Excessive Biting Is Driving Me Nuts!

[Elizabethriki]

My husband and I rescued a kitten at 6 weeks of age. He is now 16 weeks (almost 4 months) and his biting is driving me crazy. He seems to get better and then suddenly is biting a lot again. From the beginning we’ve tried to only play with him with toys and not with our hands or feet. He is SUPER playful which we love. He is my first pet ever, besides fishes and turtles but my husband’s 4th cat and even he says that none of his previous kittens have bitten him or his family this much before but they have never been as playful as him either. He will be really nice and sweet, purring on my lap or chest and then suddenly attacks. I’ve thought maybe it’s just his way of saying “hey stop petting me” but he will sometimes be playing with his toys by himself and then suddenly sees me on the couch, jumps up, and tries to bite me. I’ve tried saying no sternly, blowing at his face, even blowing at his face with a bit of spit splashing out (I know it’s a bit gross but I thought I’d try it) and nothing works. Usually if he doesn’t stop trying to bite me after about a minute I leave to another room for 10-15 minutes. Usually the bedroom since he’s not allowed in there unless we’re there. I used to leave right away after he would try biting me the first time and would come back to him trying to bite me again after 5 minutes or so of being there so that’s why I tried staying a little longer to see if he will stop but he doesn’t.

He seems to attack me the most and not my husband but then again, I’m home more than my husband since I work part time and he works part time in 2 places. When we take him out with his harness he is sooooo sweet with strangers and he won’t bite them or us the whole time he’s out. At home he sometimes attacks my brothers when they come over and have stayed over for more than an hour or 2.

He has plenty of cat toys, usually 3 or so scattered around (we live in a 1 bedroom apartment btw), 3 scratchers around the apt., 3 beds, and recently got him a 6ft cat tree which he loves. He’s never had any issues with his litter box other than the first week we got him when he was liter box training. He scratches in the right places, not the couches, walls, rugs (he “nurses” those). We have no other issues with his behavior other than the biting.

We neutered him 2 weeks ago, earlier than we had initially planned, with the hope that it might calm him down (of course the biggest reason was because it’s the responsible thing to do as a pet owner but we initially thought about waiting till he was 5 months old). He had to wear a cone with 5 days because he wouldn’t leave the area alone. He’s been off it for a week now. Idk if this might have affected our relationship more since I was the main one that would clean him and handle him when the cone would get stuck but I thought I’d mention it.

So now my question is, what can I do to change his behavior? We’ve taken him to the vet 3 times and his health is very good, blood tests and all so we know it’s not his health. Could it be something I/we are doing wrong?

 

[RajaNMizu]

Goodness, that's a cute face for a tiny terror! What's his name? My guess is he was adopted a wee bit too early and didn't quite learn all his manners. Neutering should help but it takes a while for all the testosterone to leave their system.
Cat Aggression Toward People
This link has some good advice. I recommend a good strong hiss and ignoring him for a few minutes to get the point across. Calming diffusers like Felliway might also help.

 

[war&wisdom]

My boy (17 weeks) does this. He usually purrs at the same time. He's trying to play and express love, but he hasn't learned his manners. My kittens were separated from their mama the day they were born (under shady circumstances, according to the foster mom, who was not the one who found them), so they haven't had the proper training. Now we have to do it!

When he bites, I stop playing and move away for a minute, then let him try to play more appropriately. If he won't stop or is particularly aggressive, I give a little hiss. He usually stops and looks confused, then licks me, like he's apologizing! He does the same with his sister.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Congrats on your first ever kitten. He's adorable.

About his biting... These days the "recommendation" is to keep kittens with their mom and siblings till 12 weeks so they have time to learn cat manners. Of course that isn't always possible, however, when kittens are adopted out (or rescued) when they're very young, they will need their human "parents" to teach them those kitty manners.

Here's a site with more info: Teach Your Kitten How to Play Nice : The Humane Society of the United States

And in addition to the link RajaNMizu posted, TCS also has one called How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats which may be helpful.