Hi everyone,
We have a 5 month old Balinese kitten who is due to be neutered next month. Balinese are loud, social, extroverted and not easily startled. He is big and strong and healthy, but he WILL NOT stop biting us, no matter what we do.
He bites to show affection and to play. He draws blood about half the time. He bites every object in the house and he’s strong, and his teeth are very sharp.
We have tried the following:
– Telling him “NO” and ignoring him. (He persists relentlessly)
– Time out in his kennel for a couple minutes. (No discernible effect)
– Spraying him with water. (Works the first two times, useless after that)
– Distracting him with other toys. (Works during play at first, but he bites us during quiet moments too)
– Making a big loud noise to startle him. (He does not get startled; he is very outgoing and not easily frightened)
– Flicking his nose/depressing his tongue (Works at first but then he gets more aggressive)
Ever since we got him, we’ve made a concerted effort not to play with him with our hands or rough house except for flicking his nose/depressing his tongue, and only then as a last resort. He’s still very aggressive. We don’t have room for another kitten/cat in our tiny apartment. He exhibits this behavior regardless of his energy level. He’s very needy, and he’s rarely alone but we still can’t stop him from doing this and it’s hurting our relationship with him because all we can do is ignore him. He doesn’t learn from this and it makes us feel lousy.
I’m looking for any advice that doesn’t involve
a) telling us to get another cat
b) telling us to retry the above techniques I’ve already listed, as I wouldn’t be asking for help if they ever worked.
Any insight is welcome and greatly appreciated.