Problems with the new little devil

Good things about Artemis:
He has a huge appetite.
He has sucessfully done his business in the litter box.
He's very playful and loves attention.
He can easily amuse himself.

Bad things:
He's a biter. Where's Footsie when I need her? Artemis attacks and bites my feet and hands all the time. I try to stop playing with him when he does it, but it's the first thing he does when I come in the room. I say "No" and pick him up off of me and put him on the floor, but he just comes back and does it again. Short of leaving the room I don't know what to do to make him stop.

When he's feeling really loving and friendly he gets on my lap and tries to bite my hands. He meows before he does it. I'm wondering if he was bottle-fed or something. He seems to be asking for food. So, every time he does this I put him by his food dish and he eats a bit.

Any advice on the foot and ankle biting would be much appreciated. I'm very inexperienced with kittens!

 

He sounds like a sweet handfull :wink: Have you tried a squrting (?) bottle? It worked miracles with kyrre! He too liked to bite, mostly on our hands, but now hes cured. He will still bite if I play roughly (?) with him, or if he is irritated, but never hard.

Maybe it's just normal affectionate/playfull kitten behaviour?
But i'm pretty sure that "water punishment" will help

 

Thanks Bente. I was actually just reading up on different methods for curbing "bad" behaviour in kittens. The water bottle was suggested, as was putting an aversive substance on your hands, like muscle rub. I'll definitely try the water bottle later today. One site also said to get the kitten a stuffed animal about his size and give it to him to wrestle with after squirting him. I will keep you all posted on his progress. It has only been less than a day!

 

Sounds like a good plan. Good luck!

 

We are going to have to do something. He's too fast to grab half the time, and unless you get him by the scruff of the neck he just keeps laying into the hand that's holding him.

I just went in there with bare feet and he started knawing on my Achilles tendon. I'm just glad he doesn't have a strong bite yet. It's a good thing Moe likes to hang out in the window above the back door, she's going to need a couple time-out spots once we unleash this tiny terror on the household.

 

Hee hee hee. :mrgreen: Welcome to kittenhood!

 

I don't have a fix for you but I believe the rough play behavior is because kitty was taken from mommy too early. Mommy cat and siblings didn't have the time to teach her social skills. Booger was taken too young from her mommy and plays too rough as well...teeth and claws. She's really just playing and doesn't realise that she's hurting you.

That's why the recommended time to take kitties from mommy is after 10 weeks. But when we adopted Booger, she was 10 weeks and I know for a fact that she was in the shelter for at least 2-3 weeks prior.

We still haven't managed to break Booger from the rough play. I have been having her claws clipped but I recently read an article about how clipping interrupts the claw-renewal cycle so I'm not gonna clip her anymore.

Apparently, kitty's claws don't grow like human nails. They grow from inside and shead the outside shell of the claw. Clipping leads to a build up of the old husks at the cuticle and can cause problems.

I know this doesn't help your problem, but thought I should let you know if you decide to opt for clipping.

 

That's interesting Cassie. I do clip Moe's nails, and was planning on clipping Artemis as well. I'll have to read into it, I guess.

I couldn't find a small teddy bear for him to wrestle with so instead I rolled up a pair of socks. You should see him go at it! He definitely needs to work on his wrestling skills before he meets Moe. Anyway, the rolled up socks seem to be diverting his attention away from my hands and feet, at least for now.

The humane society said that Artemis is 9 weeks old, but I don't really believe them. I'm thinking he was bottle-fed or something because he makes such a huge deal out of eating. We'll work through it though!

Hopefully Booger will get over her rough play soon. She's still a baby though too!

 

pepe does that too. once i was on the phone and he did it and i screamed down the phone. he does it if you walk near him while hes having a maddy. now i just avoid him when hes going bonkers.

 

Mamma cats are known to spit and hiss at her babies when they are "bad."

 

ARGH i'm late on replying again! sorry puter troubles.

Raz was a biter... but advice from here suggested i try the waterbottle, a tap on the nose or blowing in his face and saying a stern NO>

i never hit him, though when u think about it, momma cats swat with their paws too, so i cant see how a gentle tap would hurt. but thats just me. of course followed by a stern NO.

waterbottle could work.. could make him like it lol

Raz seemed to work with the blowing in the face. He still forgets sometimes and bites, but it's rarely hard anymore, and when he realises he's got my hand he'll gently 'gum it' if not stop all together. if he does forget and it hurts i start 'crying' and he'll start crying until he can touch my face 'to make things better' too cute.

but thats how kitties play with eachother... is scratching and biting... they're not human babies so we gotta be patient and remember that.

good luck! kittens are great!

 

hi halaroo...

your baby will grow out of it i think....

max bit all the time. i had scratches up and down my arms and hands. i just thought it was normal...lols....

but frequently he would bite and hold on... :m3: then bite harder, and i couldnt get him off my arm. i just put him in time out immediately. some days he would go to time out ten times or more!! and the water bottle, or tv changer...that helps. max used to jump up between my legs when i sat on my chair at the computer...and scratch/attack me that way. he was totally rambunctious. but he never bit my feet, thank goodness. that would be a hard one. max was only 8 wks when i got him. he grew out of the biting around six months...

currently, i am trying to teach chris to not bite mikey. he gets overaroused and attacks him...bites him hard on the neck. chris is slowly beginning to respond to me saying "NO!" and sometimes i tap him on his head and say it, then point my finger menacingly at him...simultaneously saying "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO"....lols.

and then there is mikey...now....mikey is a nipper...a love nipper...he nips my fingers constantly. never hard...but its almost like he tries to lead me by taking my fingers in his mouth....its funny. and in the mornings, he will come and sit or lay right on top of me...and lick my face, then bite my fingers....i have to hide my fingers under the covers because he is very quick...and keeps it up if they are in plain view :roll:

and your baby is brand new. still adjusting. the very first day i had mikey he bit me HARD!!! i was shocked, and....not very happy....it freaked me out. but i got the water bottle and whenever i would go in and out of the back room (before i introduced him to max) i would be armed with the water bottle. all i had to do is point it at him...hed go runnin!!!! :wink:

 

Just a thought, but have you tried redirecting the aggression/energy into an interactive play session with a toy? When the little guy's getting ornery, that might be a good time to get him running around the room, chasing Da Bird or some other fishing pole-type critter. That's what I do with Luna, anyway. When she starts getting feisty and directing it toward me, it's her way of telling me that she has so much energy that she's about to burst.

Good luck!

 

Thanks for all the advice.

Artemis is getting better. Still biting, but not nearly as much. I have been re-directing his energy into mice and this rubber tube that I drag around on the floor.

I think I may have to change his name to Stinky though. This morning I fed him, then went to get ready for work. When I came back in the room I was greated by the most foulest smell ever! peee-uuuu! At least he did it in the litter box! I'm sure it's just the diet change.

In other news, he's got his first vet appointment on Monday. He'll get his last shots and an overall exam.

 

edit -- posted with the wrong account

 

OK, I'm using Opera now so I shouldn't make that mistake many more times...

That's what I've been doing. As soon as he goes at my feet (before he gets to biting) I grab a toy and distract him. He really only seems to want to play when I go in there. I prefer the cuddly cats, but I expect that will come with age.

One thing new I noticed today, was that he's gotten jumpy. Every time I stand up or move my whole body he goes running, usually head first into something, and hides for a minute before he comes back out and continues his playing. Is that normal, or did I step on him and not notice?

I dunno about this whole kitten thing. He's cute, but I prefer it when I'm the one who is hyper and misbehaving

 

Glad "stinky" is getting better at not biting. As for the stench, all my kittens had foul stench for a year when they were kittens. :shock: It didn't matter what we fed them- good quality food vs ok quality food. I guess their digestive system is still imature just like human infants. :mrgreen: As soon as I smell the stench, I would pour fresh litter in the litter box and turn on the fans, wait 10 min. and scoop away!
Yes, Kittens are full of energy and will want to play all the time. Sounds like you two are having fun with Artie. How's Moe doing so far?

Sounds normal to me. Could be a natural instinct to hide when predators appear. He can't tell that you're not a predator yet. LOl's. As for being active, my cats did not slow down until they turned 3. :shock: Rene is almost 2 and she's still very active. She still wants to play fetch and attack everything in the house. Milo is almost 5 and he still runs around the house like a mad man. There's nothing like having kittens or toddlers in a house. Loads of fun! 8)

 

Moe's doing pretty well. She seems to have relaxed quite a bit now. Kendrick and I don't visit Artemis together unless Moe is occupied. She's getting lots of cuddle and play time from both of us. Plus she's been getting a few pieces of kitten food everytime I bring some up for Artemis!

Next week the real test will come. We're going to take our time with the introductions and let Moe set the pace. I think she'll do okay.

 

its so funny...personal preferences...i like the kitten stage...running and playing, thats one of the reasons i got max...a bengal. they never stop. lately, max has been more laid back...almost like what maybe a "laid back" cat would be...but i think its because of chris...maybe hes a little depressed. i hate it. i like him running and playing all day. so when i put chris back in the bedroom for the day yesterday, max played all day.

the stinky poo poo...sometimes it smells really back when they are stressed...i read an article on that once. so, maybe it will go away if he calms down a bit after the transition. :wink:

whats it gonna be halaroo?? stinky or artie?

and btw....what's "opera"? :0011:

 

Sorry to hear Max is depressed. He's such a great cat.

I'm keeping his name as Artemis. I've actually never called him Artie. Stinky is just his nickname!