F2 male - 3.5mo - biting problem

[admin]

Liz, you may want to neuter him sooner than later...it does not sound like you were abusive...you were not hurting him...also....have you tried the really cool teething toys? I think they are called Life Steps or something like that. I used them and they worked.

Also...he may be hungry...you may want to try canned food again - or raw...something like felines pride, bravo, radcat, blue ridge meat, etc...just put it down or put 1/4 teaspoon in with his dry food...it really is much healthier for him to get off of dry.

 

[shelby]

It could be that he has a spot that he does not particularly like you to touch him. Not because it is uncomfortable...just doesn't like it. If so ....petting or rubbing in that spot may be what triggers or brings on the biting play? Keep a stuffed toy handy and at the very instant he tries the kicking bite...play.....only allow the stuffed toy..no more hands involved. Sometimes we have the tendency to try sweet talking and gentle rubbing to calm the rough play down. This is sending the wrong message as he will associate the rough play with a loving session on your part. Just think about a litter of kittens at play. They run, jump and have a nice play time...then one may pounce on another and hits the spot that says..GAME ON. They end up in fighting, biting (play for them) sessions. I might suggest a sharp..NO...BEFORE SCRUFFING..HE WILL BEGIN TO REALIZE IF HE KEEPS ON..THE SCRUFFING WILL TAKE PLACE ..IF HE CONTINUES AFTER THE CORRECTION. They can and will do unacceptable things if they are not trained and learn respect for their humans.Kitten play is adorable when they are small...we are too forgiving sometimes. This opens the door for habits that may be hard to break as they get older. Do not allow anyone to do any rough playing with him..this will be a mixed message and it will be hard for him to understand why he gets by with it sometimes and other times is punished. Let us know how he does;>)

 

[Pam Flachs]

Hi Liz, I had a kitten that started biting HARD a few weeks ago, at 6.5 weeks old, whenever we picked him up. Giving him a toy only made it worse, with him lashing out with claws in all directions, along with furious growling. The other kittens would look at him and scatter, lol. Per some excellent advice, we figured out he was hungry, so started feeding him more often and extra amounts, as much as wanted (cooked chicken breast along with dry left out, and dry soaked in water ). We also would scruff him immediately even while he was attached to our hands (ouch!), gave him a very tiny shake, said NO firmly, and set him down facing away from us, then walked away. He was stubborn and it took about a week and he DID go through a big growth spurt at that time. Now that his belly is full, he is back to his sweetheart self again and has not attempted to bite or even nibble

Your boy may also have some hormones at play with his growing parts

 

[admin]

Great advice, Pam! Thank you for sharing

 

[WitchyWoman]

LOL, if only they could talk human or we could talk cat, would be much more efficient than biting or acting out. I agree with the teething and hunger theories. Please do try to do as Paige suggested and add a little raw to his kibble but if he's teething, be sure he also has something to chew (maybe little bits of chopped chicken leg/thigh or beef). When Maliik was teething, he would rub a chicken leg bone over his gums. It took me a while to figure out what he was doing and had the DUH moment when he spat out a baby tooth.

 

[l.i.t]

Thanks so much, you guys. I do keep trying to feed him all kinds of meat (raw and cooked) as well as the canned foods. The wet cat food, I try once a week, although he still won't touch it. He won't eat any of the meat, yet, either. I spoke to his breeder about a week ago about him only eating the dry cat food, and she said that perhaps his palate has not matured enough and he may change his tastes in time. So I keep trying and trying.....

I do mix water with some of his dry about twice a day. And you are right that he may be hungry....He is apparently growing like a weed. On his last vet visit, he weighed 4lbs (this was one day before his 3 month birthday). Today, my husband weighed him, and he was 5.5 lbs. He does eat his dry food voraciously, and always finishes his wet food. I always leave him with a full large tupperware of his kibble (and he always has access to the other cats' food, as well). Since I'm home most of the time, I'm pretty attentive to that. And believe me.....if I can find ANYTHING he will eat, I will give it to him! He seems to be afraid (backs up and recoils) at any kind of animal bone - even rawhide.....and he has the same response to chicken, beef, pork (ribs), salmon, tuna, etc. But I promise I will keep trying.

Thanks for the info on the chew toys. He has some here, but I'll be more than happy to try anything that has 'proven' to work for others.

And I'll keep trying the scruffing, etc. It may just take some time. Last night he attacked my legs and ankles, but this morning, he at least hesitated before attacking my arms. After he bit, I growled at him and he backed off.

Thanks again for all the help - I'll let you know how it all works out! He did go on his first 'walk' today. He did well, but got scared when a neighbor came out and managed to get out of his harness. But when we went back inside, he threw himself against the front door and the sliding door to let me know he wanted to go back out again! I think we'll wait until tomorrow LOL!

 

[admin]

Sounds good Liz...as for the harness, when Taj was a kitten he was scared once and did the same thing - and then proceeded to run home and wait by the door for me as I looked all over for him.

You may want to try another harness though.

 

[l.i.t]

Today we are still working on the 'no biting' training....but at least it only took 3 times this morning instead of 5 or 6, so maybe we are making progress. I also discussed with my husband, and we agreed that we will try to get him neutered in the next few weeks. My DH is worried about neutering too early, but since he seems to be hitting puberty, I suggested that we make sure we do it before he begins to spray.....so we figure just over 4 months old would be a good compromise.

We did try 'walking' again today, but this time in the back yard. He did well, and seemed a little more at ease. I wonder if it will ever be me walking him instead of the other way around I also found out that he scales stucco walls VERY well! LOL

Thanks again for all the help!

L

 

[admin]

Sounds like you are making progress and I really think that neutering him will help with some of that pent up hormonal behavior.

Cats do their own thing with walking...they are definitely not like dogs...it takes me an hour to get not very far when walking Taj as he has to smell everything, chase bugs and flies and pounce on them, etc.

 

[Jacq]

Leonard always uses a badminton racket to steer the cat where he wants it to go when he walks. Works like a charm. He has cats that will hike with him for miles.