Kitten is a Biter:

[Kibbity_Kabbit2]

Hi, could anyone give me some tips on how to stop kittens from biting? My kitten used to just give us love bites & nibbles, but now she's starting to hurt us. I don't know how to break the habit & keep her playful spirit. I would like this not to be a habit when she's older. Especially if my fiance & I want to start a family someday.

[is taylor really swift]

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

[Kibbity_Kabbit2]

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

Where can you buy that? I'll try it with my kitty.

[is taylor really swift]

Kibbity_Kabbit2

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

Where can you buy that? I'll try it with my kitty.

I'm not even sure where I got mine, the type that I have is made for application on skin conditions like cuts or acne, so it is not that strong and I would recommend buying one like that. You should be able to get it from a drug store or maybe a supermarket down the aisle that would have simple pain killers/hygiene products, just ask about it. If you get it you only need to apply a little bit and the smell is really strong. I don't think your cat will even try to lick your furniture if you have a bit of that on there, one sniff and it'll think twice. My pup gets really frustrated because she wants to bite the furniture but it smells and tastes so bad that she can't.
PS. I have read that tea tree oil can be toxic to dogs and cats, however this is in relevance to application on the skin for treatment of fleas. I really don't think your cat will be able to ingest enough to get sick from it, my puppy hasn't she has only briefly licked it, so I think you shall be fine.

[Flutter Fox]

When she bites too hard do a little yelp, immediately stop play and ignore her for a minute. Biting to hard = playtime over which is THE WORST POSSIBLE THING to a kitten. But make sure to come back to play with a toy this time so she learns that hands aren't toys.

also; pictures??

[xXFurygeistXx]

super-sluts

Kibbity_Kabbit2

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

Where can you buy that? I'll try it with my kitty.

I'm not even sure where I got mine, the type that I have is made for application on skin conditions like cuts or acne, so it is not that strong and I would recommend buying one like that. You should be able to get it from a drug store or maybe a supermarket down the aisle that would have simple pain killers/hygiene products, just ask about it. If you get it you only need to apply a little bit and the smell is really strong. I don't think your cat will even try to lick your furniture if you have a bit of that on there, one sniff and it'll think twice. My pup gets really frustrated because she wants to bite the furniture but it smells and tastes so bad that she can't.
PS. I have read that tea tree oil can be toxic to dogs and cats, however this is in relevance to application on the skin for treatment of fleas. I really don't think your cat will be able to ingest enough to get sick from it, my puppy hasn't she has only briefly licked it, so I think you shall be fine.

Read this about tea tree oil before using it: http://www.petmd.com/blogs/thedailyvet/ken-tudor/2014/january/tea-tree-oil-safe-pets-31282
If you are using it to deter biting, that means they are getting it in their mouths and ingesting it, which is not good for the animal. Use citrus blends and commercially available deterrent sprays instead, which are safe for cats, and the smell is usually enough to deter them (cats hate citrus for some reason).
You need to allow no biting whatsoever, not even love bites. Stop playing handsy with your cat and get her focus on toys and cat wands instead. She needs to stop associating hands with toys. If she bites, you yelp or say "OW!" loudly and end play and attention IMMEDIATELY, and walk away. She needs to learn that using her teeth means she doesn't get what she wants. If she is getting too riled up during play, back off a bit and try getting her to chase after a wand toy instead of one you have to hold in your hand. She's young and can be trained out of this before it becomes a real problem. Be consistent. Even if she's really cute when she plays with your hands, you need to stop and get her to focus her attention on more appropriate playthings, like toys. You don't want her biting guests to your house, let alone any children you may end up having. Tell your fiance to follow these rules, and anyone that comes over and plays with her. The cessation of play and attention MUST be consistent, no matter what human she plays with, to get it through her head that biting is NOT okay.

[~ Aki - Fairy ~]

I just want to stress the importance of a "time out" of sorts for biting -both people and things it shouldn't-
A lot of people say to replace the bad item with an appropriate one (toy, bone, etc..) but timing is super important. When you immediately replace, you're basically telling the animal that chewing on cords or other unacceptable things / biting a person = receiving a special chew or play time with a fun toy, aka: you're rewarding them for doing something you don't want them to do.
Instead you need to separate them from the bad activity, have that little time-out pause, and then direct their attention onto something good.

Also save this site, refer to it often, invest in her books if you have the opportunity
http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/

[Shanna66]

We put gale in the dog crate for a time out and gave her toys she could chew on. Worked pretty well

[Kibbity_Kabbit2]

Flutter Fox

When she bites too hard do a little yelp, immediately stop play and ignore her for a minute. Biting to hard = playtime over which is THE WORST POSSIBLE THING to a kitten. But make sure to come back to play with a toy this time so she learns that hands aren't toys.

also; pictures??

Of course! Silly me, forgot to post picture of my little darling. Her name is Jenifurr! 4laugh

[Henrika]

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

It's also super toxic to her, so have fun with that one when she inevitably rubs against it/gets it in her mouth one day.

[Henrika]

Kibbity_Kabbit2

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

Where can you buy that? I'll try it with my kitty.

Please don't use tea tree oil, its super duper toxic to cats.

[Kibbity_Kabbit2]

Henrika

Kibbity_Kabbit2

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

Where can you buy that? I'll try it with my kitty.

Please don't use tea tree oil, its super duper toxic to cats.

Really? eek

[is taylor really swift]

Henrika

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

It's also super toxic to her, so have fun with that one when she inevitably rubs against it/gets it in her mouth one day.

She's already gotten it in her mouth very briefly and she's not dead or sick, she knows to stay away if she can smell it now. There are a lot of things toxic to dogs and cats that most likely will not kill or harm them in tiny doses, that's okay if you don't want to take that risk with your pet but ya know don't judge me for doing that. Plus I already acknowledged in a different post that it's toxic. Like her licking a teensy tiny bit won't do anything, that's why I bought a weaker version or diluting it with water should be fine. (maybe it was bad of me to give that advice, I just judged by the fact that nothing happened to my dog at all. I googled it first and most of it was about application to the skin to get rid of fleas, something I have not done, rubbing it on furniture just to give it the smell is fine in my opinion)

[Henrika]

super-sluts

Henrika

super-sluts

I'm still trying to stop my puppy from biting myself but I usually encourage her to play with her toys instead. I put tea tree oil on furniture and other things that I don't want her to bite and it works like a charm, if that smells strong to me it must smell 1000 times stronger to her.

It's also super toxic to her, so have fun with that one when she inevitably rubs against it/gets it in her mouth one day.

She's already gotten it in her mouth very briefly and she's not dead or sick, she knows to stay away if she can smell it now. There are a lot of things toxic to dogs and cats that most likely will not kill or harm them in tiny doses, that's okay if you don't want to take that risk with your pet but ya know don't judge me for doing that. Plus I already acknowledged in a different post that it's toxic. Like her licking a teensy tiny bit won't do anything, that's why I bought a weaker version or diluting it with water should be fine. (maybe it was bad of me to give that advice, I just judged by the fact that nothing happened to my dog at all. I googled it first and most of it was about application to the skin to get rid of fleas, something I have not done, rubbing it on furniture just to give it the smell is fine in my opinion)

I guess if you can live with the liver/kidney damage you're causing her with the 'tiny doses' go for it.

Using tea tree oil for fleas is pretty efficient at killing cats though, (within about 3-5hours of application) so thankfully you didn't do that at least.

Also, dogs and cats are different animals. Go figure.

[Marrms]

http://messybeast.com/teatree.htm
^ Some reading on the toxicity of tea tree for your pets.

Just because your cat hasn't gotten sick or died yet doesn't mean it isn't bad for her, you've had dumb luck.

Cry or make some kind of noise like someone has suggested. Kittens take vocal keys just as well as puppies. And if she was around her mom and litter mates she's going to eventually understand that when you make those noises it means she's hurting you.