# Biting Kitten



## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

Elsworth is being such a pain at the minute for biting, nothing is working. He has been at the vets today for neutering and has just spent the last half an hour attacking me. He goes for my feet, arms, hands, legs, the laptop and my phone. I have been told to keep him quiet so I am not playing with him, I just gave him a plague rat to attack. I moved from the bed to the floor and he followed me and started attacking me again. I am now covered in scratches and have a nice tooth mark in my arm and he was really going for it. 

I mentioned it to the vet as I thought he was teething which is why he was biting and especially going for hard stuff. She said he wasnt and that he needed toys. He has so many toys we could open up a pet shop! He isnt interested in his toys apart from pipe cleaners and straws. I have 5 attachments to the Flying Frenzy, The Undercover Mouse, Neko Flies wand, feather on a stick, mouse on a stick, a whirling mouse toy, plague rats, bouncy balls, ping pong balls, rustle balls, mice, boinks, a tunnel and a cube. The bouncy balls and straws are left out all the time, the mice and the boinks live in the cat tree and get put away when I tidy as he isnt really interested. The other toys are rotated as are the attachments to prevent boredom. 

He has just gone for my feet again and then went straight to my phone to start biting it. 

I dont know how to stop this as I have tried everything and keep trying to play with him but he just looks at the toy from behind the cat tree. Not that long ago I used to play with him loads and he would be jumping and leaping around really getting into playtime. I let him catch the toy and kill it a few times so that he doesnt get frustrated. 

He is now attacking the flat cats mesh that I have just taken off the window, biting at it like crazy. 

Does the vet have it wrong and he is teething or is he doing it out of frustration or something?

He is 5 months old, fed on a rotation of Animonda Carny, Bozita, Butchers Classic and Smilla. He rarely gets any dry food or anything with sugars in it to make him bounce off the walls. I am not always at work during the day so he isnt always on his own, it doesnt seem to make a difference if I am home or not. I always stop stroking him if I think he is getting a bit too hyper and never play with hands or feet. When he bites I give him a toy if I have one but he ignores it. If he is on me then I pick him up and put him on the floor. 

I know kittens bite and are a bit hyper but most of the stuff I have read says to play with them to get rid of excess energy which I try and do but if he wont play I cant get rid of his energy!!!


Ideas??


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Was he neutered just recently? And was he displaying any sexual behaviours before neutering?


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

carly87 said:


> Was he neutered just recently? And was he displaying any sexual behaviours before neutering?


There were no sexual behaviours just a lot of biting and stalking the girls. I did think he was a bit more stalky than he had been doing so that plus lack of interest in play and more biting I did wonder if it was him starting to become a bit frisky. He has been done today so we shall see over the next few weeks how he is.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Oggers, I think with Elsworth you need to direct his attention away from you as a potential toy and onto something more acceptable. e.g. have you got a Kong Kickeroo?

I find these are brilliant for cats who love to bite and kick. I have two cats who still love to do this at the age of 4 and a half yrs old:blink:. Though they do not launch themselves at me thank goodness.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Kong-CR3-Ki...=1402671184&sr=8-1&keywords=kong+kickeroo+cat

They sometimes likes to bite and kick me in play when I stroke them. If I immediately give them a Kickeroo (I keep a supply handy all over the house) they go crazy kicking and chewing on it. I hold the end of the tail and play gentle tug-of-war with them and they love that too. After 5 minutes of that they are not interested in biting me again for the rest of the day.

In addition, have you considered giving him a chicken wing to chew - something to get his teeth into!


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

chillminx said:


> Oggers, I think with Elsworth you need to direct his attention away from you as a potential toy and onto something more acceptable. e.g. have you got a Kong Kickeroo?
> 
> I find these are brilliant for cats who love to bite and kick. I have two cats who still love to do this at the age of 4 and a half yrs old:blink:. Though they do not launch themselves at me thank goodness.
> 
> ...


Yep I have 2! Not interested even when I wrestle with it. I have also given him a kitten sized stuff cat and a chicken flavoured nylabone which he ignores.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Oh dear! He is obviously obsessed with you and no substitutes are acceptable to him. :blink: As a last resort have you tried him on Zylkene? Might calm him down a bit.


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

chillminx said:


> Oh dear! He is obviously obsessed with you and no substitutes are acceptable to him. :blink: As a last resort have you tried him on Zylkene? Might calm him down a bit.


He doesn't go for my husband half as much but it is me he spends most time with. No biting me today, he would have happily shredded the kitchen roll if I had let him but he has already had one plus a toilet roll to kill since we have had him so no more.

Maybe the neutering will calm him down, I do have some Zylkene I could try if necessary.

It is a good job I love him so much!!! He has charmed the staff at the vets..if only they could see his naughty side!

He is currently sat by my feet being as good as gold.


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## jaycee05 (Sep 24, 2012)

Have you thought of getting a lazer toy or pen to distract him, once they see that little red dot they seem to forget about everything else, my kittens used to tear around and i couldnt get them to settle down, but after playing with that with them, they used to come and sit in front of me waiting, very funny to see,or if they heard the slightest movement of the chain on it they would stop whatever they were doing and sit looking at me just waiting,
Best thing i ever got them


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

jaycee05 said:


> Have you thought of getting a lazer toy or pen to distract him, once they see that little red dot they seem to forget about everything else, my kittens used to tear around and i couldnt get them to settle down, but after playing with that with them, they used to come and sit in front of me waiting, very funny to see,or if they heard the slightest movement of the chain on it they would stop whatever they were doing and sit looking at me just waiting,
> Best thing i ever got them


Yep bought one today, slight interest which tailed off the second time we used it.


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

All of his toys get a brief play with then he walks off and ignores them. He is better with bouncy balls and pipe cleaners but everything else gets a vague response whereas not long ago he went mad for the wand toys. 

I knew that when I got a Siamese he would need a lot of play time which I was fine with but he no longer wants to play with hardly anything although he desperately tries with the other 2 cats. They are not interested in the slightest but his interest is turning into an obsession. All he does is watch them, follow them, chase them and try and play if they are in the house. The second he heard the flap click he is straight over.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Maybe the answer is to get him a feline playmate of his own age then


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

chillminx said:


> Maybe the answer is to get him a feline playmate of his own age then


I have suggested that but it was met with a resounding no!


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

5 minutes ago he woke me up by poking me with his claws so I got up and put some food down but he wasnt interested so I tried playing with him. Tried the Flying Frenzy with the vole attachment, small play but then he got bored. Swapped to the Neko Karantula, same response. Took the vole off the Flying Frenzy and threw it for him, no response. Swapped to the bird attachment, more response but not interested. Have just tried the laser pen but he doesnt really play, just walks around and paws at the dot. 

He is walking around looking for his own entertainment which include biting the laptop cable and my feet...


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## jaycee05 (Sep 24, 2012)

Not sure how old he is, but if hes just been neutered im guessing around 6 months, he could just as easily grow out of this behaviour, Siamese do like being with people and they like attention, hopefully he will calm down after the kitten stage


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

jaycee05 said:


> Not sure how old he is, but if hes just been neutered im guessing around 6 months, he could just as easily grow out of this behaviour, Siamese do like being with people and they like attention, hopefully he will calm down after the kitten stage


He is 5 months tomorrow


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## kategod (Feb 13, 2014)

I'm assuming that after neutering it takes a while for the hormone levels to diminish - so he may not calm down immediately. Hugo went through a very bitey stage at 5-6 months - his speciality was sinking his teeth into my throat in the middle of the night like a little furry vampire - I'm sure he was teething too, which obviously didn't help. It all stopped not long after he was neutered and now he is extremely gentle and calm.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

kategod said:


> his speciality was sinking his teeth into my throat in the middle of the night like a little furry vampire


:yikes::eek6::laugh:


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## carly87 (Feb 11, 2011)

Have you given him straws? He will e teething which may be why he's choosing only certain things to bite on. McDonalds straws are a godsend in this period. No others will do!

I know your hubby has said no, but I too would very strongly recommend a feline playmate, and would go so far as to say it's a matter of urgency. He's clearly desperate for interaction, and likely feeling a bit bored despite all the things you're trying to do for him. Sounds like he will only settle for interaction with animate objects, and unfortunately, there's no way you've got the energy of a mad five month old meezer! Seriously consider this, as I think he needs it just as much as you need the respite.


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

carly87 said:


> Have you given him straws? He will e teething which may be why he's choosing only certain things to bite on. McDonalds straws are a godsend in this period. No others will do!
> 
> Yep he has straws.
> 
> I know your hubby has said no, but I too would very strongly recommend a feline playmate, and would go so far as to say it's a matter of urgency. He's clearly desperate for interaction, and likely feeling a bit bored despite all the things you're trying to do for him. Sounds like he will only settle for interaction with animate objects, and unfortunately, there's no way you've got the energy of a mad five month old meezer! Seriously consider this, as I think he needs it just as much as you need the respite.


I did have a plan on convincing him but typically Elsworth is not being a pain and is happily snoozing in his hammock. I do think he would benefit though because there are days when we are both out at work for 9 hours. If I push for another it will just cause problems


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## jaycee05 (Sep 24, 2012)

I really think he will grow out of this stage, i had a phone call a few years ago from a lady who had got a kitten from me, i was quite amused really as she said[what can i do .the kitten is trying to bite my husband] i reasured her he would grow out of it, its what kittens do, I rang hera couple of months later to ask how things were now,she said ,he had stopped this behaviour, they had never had a kitten before so didnt know what to expect, 
It did sound very funny at the time though to me,


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

jaycee05 said:


> I really think he will grow out of this stage, i had a phone call a few years ago from a lady who had got a kitten from me, i was quite amused really as she said[what can i do .the kitten is trying to bite my husband] i reasured her he would grow out of it, its what kittens do, I rang hera couple of months later to ask how things were now,she said ,he had stopped this behaviour, they had never had a kitten before so didnt know what to expect,
> It did sound very funny at the time though to me,


Lol I haven't had a kitten in years so whilst I was prepared for biting I didn't think it would be this bad. He hasn't bitten me for a few days and he seems very content to snuggle. He has started to wake up later and sleep more so the hyperness is wearing off.

I hope he grows out of biting phones etc, the amount of times I have sent stuff that makes no sense because I have had my phone half stolen!


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## oggers86 (Nov 14, 2011)

Brief update...

Elsworth has now been neutered a week and his interest in toys has returned!! The vet says he is definitely teething as he hasn't lost his baby teeth yet but she says they will fall out soon so we shouldn't be mauled for much longer. I have ordered some bitter apple for cables and my phone/laptop and am half tempted to put some on my feet and hands.


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## Ely01 (May 14, 2014)

Hey, I have a 7 months old and he bites sometimes, but I don't think quite as much as yours, and I don't know why. Perhaps to call for attention, dunnnly thing that has worked has been to distract him away from my feet, hands and play, like you're trying...

When he plays at biting I sometimes play with him with a small towel, covering him with it, playing hide and seek, tickling him under the towel, etc. It tires him out a bit and if he tries and bite it doesn't hurt too much. He can chew on it too.

No idea why your kitty bites, hope the neutering today will have some effect at least. 
Good luck x


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