Kitten playing?

[Night Elf]

I don't have a real age for my cat. The former owner said her son's vet guessed 10 months. He still looks like a kitten. .He's got long legs and a small body like he hasn't grown out yet. So my question is how do I handle his playing? He lets us pet him for about 15 seconds then he flips over, grabs our hands and pulls them down and bites them. We're trying to discourage it because frankly it hurts. But what should we be doing? We only had one cat that acted like this but that was like 21 years ago so I have no idea how we handled it. Do we play with him by letting him bite us? I'm afraid if we encourage it he'll never outgrow it. I wish we had a second cat that he could bond with but I don't think getting as second cat is a good idea as my previous posts about our dog shows. He's got toys and we try to put a stuffed animal in his paws when he grabs our hands or legs. One of his favorite toys is a mouse that lights up and it's on a stick with a stretchy string. We bounce it around for him and he loves to chase it. He has small toys to bat around the floor and two of his favorite have disappeared. I can't find them. I've looked everywhere! He likes the plastic balls with a bell inside but he doesn't play with them for long before he loses interest. He needs more attention during the day and I'm doing the best I can. DH spends a few hours each night with him and they play together until Toby gets tired and falls asleep in DH's lap.

 

So, what do we do about his play biting?

[Tanaqui]

If you don't like it, don't allow it.

 

Pet him for about ten seconds, give him a treat. Gradually extend the time you pet him, no treat for playfighting. If he starts playfighting, put him down and walk away.

 

Once you've extended the time so you can consistently get to 15 seconds of petting without playfighting, you're going to start tapering off the treats. First every other time, then every third time, then more or less randomly - sometimes three times in a row, sometimes six times without a treat. Doing it randomly reinforces the good behavior better than doing it every time. When you're on a random pattern, start increasing the time you can pet him, again, very gradually - maybe five seconds at a time, and you don't progress until you're consistent about not seeing any playfighting.

 

Eventually, with a combination of training and simply more maturity, you won't have this problem.

 

Also: This behavior will die down somewhat faster if he is fixed.

[Night Elf]

Oh he's definitely neutered.

[nixpix5]

If you don't like it, don't allow it.

 

Pet him for about ten seconds, give him a treat. Gradually extend the time you pet him, no treat for playfighting. If he starts playfighting, put him down and walk away.

 

Once you've extended the time so you can consistently get to 15 seconds of petting without playfighting, you're going to start tapering off the treats. First every other time, then every third time, then more or less randomly - sometimes three times in a row, sometimes six times without a treat. Doing it randomly reinforces the good behavior better than doing it every time. When you're on a random pattern, start increasing the time you can pet him, again, very gradually - maybe five seconds at a time, and you don't progress until you're consistent about not seeing any playfighting.

 

Eventually, with a combination of training and simply more maturity, you won't have this problem.

 

Also: This behavior will die down somewhat faster if he is fixed.

Listen to Tanaqui, if not for her advice I never would have made it through our abandoned kitten litter, fleas and finding them homes. :)

 

The one kitten we caved and kept does this. We pet when he isn't as squirrelly to avoid bites and got him a long cat toy with a feather. He adores it and it is fun to sit and play with him. We also got a pack of 4 foamy balls with feathers on them that he actually plays fetch with. Literally. Fetch. We have nicknamed him Wolfie the puppy. We don't let him bite though. If he bites I remove my hand and provide him the ball.

[Tanaqui]

Aw, thanks!

 

The most important part of this is definitely the part where you end playtime immediately if he starts to bite or claw. The rest of it you can do without if you don't want to put in the effort, but everybody in the family MUST be consistent on not allowing him to playfight, and reacting the same way - put him down, walk away, ignore any attempts to snuggle or play for the next few minutes.

[Tammi K]

I can totally relate right now.  Our kitten is about 5 months old ( not neutered yet but asap right after Christmas) and he does the exact same thing.  It is getting better little by little.  But, it is a slow process. he wants so much to 'play'.  We do give him lots of toys, lots of attention, lots of interaction but using us as chew toys is still a big thing with him.  We can actually see 'the look' come over him as he decided to go from placid petting to active pounce mode.

 

The best thing that I've found is to encourage everyone ( and some of my kids need more encouragement than others) to stop playing/petting at that point and putting him down.  It has been slow but he IS getting the idea that people don't want to be bitten.

 

Now, not seeing your cat, it's hard to know his motivation, but this is working for our cat who is not being aggressive but just very much wants to catch her prey and pounce.