# Advice for 8 month old kitten biting



## ZiggysSlave (Mar 3, 2015)

Hello everyone

Im looking for a bit of advice please. We have an 8 month old kitten, Ziggy, who we have had for approx. 4 months. We believe he is a Bengal cross  hes had all of his jabs, has been neutered and is an indoor cat. We are struggling with his behaviour and working out whether it is playing or aggression. I dont know whether its just that we are doing something wrong, whether he is bored as an indoor cat, or whether he is just a typical kitten and we are not patient enough.

We play with him for about half an hour each evening with a Da Bird, which he loves and he has plenty of other toys, cat tower near the window, etc to entertain himself, as well as the run of the whole house during the day while we are at work. He does all the usual kitten behaviour of trying to catch my feet as I walk up the stairs, trying to gently bite my hands, all of which I assume is him playing and so ignore and try to grab a toy to distract him. However, when he is doing something naughty and I try to stop him he will try to attack me. For example, we will scratch and scratch to get into the wardrobe  originally I let him in as I thought once he realised there was nothing in there of interest to him he would stop it, but he started climbing up and putting holes in all my clothes so now I dont let him in there. He scratches at the doors and each time I pick him up and move him away he goes straight back to it and continues, after I move him away for the third or fourth time he will anticipate me coming to pick him up, turn around and bite me, really hard with his ears back. I try to ignore it and continue to move him away and he just goes back and does the same thing again. 

Any ideas on how I can curb this behaviour please, as this (on top of his other destructive kitten behaviour!) is really pushing me to my limits at the moment!

Thank you 
Louise


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Hi Louise, hard as it may seem you MUST ignore him (leave the rooom) when he scratches at your wardrobe door. By moving him away every time he scratches the door time you're engaging with him in a negative way, and because he feels frustrated at not getting his own way he responds with annoyance and bites you. 

The only acceptable alternative to ignoring him would be to distract him with a toy such as Flying Frenzy, or call him to another room for some treats. 

Basically he is trying to get into your wardrobe partly because he is bored, partly because cats love going in cupboards and partly because he had a great time in there ripping your clothes!  You need to find other ways to keep him entertained and help him use up his energy.

When my kittens were his age I played interactively with them for at least 2 hours a day, divided into half hour sessions, morning, afternoon and at least a couple of sessions in the evenings, including before bedtime. 

Most kittens are not particularly good at playing by themselves, no matter how many toys you provide them with, they will soon get bored. And as he has no feline playmate, you have to take the place of a playmate whilst he is still so young and active. 

Does he have window sills where he can sit and watch the birds etc? Consider putting a bird feeder right near the window, or even attached to the glass so he has a good view. 

Give him lots of places to climb up to safely - ceiling high cat trees, shelves, tops of cupboards etc.


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## ZiggysSlave (Mar 3, 2015)

Hi chillminx and thank you for the reply!
I worried it might be because we arent playing with him enough :O(
The problem is that we both have to leave the house at 6.30am every morning, and already get up at 5.30 so that I can feed him, sort his tray etc before leaving for work so I just dont think I could get up any earlier to play with him in the morning. We will definitely try to play with him more in the afternoon. We do always play in the evening before his meal and bedtime but I can see why this wouldnt be enough for him. He does have window sills all through the house and I have put bird feeders out so that he has something to watch, he also has a very tall cat tree and likes to sit up on top of the kitchen cupboards and sleep on top of the tall fridge freezer. 

The problem is that our wardrobe has sliding doors so if he perseveres he can get in there and then destroy my clothing! So if I were to leave the room, ignoring him, and he got into the wardrobe what should I do? Just remove him without saying anything? He has access to my bedroom all day and I dont think he even attempts to get in there when were out as the doors are never open so he obviously just does it when I am there! Should I try to keep him out of the bedroom in the morning?

Thanks for your help!
Louise


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## ALR (Apr 16, 2014)

I was thinking of more play as well. If afternoon and evening works better then I would give him long play sessions then. But play with him until he's tired and pants.

In the morning before you leave you can leave him puzzles to solve There are cat puzzle feeders that you can put some of his food in before you leave. Also you could leave toys around like this one: Smart Cat Peek and Play Toy Box: Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

I also leave catnip toys under wardrobes or bookshelves, where the cat will have to work to get the toy.

Once you come home though, you need to pick up all the toys and store them until next morning. If you leave them on the floor, they'll lose their novelty. I know it can be a bit of a pain, but hopefully once you get into a routine, you can do things quickly in the morning and rotate the toys around a little.

As for the bedroom, I would close it in the morning. Or stick a child lock on the wardrobe door.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

I agree with ALR - either shut him out of the bedroom or else fit a child-proof lock to the wardrobe. They are inexpensive and easy to fit.

Dreambaby Sliding Door and Window Locks (Transparent): Amazon.co.uk: Baby


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## ZiggysSlave (Mar 3, 2015)

Thank you both - I think I will have to try to keep him out of the bedroom in the morning as I'm pretty sure he doesn't even attempt to get in the wardrobe unless I'm here! Thanks for the tips re toys and playtime, here's hoping they help! &#128522;


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