I’m late to the party, but I wanted to contribute my method – when you get bitten, immediately squeal or yell as loudly as you can, as if it hurts much more than it actually does.
Our two kitties, now two and a half years old, have always been pretty oral – they were shelter babies probably taken from momma too soon. They love to groom their humans and give us love bites. They started out giving *painful *love bites, but the squealing thing got them to tone it down after only a handful of incidents.
Well, you sold me I walked into a pet store today to pick up some cat food and walked out with a kitten. It’s one of those places that works with shelter animals, so I don’t feel bad about getting an animal from a pet store. The kitten I got was dropped off an hour before and was in a large kennel with some other kittens who were picking on him. I asked to see him, and he snuggled into me and wouldn’t let go, so I took him home.
I’ve never had problems with adult cats biting, probably because I worked the behavior out of 'em when they were kittens, by playing with them, which is what the biting is; they’re not trying to hurt you, they just want to play and rassle. It’s a social thing, and he wants interaction, not a toy that just lays there.
So, go with it. What I used to do is wrap a small towel (like a kitchen towel or hand towel) around my hand and use it to wrestle with kitty, letting him claw, chomp, and chew on my hand as much as he wanted. The towel will be too thick for his little fangs and claws to get through to your hand. Just keep a towel handy, and play with him a bunch. You should notice less “recreational” biting when you’ve started playing with him in this way more.
It’s clearly time for another “I have a new cat” thread. How cute is Ozzy! It’s irrational how much I like looking at pictures of cats I don’t even know
When we got our cat he was young, but not quite a kitten, he was probably about 4-5 months old.
He was a biter for sure. He wasn’t sneaky or mean about it, but if you were petting him, he would twist his head around to getcha.
I read somewhere that for many cats, petting is just too much stimulation, rather than comforting them or making them happy, you might actually just be pissing them off.
So we stopped petting him, just left him alone in that way. Now, 3 years later, he is much more tolerant, and even a bit cuddly at times.
I think that might be my husband’s cat’s issue, Stainz. She mostly likes the petting and the snuggles, but when she’s done, SHE’S DONE, and the teeth come out.
Oh, your Izy looks so much like my Sophie as a baby!
The other method I learned (but did not implement) to teach kittens not to bite is when they bite your fingers, put your finger in their mouth to the jaw hinge. They sort of gag and back off. This is unpleasant but doesn’t actually gag them - you only go as far as the back teeth.
A cat breeder taught me that one. I didn’t like the breeder so I never used it, but I imagine it works.
This was the method suggesting to me for training my ferret. A tap on the head is liable to make a ferret resentful rather than obedient, but having a mouth full of finger just seems like a natural consequence of biting said finger, and they’ll lay off.
Or maybe some flip-flops. Those would look cute with her little tootsies sticking through them. She is such a hoot. We tried to explain that we can still see her under there, even though she can’t see us, but she still doesn’t get it. Silly kitty. ^…^
Wow, Sophie is gorgeous. She looks like she has some marble bengal in her…
I think I’m in the clear. Since getting my second kitten, who I’ve named Vonnegut (which doesn’t roll off the tounge easily, but makes me laugh), the two of them bite each other and my hands are blissfully bite free I’ve noticed that Vonnegut puts Izy in his place if he bites too hard, so I imagine he’ll be broken of the habit in short order. He’s learning that biting the new kitten = no more playing.
I have a 2 year old feline monster named Parker, who is obsessed with biting my boyfriend’s feet whenever he comes out of the shower. For like ten minutes, he chases my boyfriend around like a fluffy madman, absolutely obsessed with biting his freshly washed feet. Occasionally hard enough to draw blood. Every single day. He doesn’t do it to me, or to any of our guests. But even if he’s napping in another part of the house, he comes running the moment my boyfriend emerges from the shower.
I have zero explanation for it.
But it makes me laugh my ass off. I think this makes me a lesser human being.
Re: the OP…good advice so far. But damn you because NOW I HAVE TO GET PARKER A PLAYMATE!
I hope you’re all happy now. My husband took my daughter’s two cats to Virginia to live with her, leaving us with just one cat. I thought that Sapphire might enjoy being an only cat (and get ALL the food and scritches that were available). However, all of us, human and cat, decided that we really needed another cat around here. Or two more. So Bill and I went down to the Humane Society (we didn’t take Sapphire) and we each got adopted by a cat. A four year old male picked me out, and Bill was utterly charmed by a two month old male. Both kitties are orange. Since it’s kitten season, and the cat area is stuffed full, we got a two fur(sic) one deal.
The boys are waiting to get snipped, and we’ll bring them home on Tuesday. I can hardly wait.
I walked into a pet store today to pick up some cat food and walked out with a kitten. It’s one of those places that works with shelter animals, so I don’t feel bad about getting an animal from a pet store. The kitten I got was dropped off an hour before and was in a large kennel with some other kittens who were picking on him. I asked to see him, and he snuggled into me and wouldn’t let go, so I took him home.
