My Cat Is Biting

Question
Hi,
I have a six-month-old kitten who I adopted from the animal shelter when he was 3 weeks old.

In the early morning when he is 'sleepy', he is always purring very loudly and is very gentle. But later in the day when I come home he seems to be nice at first when I pick him up, then while I'm petting him he'll bite me fairly hard.
On 2 occasions he has actually broken the skin.
I don't think he is playing as it is fairly painful and I think he gets that. I would really appreciate an answer telling me while he's doing it and maybe how to stop it.

Thank you very much,
Stephen

Answer
Stephen,

First of all, I find it totally irresponsioble that a shelter would adopt out a 3 week old kitten.  At 3 weeks this kitten was probably not even weaned.  Anyway, there you have it.  What we do know is that kittens who are taken away from their mothers way too young can develop some nasty habits.

Anyway, I believe you are misinterprting the biting behavior.  When kittens are at an age where they can begin moving around and engaging in other activities besides nursing, they tend to play incredibly roughly with their siblings.  Cat skin is very, very tough and so much of the biting scratching behavior is considered play and not aggression.

Kittens need to learn that we soft skin humans cannot tolerate this kind of rough play.  So, with our kittens we play a carrying, stroking, soft talking game that the kittens love.  If they act out with the biting, scratching behavior, we put them down and walk away.  It does not take long for the kitten to catch on that the carrying, stroking, soft talking game stops when the biting, scratching begins.  This way kittens soon usually figure out that they need to play more gently with humans.

Another thing you may think about is that at age 6 months, those hormones are beginning to rage.  A visit to the vet and neutering may also help with some of the aggressive behavior.

Finally, one other caveat.  As tempting as it may be, do not roughhouse with the kitten  It sends the wrong message.

Good luck and best regards... Norm.