Getting Artemis to stop biting

Hi all! I am having huge issues with Artemis. I cannot get him to stop biting us. This morning when I was washing my face, he was purring and rubbing his face all over my bare legs, then he bit my calf and punctured the skin. I was not amused. He's not biting out of anger - it's always when he's being affectionate or playful.

Whenever he uses his teeth I'm very consistent with my punishments. I stop doing whatever I was doing with him (petting or playing) and either put him on the floor (if he's on my lap) or lock him out of the room for a few minutes.

I don't know what else to do. I keep hoping he'll grow out of it, but I'm starting to worry he won't. Any suggestions?

 

How old is he again?...

perhaps have a water bottle on hand to squirt him in the face, or try putting some lemon juice or vinager or something on your skin.. when he bites, he'll get a bitter surprise and prolly learn to stop.

good luck tho... :y_the_best:

 

Actually I don't have any advice cause my kitties do that, too.

Socks are more like love nips when she is affectionate and don't hurt. It is sort of cute.

Mittens loves to be petted and will be purring nicely and then suddenly seems to go into "mouse" mode and will attack an arm or a hand. She has been like that since she was a kitten and she is now eight years old. I don't know if she will ever stop it either. We are aware of her antics and are careful petting her. If we pet from behind she seems to be okay but as soon as you reach your hand even slightly in front of her face she thinks you are a mouse or something. Good luck.

 

Hi EF! I have tried the water bottle thing. It's effective in keeping him off the dining table and kitchen counters and preventing him from climbing the curtains. He stops biting when I spray him or shake the bottle, but starts up again.

Unfortunately I can't put anything like that on my skin. I have ultra sensitive skin. Even water makes me break out in a rash if I don't dry my hands immediately! :x It's very frustrating!

He is almost 5 months old now. I think I need someone to tell me he'll grow out of it, even if they don't believe it! :?

Thanks Sunset! Unfortunately, I don't think Artemis knows the strength of his love nips. The bigger he gets the harder they get!

 

He'll grow out of it

Is that better?

Well, he may grow out of it. I don't have advice. I've mentioned around here somewhere before that Tash gets overstimulated and bites us (very hard). We have learned the warning signals since then.

But, your kitten is young and it may be a kitten thing. Hopefully things pan out and he learns to behave!

 

Much. Thanks!

That's my wish anyway. Hopefully when he no longer wants to play 24/7 he'll stop with the biting. Only time will tell, I guess.

 

When time out didn't work with Kyrre I'd do a little slap on his nose and/or hiss at him while stare in his eyes. I NEVER slap him so it's painfull for him. Just a little chuck (?) like cats do among them selves to show who's the boss. When I hissed and stared at him I would never be the first to look away. I don't know how well that would work if a cat is looking for a fight, but it douesn't sound like Artemis is. Kyrre is a softie, and he knows I'm in charge, so I know he would never fly in my face.

Maybe you've tried this already, but if not it's worth a try :wink: It worked for me, I don't have to do any of those things anymore because Kyrre knows what is allowed and not. I also thinks hes gotten a bit calmer in the last couple of monts. Anyway, my experience is that a time out isn't always enough to teach a kitten that what it's doing is unacceptable. Sometimes we'll have to speak the kitty language :mrgreen:

 

hmm i dont think he'll grow out of it... it may be an affectionate thing, but it may develop into a dominance thing or something.

but i found these links..might help?

http://cat.lifetips.com/faq.asp__Q__Que ... type__E__0

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the ... itten.html

http://www.thisisthenortheast.co.uk/the ... vecat.html

pretty drastic thinking here on the owners part...

http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=292197


hope these might help..

 

bente i might try that with pepe. weve always had the weak human approach to punishing him, so maybe we should try the cat mother approach lol. sometimes i wish it was aggressiveness in pepe, cause then we could find out whats causing it and find a solution. but biting and scratching is just his personality and he enjoys doing it, so its really hard to get him to stop. poor thing, hes so big he doesnt realise how much power he has and that it hurts!

 

Hi Halaroo. When kittens play together, they learn what is too much when the other kittens meow loudly to voice their discomfort. I've always had kittens that were bitters, it's just part of being a kitten. However, what has always worked for me, is training very early on that biting too hard is not okay. When he bites too hard, do two things at the same time: make a loud sound like "OUCH" or "OOOOWWWW" while blowing air right into their face. This has always worked for me. Perhaps it will work for you as well. Just keep in mind as with any type of training you must be consistent and do it each and every time he bites too hard. Good luck.

 

i just hold my arm or leg very very still when one of my boys start to bite me...and i also do the OUCH thing...it usually works for Romeo..but not Caesar mainly bc he is deaf...so me making noise doesnt help...lol

 

Thanks for all the advice. I will have a look at those links later today, EF.

I usually yell "Hey" when he bites (used to be "No" but that started giving Moe a complex). And I blow in his face, but he usually takes that as a sign to jump up and scratch my lips. He's a stubborn little bugger!

 

Halaroo. I'm so sorry Artemis got the bities. :mrgreen: Have you tried hissing in his face and spitting very little bit at him when he bites? Mother cats are known to do that when their kittens misbehaves. Hopefully, he'll mellow with age especially after his neutering. :roll: Good luck!

 

he aint stubborn... he's a cat.

 

halaroo.... =P~

:m19: max bit for months. stopped about a month after neutering. seven months or so. i still have two scars on my hand from his biting. he would grab hold and not let go. time out all throughout the day. but for some reason i didnt worry. i think it was because he never bit my ankles, legs or feet. that would be worse than hands. i think he just wanted to play. they dont know the different between our skin and a toy. they bite toys, they bite skin. thats how i look at it. he will probably settle down after neutering or around a year. alot of kittens do that....

:wink: