What to Do When Kitten Plays Rough with Humans

When my adorable rescue kitten turned two months old her inner beast came out and she decided to play rough with me, to the point that sleeping was impossible and I had to go for medical care for a scratch that got infected.

Okay it is totally normal for kittens to play rough at this age, but unfortunately along with their play they do not realize that they need to tuck those claws and bite something other than their person’s feet, hand, arm, leg and earlobe.

I have often thought that when the cat inner beast emerges that kitten must think their persons head is a giant mouse because the beast kitten will attack my head in the middle of the night, with a full claw pounce. She will also try to snuggle up in my hair and as a result many strands of hair is missing. (as viewed on my pillow in the morning) Know that sometimes those dagger claws will puncture the skin and let me tell you this darling kitten’s playful behavior is not fun at all.

Another thing beast kitten does is lick on my earlobe and then she will give it a bite. My kitten is not hungry, this is just a phase of kitten-hood I guess, but why bite me? She has litter mates to play rough with she does not need to bite me.  (None of the other rescue kittens behave like this, the runt of the litter has issues) 

So when my kitten gets that look in her eye and I know that she intends to play rough with me, I divert her attention by spraying her scratching post with catnip and I bring out her spot skinneeez forest creatures catnip toys, basically toys filled with catnip. These toys keep her entertained and she ignores my hands, feet and head. I have also clipped the dagger claws so that she can no longer scratch me.

Also I have crate trained all of the kittens and they go into a large cat cage at night.  This cage has allowed everyone to get a good nights sleep.  Know that playing rough (biting and scratching) is a phase that all kittens go through and soon it will pass.  But you must continue to clip the claws and divert their attention, teach kittens what is off limits. 

Learn how to clip your cats nails by viewing this YouTube.com tutorial video.