How To Stop Kitten From Attacking Me All The Time

[CurlyEmy]

I have a 5 month old kitten and he’s a sweetheart. When he first wakes up, he’s very cuddly and sweet. However, he just has SO much energy! Sometimes he latches onto my arm and bites and kicks and scratches. My arm gets all beat up and has red marks. Some of the scratches are deeper. I’ve tried to not move my arm so he’ll let go but sometimes he just keeps going at it and it HURTS! He also will attack my legs. Like climb up them and bite them and scratch them. Sometimes someone will be petting him and he’ll grab their hand and bite and scratch it. I don’t think he’s being aggressive, I think he’s playing. But it’s too much.

Yes, I have regular interactive play sessions with him. Every morning we play with him for 15-30 mins, again in the afternoon, maybe twice in the afternoon, and for around 20 mins before bed. All in all probably AT LEAST an hour of playtime a day, most likely a lot more. But it seems like it’s not enough! He always wants to run around and “play” attack us. I genuinely believe it’s not real aggression (no hissing, spitting, growling). I think he just sees me and my family as littermates and he wants to play. But I’m all beat up with scratches and bites because of it.

I don’t encourage his behavior. I say “NO” and will put him in a room sometimes. Sometimes I can’t pick him up when he’s in “attack” mode because he just latches on to my arm and shakes his head (so his teeth scratch my arm all over).

What can I do?? I can’t get another kitten, he’s already a handful. I have a dog, but he just chases my dog and my dog runs away (my dog is very much afraid of cats and doesn’t come near him). I notice he tries to play with my dog but my dog just gets scared and hides.

How can I stop his play aggression?

 

[war&wisdom]

Have you tried giving a loud hiss and then not responding to any attempts to initiate play for a couple minutes? This has worked with my highly energetic five-month-old boy. I also got him a Kickeroo toy from Petmart, which I often give to him when he gets wound up.

 

[rubysmama]

How old was your kitten when you adopted him? Sometimes kittens adopted out too young, don't learn cat etiquette.

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

Plus a TCS one:
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats

Please keep an eye on any scratches/bites that break the skin, as they could become infected.

Cat Bites - What Every Cat Owner Needs To Know
Ouch! More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Cat Bites

 

[CurlyEmy]

How old was your kitten when you adopted him? Sometimes kittens adopted out too young, don't learn cat etiquette.

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

Plus a TCS one:
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats

Please keep an eye on any scratches/bites that break the skin, as they could become infected.

Cat Bites - What Every Cat Owner Needs To Know
Ouch! More Than You Ever Wanted To Know About Cat Bites

He was 13 weeks old when I got him and he was with his mom.

 

[rubysmama]

At 13 weeks, he had lots of time to learn how to "play nice", but I guess he needs a bit more tutoring, now from his human family. When you say "owwww", try saying it in a high-pitched tone, you know like a cat's meow.

 

[cathvd]

I've had the same problem, my kitten would attack me during the night especially when i layed on my bed. I must say i tried almost everything and eventually he has stopped doing it completely.

Always say NO, when he starts playing in this way... either walk away and ignore him, or when he bites you try to hiss at him.

Also i always kept a plushie on my bed so if he attacked me i would push the toy on him, so he would attack the toy rather than me....

And eventually what i think made him stop completely, when he would go in crazy attack mode i started just moving him outside of the room for some time, so he could calm down. I did this 2 times and then he never attacked me again.

Now he is 6 months, i play with him with my hands and everything and he is just always careful not to hurt me.

 

[recurringecho]

Aww what a bundle of of energy! I'm just going to echo trying to hiss at him and ignoring him for a few minutes after he clings and claws your arm.

When I had kittens, I always kept a couple of of small toys on me. Whenever I sat down and they came over or I saw them interested in pouncing on me, I'd take one out and wriggle it to divert their attention and make them play with that instead.

Maybe you can try getting some non-interactive toys? It can help burn off the extra energy if he's into playing by himself. They don't have to be electric or anything, just something like a bouncy spring toy or home-made puzzle toy that will amuse him while you're doing something else. You'll have to supervise them if it's something potentially dangerous of course, like string. But what worked for my cats were kickers and plushies. They ended up ripping open every single one, but hey, at least those weren't my arms, haha!