biting

Question
Dear Rosie,
 3 weeks ago I found a little female kitten abandoned and I took her in. Right now she is about 7 weeks, full of energy and we adore her. However, We have only two problems with her. First, she bites everything (hands, feet, covers, pillows, etc) all the time. I know she is playing but her teeth and her claws are sharp and so we can not play with her without getting hurt. Secondly, since I raised her since she was only 2 weeks old, I am assuming she conciders me as her mom. I love that idea but she suckles on my hands all the time and I don't know what to do. Should I let her do it, if so will she grow out of it, or should I stop her and if so how?
 Otherwise, she is great, she eats well, she is litter box trained and we are planing on desexing her soon.
         Please help,
                    THANK YOU VERY MUCH
             GINA

Answer
Hello Gina!

Wow...two weeks old...what a little cutie!  :o)  

One thing you can do about her suckling is get your baby something called a Snuggle Kitty (which I'll give you a link for in a second), which is a stuffed animal that includes things to make it realistic.  You can also give her just a regular stuffed animal.  This way she can wean herself off of suckling, and it destracts her from trying to do it to you or herself.  Here is a link for Snuggle Kitties:
http://www.lovemypet.com.au/mall/cat_kittenaids.asp

As far as the biting, unfortunately at her age, there isn't much you can do.  You can try putting your hand on her head with your fingers facing her rear and pushing down slightly.  It's what mama kitties do to establish who's boss, and she'll know what it is right away.  I can't guarantee that it'll stop her biting.  She's so young, most of the time she's not quite in her right mind.  When she's playing, she's literally mentally in a whole other place and time...so it's difficult to curb biting or scratching behaviour in a kitten younger than, say, four or five months.  I really wish I could give you a sure-fire remedy, but literally the best (and only) remedy is time and maturity.  I'm sorry I can't do more with that for you.

That's great that she's litter trained and doing well otherwise!  What a little trooper!  Let me know if you come across anything else you need advice or information on.  I would love to help!  :o)

Hugs to you both!

Rosie*