Feral Kitten who Bites and Scratches During Playtime

[mazie]

I have a friend who has opened up her home to an 8 -10 week old kitten who has been living on the streets all alone for about four weeks now. There has been no mother or siblings anywhere around. She has been all alone, by herself, with no mother, siblings, no one. The kitten has warmed up to my friend very quickly, but she is experiencing a biting and scratching problem during play. I have encouraged her to join this site herself, in the meantime, I thought I would get the ball rolling, for you all have been very helpful through the years for myself.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi
She will need to always redirect to a soft toy. Consistency is key.

Also give this baby as much wet food as she can eat in several small meals daily, possibly with some KMR mixed in for extra nutritional support, along with some kibble for nibbling.

Letting her sleep on someone's chest is wonderful for stress relief, and a heartbeat and/or purr toy can help for other times.

 

[mazie]

Thank you for the advice, I will pass this help on.

 

[susanm9006]

This little one didn’t have enough time with mom to learn some cat manners and how to play gently. But to some extent all kittens try biting - this what how they played with their littermates. And kittens have claws like tiny daggers and scratches are pretty much inevitable. Carefully trimming the kittens claws will help some.

When she plays with the kitten it should never be with her hand and the baby should have several plush toys about her size that she can bite, wrestle with and bunny kick. If the kitten does bite her a good loud hiss will help them understand biting isn’t allowed. And if the kitten ignores the hisses gently holding them still for a few second also helps stop the behavior.

Also, if your friend hasn’t had the kitten in to the vet they should do that as soon as possible so that they can get their vaccinations and be tested for parasites. Let her know she should bring a fresh poop sample in for the visit which is needed to check for worms. Easily treatable but very common in outdoor cats.

 

[mazie]

Thank you so much, for the good advice.