Rough Play And Suckling - Kitten

Sorcha764

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Hi Everyone,

We got a gorgeous kitten (10 weeks) and we have had him now for 2 weeks.
I have always had cats/kittens but never one like this before..please let me explain two issues we have with him!

Firstly, our new kitten will only ever play rough. He has scratched up my hands and arms (as well as my boyfriends) and does not seem to be learning that hands are not toys. We have done all of the recommended things such as hiding our hands, distracting with toys, stating 'NO' very sternly. We have also removed ourselves from the room, removed him from the room. We have not once tolerated playing with hands (I suspect the previous owners were allowing it as he is so keen on it). He is like a boomerang. I have never seen such a persistent animal in my life. It is impossible to not get scratched or bitten by him unless you leave and close the door behind you. If you move him, put him down, give him a toy, he will ignore and jump back onto our laps to bite our hands. He absolutely ignores any 'NO' from us, or any attempts to put him away. When he is left alone, he waits at the door until it is opened and he starts again.

Secondly, if he is not playing rough, he wants to suckle. Mainly on my neck. He will cry until he can get up and then knead me causing more scratches along my neck and collarbone area. Similarly, if you put him down, he cries and jumps straight back up. I don't mind suckling but he claws me at the same time.

He NEVER allows petting (will immediately turn to bite our hands). He will tolerate a little amount of petting if done using your forearm..He would never jump up to have a snooze, only to play fight. And he is ALWAYS up with us, literally will not leave us alone.

I would say he gets one-on-one playtime (with toys!) for a couple of hours a day. I often work from home and my boyfriend takes over in the evening.

Sorry for the long post but we are having trouble getting joy from this kitten (although we adore him and want to keep him). But, having owned 7 cats in my lifetime, I am at a loss how to train him as he seems resistant to everything. I am starting to wonder if he has 'issues'. although the home we got him from seemed perfectly fine, he was healthy and happy when we got him. He eats well and uses the litter tray perfectly. Vet checked and he is physically very healthy.

Please someone help!
 

dahli6

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Cute age. I know that some people like to rehome the litters at 2 months but it is actually pretty young.
All of my 10 week old bounce off the walls at regular intervals 3 to 4 times a day. I really don't know how I get them to calm down. It just happens.
I know, unhelpful.
 

lyrajean

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This is why the ideal age for rehoming kittens is 12 weeks, unless the Mom is bonafide feral. Your young one was taken away a little younger than is ideal.

Kittens learn play "manners" from littermates and Mom. You are going to have to be consistent and persistent in not allowing your kitty to play "rough" with your hands to teach him not to bite/claw. When the kitten tries to claw or bite you redirect their attention to a more appropriate toy like a wand type, if need be a short "hissss" sound from you may help discourage this behavior. that's how cats express their displeasure to each other. It will take time.

A good nail trim every month or so will help with the damage to your arms/feet and a good thing to get your kitty used to at a young age. your Vet or or one of their technicians can show you how to trim cat nails properly.

And a lot of kittens are way too active at this stage to really calm down enough to enjoy petting when they aren't sleepy or napping.
 
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