Kitten Won’t Stop Biting and We’ve Tried Everything

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  • #52782
    balineselover
    Participant

    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.

    #747642
    ailuromaniac
    Participant

    Well, He is at the teen stage so hormones are starting to rage. X your fingers, neutering should reduce his aggression levels markedly.

    Scruff him. Scruffing is a technique that mimics a Mom Cat’s discipline. He bites you squeal then you grab the scruff of the neck (gently but firmly like his mom would to pick him up but holding him still instead) and hiss at him (you can include a growl but the hiss is important it is Mom saying “NO!”). Follow it with the time out.

    #747643
    Veti
    Participant

    what they said above.. my kitten was biting when we got him.. I grab him round the scruff and he totally stops like he is dead.. I did it every single time.. now he rarely bites and I never use my hand to play with him. Just toys so he never interacts with my bare skin. The squealing part letting him know you are in pain is important as they need to know they are hurting you.

    #747644
    ladysky61
    Participant

    The first 5 things you mentioned mainly work with dogs or human children, not cats. The last one I really do not recommend because he will just get more aggressive and you will get hurt, etc.

    Simply put you need to speak “Cat Language” and tell the kitten he’s not behaving to your liking. Scruffing was definitely my first thought. Also, hiss at him, either will scrufffing of on it’s own, whatever works best. Also, you can shake a jar of coins or make a similar noise to distract him and get him away, but don’t do that all the time or he will associate the loud noise with you and become fearful. See: http://www.felinexpress.com/cat-care/scruffing-cat.asp Also make sure you are giving him toys and playing with with him in such a way that he is learning/practicing predatory skills. For example, moving things that he has to catch and bite. But also ones that encourage aggression AWAY from your body. It is not sufficient usually to give him a mouse toy or another stationary toy. You’ll probably have to try a few toys, just to see what keeps his attention the longest and what tires him out. If you are already doing that, then great, continue, maybe try to increase the duration or frequency of the play. Some people also say pheromones work, but I am not sure of that. Also, even if you can’t adopt another kitten, you could maybe see about arranging playdates with friends with young cats or kittens. Or see about fostering an older kitten that only needs to be in your care for a few weeks before getting adopted. (back sure they are healthy though). When he does bit, you can try yelping and then withdrawing play immediately.

    Unfortunately he sounds like he was taken from his litter too early, (before 12 weeks) and didn’t learn proper bite inhibition with humans. You just have to teach him limits and appropriate times to be aggressive or not. Also if he is really playful but you don’t want to play with him or you can’t, you can always put him in a kennel or a small kitten safe room with a bunch of toys, a box or two and a scratching post and have him take out his crazies there. (don’t leave him unattended too long however or he will get lonely.

    He is not declawed is he?

    #747645
    balineselover
    Participant

    @ AILUROMANIAC: Thank you. It’s my own fault I forgot to mention that we’ve tried scruffing him and hissing at him. These techniques stopped working months ago but they did work for a while. Fingers crossed that neutering helps.

    @ VETI: Thanks for your response. As I forgot to mentioned, I’ve tried scruffing him. The squealing part helped a lot at first, but now I’m out of luck – he doesn’t care anymore.

    @LADYSKY61: I appreciate you trying to help, though it would be more helpful if you assumed that most people who come on this website aren’t rank amateurs when it comes to cats. I’ve had cats my whole life, and I’ve raised cats from kittenhood for years but I’ve never had a cat that has a biting compulsion, and it most certainly is a compulsion. I would also never declaw a cat. Even if his claws were the problem, which they aren’t.

    I certainly appreciate your other suggestions, though I respectfully differ on your assertion that the training I’ve used up until this point is dog oriented. That training comes from professional cat experts and veterinarians, and while most of it worked for a brief time, NOTHING has worked for more than a couple days. We’ve tried alternating the techniques, but nothing seems to take. We do try to play with him several times a day, every day, but nothing stops him from biting, whether he’s “playing” or receiving affection.

    –So, in addition to what we’ve tried let me include:

    – scruffing with a shout or hiss to let him know he’s in trouble/hurt us. (he ignores this completely/considers it a minor inconvenience)

    I’ve heard it said that smarter cats can be harder to train as they constantly look for loopholes and he is typically intelligent for his breed – balinese – does anyone know if this is true? Or is it just something cat owners tell themselves to make them feel better for ineffective training?

    I do appreciate anyone who answers, even if I disagree with their recommendations, it’s very kind of you all to take the time to help us out with our little guy. We just want him to grow into a friendly, happy adult.

    #747646
    Tic0nX
    Participant

    Like they said above, you need to speak cat language, not human and dog. 🙂 If you play with your hands this needs to stop now, try getting interactive toys that you and the cat can both enjoy, lasers, balls, mouses, something you both can play with and bond over.

    #747647
    Buttons
    Moderator

    I always found the boys a lot worse for biting but the biting should reduce after he is neutered it always helped reduce the.biting with any male kittens i had. Also when they are biting sometimes the worst thing you can do is pull your hand away fast a kitten will just go into hunt mode and try and cling onto your hand even more.

    Slowly remove your limb 🙂 from the situation

    #747648

    I’ve had several Balinese and also worked with a Balinese breeder. This behavior is not due to his breed. He is just a kitten yet and neutering will help. My Patches grew out of it and never bites now. Also get tips from Jackson Galaxy http://www.animalplanet.com/mycatfromhell; he has several natural remedies for all kinds of behavior. But first he will tell you to neuter him.

    #747649
    kace
    Participant

    i have the same problem with my 17 week old cat. shes been like that ever since i got her. i took her in young because her mom couldnt provide for her so i think maybe thats why she bites. but i also think maybe she just doesnt like being touched because i cant even pet her with out her biting me. shes not feral though i’ve had her for about 2 months. she sleeps right next to me and when i come home she wraps herself between my legs. the squeeling doesnt seem to work either

    #747650
    My Rockstar
    Participant

    Kace, my June Bug is the same way. She is far from a loving attention desiring kitten. She is either sleeping, eating, or prowling. Chances are she will mellow out with age, until then options are disciplining when she gets too rough and interacting with her on her level. Play with her as much as you can. She has the need to stalk and kill, play on that and interact. Laser pointers are a wonderful tool, you can keep it handy- have it on you at all times- and it is a quick diversion for her when she is feeling feisty. Toys with feathers, attached to strings, anything that may make noise and that she can bat around.

    Kittens are no different then children, some are cuddlers, some are not. Some turn into cuddlers, some go from cuddlers to independents. Also like children, they take up 99.9 % of your time at home. If you work and you are out of the house for hours, it is only normal for kitten to want to interact with you pretty much non stop when you get home. Remember they have been alone up until then and they are adolescents so keeping themselves occupied is a rare thing. How often do we hear a young child say ‘I’m bored’ till you get them on a project that engages their imaginations?

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