Why is my kitten biting me and how do I stop it?

[Luvyna]

My kitten sometimes seemingly randomly bites me - for example I will be lying on the couch using my phone and suddenly he will jump onto the couch and bite my foot, leg, arm, or hand. I'm not sure what triggers this - maybe wanting attention?

He also bites me at other times although I have a better idea of why he's doing it - sometimes if he gets into something he shouldn't, I'll gently push him away and he seems to take that as an invitation to start play fighting and will wrestle and bite my hand. He also sometimes gets super excited when I'm waving a toy for him and will go after my hand when he sees it moving. The other situation is when he's overstimulated from playing and I try to pet him.

In all situations, he bites gently and doesn't break the skin, but it's still a habit I want to discourage - I'm just not sure how. When he bites me I say "ow" and withdraw from interacting with him for a few minutes but this doesn't seem to deter him from doing it again later.

 

[Alldara]

I make a high-pitched "EEEP!" Sound closer to what another kitten would make.

Many places try to adopt out kittens in groups of two and only singles to households with other cats. It's because until 6 months to 1 year, kittens are still learning how to cat. (Can look up single-kitten-syndrom if you're curious).

Kittens learn to be gentle by experimenting with other cats through play. Usually, though some others will disagree with this, I have a brightly coloured oven mitt (VERY different then the ones I use in the kitchen) and will wrestle with my kitten with the mitt. I will make a "brrrr" sound to show that I want to play and a "tikatik" sound to say, "I'm playing!" It can be any sound, you just have to be consistent...it's the sound I used with Nobel who's 16, so we kept it.

He's got a lot of energy! He needs to expend it. Kittens have a TON. Basically, you watch to "catch" this energy beforehand and turn it into something positive with enrichment. A kicker toy like the flopping fish (you still might have to get down and play with an electronic toy with your cat for encouragment), or catnip kicker. He might want to play chase or peek-a-boo. Chasing a wand can help...

You can use your other hand to grab the back of his scruff to tell him "no". Careful not to pinch too hard but you can lift him away like this. A longer wand might also help, perhaps one with changeable attachments.

But basically, he's showing you his need is for wrestling so you need to find a way to help him do this that is acceptable to you.

 

[rubysmama]

How old was your kitten when you adopted him? Sometimes if kittens are adopted too young, (under 12 weeks) they haven't had time to learn cat etiquette, so they need their humans to teach them when they're being too rough.

Maybe something in this Humane Society article will have some tips for you:
Teach Your Kitten How to Play Nice : The Humane Society of the United States

 

[Luvyna]

A Alldara Thank you for all the tips and input! I think you're right in that he has a need to burn off energy with some wrestling. He has a bunch of different toys but I don't think I actually have a kicker/wrestling toy for him yet so I'll go and get one today. It will be helpful to have something appropriate for him to direct the biting and wrestling toward. I currently play with him for 20 - 60 minutes a day in separate short sessions but it's usually throwing toys for him (he plays fetch) or using a fishing rod-type toy.

I'd heard of the single kitten syndrome before but I think I'm only now realizing why it's a thing! Raising a single kitten is definitely a handful and there is a lot that I need to teach him.

How old was your kitten when you adopted him? Sometimes if kittens are adopted too young, (under 12 weeks) they haven't had time to learn cat etiquette, so they need their humans to teach them when they're being too rough.

Maybe something in this Humane Society article will have some tips for you:
Teach Your Kitten How to Play Nice : The Humane Society of the United States

He was 17 weeks when I took him home from the breeder (they usually let their kittens go home between 14-16 weeks but I had to delay 1 week). He definitely has learned bite inhibition from his cat family because he doesn't actually hurt me when he bites, but I still want him to stop play biting me.

 

[rubysmama]

Saying "owwww" in a high pitched tone should help, as that's how his siblings would have let him know he was playing too rough.

In addition to the link I posted upthread, there's also this TCS one: How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

 

[Luvyna]

Saying "owwww" in a high pitched tone should help, as that's how his siblings would have let him know he was playing too rough.

In addition to the link I posted upthread, there's also this TCS one: How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Thank you for the links! I have to remember to use a high-pitched tone haha, I always tell myself I'll do that but in the moment I forget

 

[LTS3]

Have patience. It takes time for kittens to learn what behavior you don't like and is a big no-no. Keep discouraging the naughty behavior.

A second kitten often helps because two can play and wrestle with each other. That might be something to consider.

 

[Luvyna]

Have patience. It takes time for kittens to learn what behavior you don't like and is a big no-no. Keep discouraging the naughty behavior.

A second kitten often helps because two can play and wrestle with each other. That might be something to consider.

I will keep trying to teach him not to bite and hopefully he'll calm down as he gets older!

For any cats I bring home in the future I will probably adopt an older cat or get a pair of kittens, I can understand now why lots of rescues require kittens to be adopted in pairs. I'm currently in a small apartment and not sure if my budget can support two cats (double the food, litter, emergency vet funds...etc.) but now that I know what a handful single kittens are, I know what to do differently in the future!

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Don't despair over single kitten syndrome too much. Neko-chan is a single cat, and well behaved and loving. It might be harder to do, but with work and patience, a single kitten can be just as wonderful as two. As to the biting, I never remembered to be high pitched nor did my hissing do anything. What worked was a drawn out SSSSS. Also, tossing her stuffed bear away from me. She'd chase it then bite and wrestle with it instead of my arm.

 

[Luvyna]

Don't despair over single kitten syndrome too much. Neko-chan is a single cat, and well behaved and loving. It might be harder to do, but with work and patience, a single kitten can be just as wonderful as two. As to the biting, I never remembered to be high pitched nor did my hissing do anything. What worked was a drawn out SSSSS. Also, tossing her stuffed bear away from me. She'd chase it then bite and wrestle with it instead of my arm.

Thank you, this is reassuring to hear! It's going to be more work for sure but it's good to know single kittens can turn out fine too. I think redirecting the wrestling and biting is definitely a key part of stopping the unwanted behaviour - they need to have something that they can bite and wrestle freely.

 

[LTS3]

Vertical space is more important to cats than horizontal space so a small apartment, even a studio sized one, is no problem as long as there is a cat tree or even just your bed for a cat to get onto. Some people don't find two cats any more expensive than one. It may take some budgeting and saving, especially for potential emergency vet bills, but it's doable. Fostering for the local shelter or rescue may be an option. You get to care for a cat in need for awhile before it can be adopted to a new home. Your resident kitten gets a playmate for awhile. The shelter provides the food, litter, and vet care.

 

[Luvyna]

Vertical space is more important to cats than horizontal space so a small apartment, even a studio sized one, is no problem as long as there is a cat tree or even just your bed for a cat to get onto. Some people don't find two cats any more expensive than one. It may take some budgeting and saving, especially for potential emergency vet bills, but it's doable. Fostering for the local shelter or rescue may be an option. You get to care for a cat in need for awhile before it can be adopted to a new home. Your resident kitten gets a playmate for awhile. The shelter provides the food, litter, and vet care.

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been interested in fostering so it's something I'll look into. I think I probably won't foster at this exact moment since I've already got my hands full with a number of work, family, and cat obligations and it's a big responsibility (in some ways even moreso than having a cat of my own because I have to be super on top of ensuring the cat is well-socialized and doesn't develop any behavioural issues that would prevent him or her from being adopted). The rescues in my area also have a pretty stringent and lengthy application process for fostering (understandably) to ensure the cats go to good foster homes.

In the meantime, to help my kitten burn some energy I've been leash and harness training him and he is doing great indoors on a leash so far - he follows me like a dog! I'm planning to take him outdoors for walks and will also have some kitten playdates with a friend of mine who takes her kitten out for walks as well.

I also got him a crinkly kicker toy and he absolutely loves it, whenever he starts biting or chewing me or something he shouldn't I throw it to him and he starts wrestling and biting the toy instead. I wish I'd gotten one sooner, I didn't realize he would enjoy it so much since I initially thought he was more interested in small toys he could carry.

 

[Alldara]

Thanks for the recommendation! I've been interested in fostering so it's something I'll look into. I think I probably won't foster at this exact moment since I've already got my hands full with a number of work, family, and cat obligations and it's a big responsibility (in some ways even moreso than having a cat of my own because I have to be super on top of ensuring the cat is well-socialized and doesn't develop any behavioural issues that would prevent him or her from being adopted). The rescues in my area also have a pretty stringent and lengthy application process for fostering (understandably) to ensure the cats go to good foster homes.

In the meantime, to help my kitten burn some energy I've been leash and harness training him and he is doing great indoors on a leash so far - he follows me like a dog! I'm planning to take him outdoors for walks and will also have some kitten playdates with a friend of mine who takes her kitten out for walks as well.

I also got him a crinkly kicker toy and he absolutely loves it, whenever he starts biting or chewing me or something he shouldn't I throw it to him and he starts wrestling and biting the toy instead. I wish I'd gotten one sooner, I didn't realize he would enjoy it so much since I initially thought he was more interested in small toys he could carry.

Excellent progress already!

With Nobel I didn't know about single-kitten-syndrome. He was just on his own from 6 months to 3 years old. The biggest thing I've noticed is that he learned how to cat from Magnus at the age of 15! Lily, spent from 8 weeks to 2 years being raised by a husky so she was more like a dog and did not cat well either. Once you know what to watch for you just know how to adjust like with the kicker toy
I'm glad we are more aware of it now and more rescues adopt out in pairs.

 

[Caspers Human]

Have you or anybody else been playing with him using their hands?

If you rough house with a kitten, it will learn that it's okay to wrestle with humans.
Being a kitten with boatloads of energy, they are prone to just jump on things and start wrestling. Then, when they learn that humans allow them to wrestle, they are prone to jumping on people because they have learned that it's fun to do.

Think of your kitten like a two year old toddler. Have you ever been playing with a young kid who wants to keep playing even after you're tired? Basically the kitten is doing the same thing.

I don't think that it's bad to rough house with cats. You just have to remember that, once a cat learns that it's okay to wrestle, it will always want to wrestle, even when you don't want to. The cat might try to wrestle with children or guests who don't like it. That could cause problems, down the line.

Not saying that you did anything wrong. Maybe it was some kids, either in your family or from the place where the kitten lived before you adopted him.

Maybe, it's just because the kitten wasn't taught that it's NOT okay to wrestle with humans.
In any case, you'll have to teach the kitten how to behave according to your rules.

If you don't want a cat to rough house, don't let it get the idea that rough housing is okay, from the start. Otherwise, you'll have to go through the process of teaching it the "House Rules."

 

[Luvyna]

Have you or anybody else been playing with him using their hands?

If you rough house with a kitten, it will learn that it's okay to wrestle with humans.
Being a kitten with boatloads of energy, they are prone to just jump on things and start wrestling. Then, when they learn that humans allow them to wrestle, they are prone to jumping on people because they have learned that it's fun to do.

Think of your kitten like a two year old toddler. Have you ever been playing with a young kid who wants to keep playing even after you're tired? Basically the kitten is doing the same thing.

I don't think that it's bad to rough house with cats. You just have to remember that, once a cat learns that it's okay to wrestle, it will always want to wrestle, even when you don't want to. The cat might try to wrestle with children or guests who don't like it. That could cause problems, down the line.

Not saying that you did anything wrong. Maybe it was some kids, either in your family or from the place where the kitten lived before you adopted him.

Maybe, it's just because the kitten wasn't taught that it's NOT okay to wrestle with humans.
In any case, you'll have to teach the kitten how to behave according to your rules.

If you don't want a cat to rough house, don't let it get the idea that rough housing is okay, from the start. Otherwise, you'll have to go through the process of teaching it the "House Rules."

I think I may be responsible for some of the wrestling behaviour - while I don't ever use my hands to play with him, sometimes when Zephyr steps on my keyboard or gets into something he shouldn't, I'll use my hand to gently push him away. This can get him excited and he often takes it as an invitation to start wrestling. I also sometimes pet his belly, which goes well most of the time but at other times it can be the start of wrestling/biting.

I'm going to try to stop doing both of these things and I always keep his kicker toy nearby now so if he randomly starts trying to wrestle or bite, I can redirect him to the toy.

 

[Caspers Human]

Personally, I like a "full contact" relationship with my cats.

It's the way I grew up and I understand that cats have teeth and claws. Yes, if you wrestle with a cat, you are likely to get clawed up.

If a person likes to play rugby, they should expect to get some bumps and bruises or else they shouldn't step on the field.
If a person likes to wrestle with a cat, they should expect to get scratched up or else they shouldn't rough house.

That, being said, there are still rules in my house about what is considered okay or not okay.

If the human wants to rough house with the cat, he should "ask" the cat if it wants to play by patting his hand on the floor where the cat can see. If the cat wants to wrestle, it will come and start playing. If the cat doesn't respond, don't pursue. That's bullying. If you bully a cat, it will become "attidudinal" and start to have bad behavior.

If the cat wants to rough house, it can come over and tussle with the human. If the human is in the mood to wrestle..."Game on!"
If not, the human can toss a toy for the cat to chase then say, "Not now."

Ending playtime is similar. If the cat gets tired of rough housing, it will go away and stop. When that happens, let the cat go. It is trying to tell you, "Game over!" If the human gets tired, toss a toy and say, "Game over." When either party says, "Game over," playtime ends... Period.

The problem is that, when you teach a cat to play like that, it doesn't understand that not every human likes to play like that.

If you have guests who don't like to wrestle with cats and the cat comes to play then your guest gets scratched, you could have trouble!

If you have young kids or if kids come to visit but they don't know that your cat likes to play "full contact," what happens when a child goes away with scratches? You might have to make some serious apologies to the child's parents.

I'm an adult and there are only adults in this house. Anybody who comes to visit our house knows that our cat likes to play rough.
As long as everybody is on the same page, it's okay to rough house with your cat but you have to remember that, once taught to rough house, the cat will always want to do that. You'd better be prepared for accidents.

I don't think that you have accidentally taught your cat to play rough by shooing him off your desk. I think he's just young and hasn't learned the "House Rules" yet. It's up to you to teach him the rules. I think that what others say about "single kitten syndrome" applies to you.

I think your strategy is right. Have a toy on hand and, when he tries to play too rough for your house rules, redirect him to the toy.

Just keep it up and be consistent so that your kitten learns what's okay and what's not okay.

 

[Alldara]

Personally, I like a "full contact" relationship with my cats.

It's the way I grew up and I understand that cats have teeth and claws. Yes, if you wrestle with a cat, you are likely to get clawed up.

If a person likes to play rugby, they should expect to get some bumps and bruises or else they shouldn't step on the field.
If a person likes to wrestle with a cat, they should expect to get scratched up or else they shouldn't rough house.

That, being said, there are still rules in my house about what is considered okay or not okay.

If the human wants to rough house with the cat, he should "ask" the cat if it wants to play by patting his hand on the floor where the cat can see. If the cat wants to wrestle, it will come and start playing. If the cat doesn't respond, don't pursue. That's bullying. If you bully a cat, it will become "attidudinal" and start to have bad behavior.

If the cat wants to rough house, it can come over and tussle with the human. If the human is in the mood to wrestle..."Game on!"
If not, the human can toss a toy for the cat to chase then say, "Not now."

Ending playtime is similar. If the cat gets tired of rough housing, it will go away and stop. When that happens, let the cat go. It is trying to tell you, "Game over!" If the human gets tired, toss a toy and say, "Game over." When either party says, "Game over," playtime ends... Period.

The problem is that, when you teach a cat to play like that, it doesn't understand that not every human likes to play like that.

If you have guests who don't like to wrestle with cats and the cat comes to play then your guest gets scratched, you could have trouble!

If you have young kids or if kids come to visit but they don't know that your cat likes to play "full contact," what happens when a child goes away with scratches? You might have to make some serious apologies to the child's parents.

I'm an adult and there are only adults in this house. Anybody who comes to visit our house knows that our cat likes to play rough.
As long as everybody is on the same page, it's okay to rough house with your cat but you have to remember that, once taught to rough house, the cat will always want to do that. You'd better be prepared for accidents.

I don't think that you have accidentally taught your cat to play rough by shooing him off your desk. I think he's just young and hasn't learned the "House Rules" yet. It's up to you to teach him the rules. I think that what others say about "single kitten syndrome" applies to you.

I think your strategy is right. Have a toy on hand and, when he tries to play too rough for your house rules, redirect him to the toy.

Just keep it up and be consistent so that your kitten learns what's okay and what's not okay.

100% we have children who come in to our home, which is why we use the oven mitt. Oven mitt means can wrestle and otherwise, nope! That way if a guest wants to, they can don the mitt!

 

[Caspers Human]

That is a capital idea!

The oven mitt becomes the toy, instead of the person's hands.
It also makes a good "game on" signal. Putting on the mitten tells the cat that playtime is about to begin.

If you don't mind, I might actually use it myself, some day.

Does your cat know what the oven mitt means? Does your cat come a-running when he sees you go to get it?

 

[Alldara]

That is a capital idea!

The oven mitt becomes the toy, instead of the person's hands.
It also makes a good "game on" signal. Putting on the mitten tells the cat that playtime is about to begin.

If you don't mind, I might actually use it myself, some day.

Does your cat know what the oven mitt means? Does your cat come a-running when he sees you go to get it?

Yes! It's a bright orange one, whereas our kitchen ones are grey.

I also use a sound-signal "tikatik" which I also use when we play chase. Magnus is a very gentle cat and always has been. We okay chase-and -boop or hide and go seek chase (which is no contact for him).

If I take the oven mitt out and say, "do you want this"? He will "tackle" my arm. If he gets really kicky I can slip my hand out for a minute.

He has Calcifer to wrestle with too now. Cal won't wrestle people. He does koala to my legs sometimes

I did the same with Nobel when he was younger but with my hoodies and the sleeve pulled down and it was not enough padding. Not willing to get that torn up these days. (I was 16 when I got Nobel).