop My Cat From Waking Me Up At Night?
Playing with Your Cat: 10 Things You Need To Know
And yes, kittens are just crazy. You adopted a toddler, basically
And raising a toddler is challenging so you're in for an interesting few months. The good news is that they do settle down with time. Just make sure you don't alienate her in the meanwhile and don't punish her in any way or form. She's just being a kitten and punishing her will only confuse her and get in the way of creating a good everlasting bond with you.
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If she's 6 weeks old, this isn't hormonal behavior. You should arrange to have her spayed in a month or two.
That said, she definitely needs a lot more play time!
That said, she definitely needs a lot more play time!
Do not spay her before 8 weeks old and a weight of 2 pounds. 12 weeks is a great age for spaying.
Since she has no mama cat to teach her manners you'll have to do it yourself.
When she bites or scratches, you'll need to gently scruff her and say "no" while she is scruffed.
You can also hiss at her. She'll understand that immediately.
A playmate her age would solve many problems!
Since she has no mama cat to teach her manners you'll have to do it yourself.
When she bites or scratches, you'll need to gently scruff her and say "no" while she is scruffed.
You can also hiss at her. She'll understand that immediately.
A playmate her age would solve many problems!
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I agree with the suggestion of getting another kitten! You absolutely cannot imagine how much a second cat can help with these types of behavioral issues. Plus, there's nothing more fantastic and peaceful than getting out of the shower at night, crawling into bed with my two cats and watching them groom each other. Thirteen was about six weeks old when Atticus came along and they took to each other immediately. I vote for a second kitten!
Hi I have a 7 month old kitten and we've had her since she was 7 weeks and she was a nightmare. We didn't know how young she was until we took her to the vet. And she would bite us (and still does on occasions ) if she wants attention. We tried absolutely everything and she has more toys than most kids and has scratch posts. She never calmed down when she was spayed at 4 months - in fact the anastetic made her more hypo and she was jumping around that evening. A lot of patience and waiting for them to get older is sometimes all you can do. In retrospect 7 weeks was far too Young to come to us and we turned into her mum and litter mates in one. I ensure I have intense play with her before bed ! Laser in my slippers so she can jump in them (I switch it off when she goes in the slipper so she thinks she caught it ) and playing with dangly toy usually does it! At 7 months she is starting to calm down however has her mad moments and we say agh agh agh in deep voice and stop playing with her. Hissing at her used to work as that is what her muma would have done to say enough is enough.
Perhaps consider adopting an older full grown young cat to teach her some manners and be a good companion for you? Many 1-5 year old previously neutered/spayed house cats are abandoned (cruelly by their owners!) You would be giving 2 cats a loving home they both need. Also if you work with a no kill shelter you can try fostering the cat for 3-6 months and if it works out you adopt the cat.
Over acting OW OW OW and then ignoring said cat for 10-15 minutes (stopping all play time) works with kittens. It just takes time and months. Meanwhile if she doesn't stop and you can drown out the instant meowing/door rattling you can lock her out of your room at night until she calms down ... however I recommend just grinning and bearing it. You = security, it would be a shame to deprive her of that while you sleep.
Please tell us how it works out
Over acting OW OW OW and then ignoring said cat for 10-15 minutes (stopping all play time) works with kittens. It just takes time and months. Meanwhile if she doesn't stop and you can drown out the instant meowing/door rattling you can lock her out of your room at night until she calms down ... however I recommend just grinning and bearing it. You = security, it would be a shame to deprive her of that while you sleep.
Please tell us how it works out
I agree with what was said above. I'm my experience rescuing kittens, it always helps to have another cat present or they'll most likely take set on you and sometimes only you. Felix didn't have a sibling to grow up with so he always chewed on my hands and feet. Unfortunately, I was so young at the time (only 12 years old). I didn't know that that habit would set in. He hasn't stopped. Whenever we play, my hands and feet are always targets. With the two kittens I rescued, they had Felix is play with so they didn't bother me much and Felix was a great uncle. He corrected what he saw as inappropriate behavior. He also kept an eye on them and kept them away from table and other things they could get into trouble with. Even though Felix had a lot of toys as a kitten, it didn't help much because I think what he really wanted was a friend to play with. I hope this helps! :-)
Young kittens can tire fairly quickly, but then they have a nap and then get up again and the cycle begins again.... Give it a few weeks and the tiring out will take longer but then the sleep can go on longer too. Away from mom so early you do need to have patience to show your kitten all the things she hasn't learned from her fur-mom or any kitten siblings. Like how biting hurts, leave me along when I'm sleeping, and please don't bite my face and jump on my head. 
Scruffing is likely not going to show her what she's not supposed to do, and telling her off doesn't either. More likely cause her to be stressed and unwanted behaviours increase.
Cats have a strong instinct to hunt (and therefor play), and if they get a response when they do something it is highly likely they will repeat it - whether they liked the response or not it was still attention. And if something moved it was either to play, to attack or to escape so they all fit in with their baisc hunting instincts and kitten desire to play. To alter the behaviour you best bet is to respond to the things you want her to repeat and completely ignore the things you don't. With biting / scratching you have to be sure only to respond if it is severe enough to injure you and keep to one simple response she can learn means she's hurting you. Something you don't say / do at any other time - so no isn't going to work. Ouch, or a quick hiss, some quick sound which doesn't need to be shouted is usually best.
Exhausting play before the time you want her to go to bed / just before you want to go to bed, then a snack so she's had food at the end of her night time hunt, and then ignore her later attempts to get you to play some more. If that means tucking your bed covers in around 3 sides and then holding them over your face so she can't bite your face then that's what you do. It is amazing how fast a cat learns not to do things that get no attention and are therefor boring.
Honest.
Scruffing is likely not going to show her what she's not supposed to do, and telling her off doesn't either. More likely cause her to be stressed and unwanted behaviours increase.
Cats have a strong instinct to hunt (and therefor play), and if they get a response when they do something it is highly likely they will repeat it - whether they liked the response or not it was still attention. And if something moved it was either to play, to attack or to escape so they all fit in with their baisc hunting instincts and kitten desire to play. To alter the behaviour you best bet is to respond to the things you want her to repeat and completely ignore the things you don't. With biting / scratching you have to be sure only to respond if it is severe enough to injure you and keep to one simple response she can learn means she's hurting you. Something you don't say / do at any other time - so no isn't going to work. Ouch, or a quick hiss, some quick sound which doesn't need to be shouted is usually best.
Exhausting play before the time you want her to go to bed / just before you want to go to bed, then a snack so she's had food at the end of her night time hunt, and then ignore her later attempts to get you to play some more. If that means tucking your bed covers in around 3 sides and then holding them over your face so she can't bite your face then that's what you do. It is amazing how fast a cat learns not to do things that get no attention and are therefor boring.
Honest.
Finally, someone who understands lazer pointers are bad. They have to be able to get 'the prize'.
I have 6 week old kittens. The tortie is a terror. Her favorite moves are
1) climb up my arm or back to my neck and attack my hair tie.
2) use my foot as a cat scratcher
I am constantly scruffing her, telling her 'no' and putting her on either the cat tree or cat scratcher. She doesn't care. She just attacks her sisters then comes back to me for more. She has clawed my face more than once while climbing to my neck.
I'm hoping that she'll calm down a little when she's older.
I'll keep my eyes on this thread so if you figure out how to stop it, I will learn too.
Ah, yes - the "kitten crazies"! For me, when the kitten causes pain, I give a loud sharp shriek (just like a littermate would do) and they immediately quit without becoming startled, anxious or frightened. Also, they don't just need toys, they need an active person/littermate at the other end to make the play meaningful and challenging. With kittens, it's play, play, play. I agree with adopting an older, trained sibling although they may do a lot of hissing at first. If that isn't an option, then another kitten is a good idea.For the record, most of my kittens since 1985 have been ferals that were caught in the wild and they seem to have advanced hunting urges, much like your little one. Please keep us updated on what works for you!
