Ways to Stop Kittens from Biting

When my darling kitten turned two months old she began to play rough with me. Okay, it is totally normal for kittens to play at this age, but unfortunately, along with their play, they do not realize that they need to bite something other than their person. My husband thought she was hungry but learned quickly that it was not the case, because the darling kitten was biting his toes while he was making her a bowl of food and after she at a few bites she gleefully resumed her biting.  Through trial and error, I learned the best way to put a stop to the biting. 

The best way is to distract your cat when they begin to play rough or bite you is to introduce them to a cat activity.  .One way that works is to spray their scratching post with natural catnip then pick your cat up and take to the post. Set their paws on the post, once your cat picks up the scent of the catnip they will forget about biting you.

Another way to get your cat to stop biting you is to address the biting as soon as your cat begins behaving badly. Introduce them to cat toys. It is best to have the toys in a pet room or other room that is away from you.

I have often suspected that my kitten may be anxious or bored and this is why she bites me and plays rough with me. So I bought her a cat tree and sprayed the entire thing with catnip. She loves it and when she starts to bite and play rough I will pick her up and take her to her tree. 

* I recommend setting the cat tree next to a window so kitty can climb to the top. It is helpful to hang an outdoor bird feeder close to the window so your cat can watch the birds. Watching the birds eat at the feeder is more enjoyable than biting their human.

What to Do When Cat Opens Carrier / Crate

In the photo, you view a sweet 7-week old kitten that we rescued with his four siblings when they had been put in cardboard box and taken to our woods. All kittens are developing their personalities, however, this little orange and white cat is like Houdini, he can escape all crates, cages, carriers, and slides under the safe room door. Keeping this cat confined has been a challenge but we did find ways to keep in his crate, cage, and carrier.

We keep the kittens is a safe room away from the other pets in the house. This room we have all that they need including toys, beds, litter boxes, cat tree with a scratching post, pet crates and kitten food and water bowl. The room is 9 x 14 so the kittens have plenty of room to play. All of the kittens are adjusting to their new surroundings except the orange and white one, he does not play with other kittens because he is too busy trying to get out of the room.

At night we put all of the kittens in a large cat cage that has a bed, water, kibble food, hammock, and litter box. The latch to secure the cage works properly, but we discovered that no latch was going to keep the orange and white kitten inside the cage. He broke out of that cage in no time and all the kittens followed him. Now we must tie the cage shut with rope.

When I say nothing keeps this cat in one place I mean it. We put the orange and white tabby cat in the carrier to go to the veterinarian's office, then put the carrier in the car, covered it with a pet blanket (to keep kitten calmer while riding in car) and I have no idea how he got out, but he was out of the carrier and running all over the car.

Thank goodness the Amazon.com sells soft-sided carriers that zip open and close as he has not figured out how to get out of them. As for the cat cage at night, we keep the kittens in with the latch and we used twine to tie it closed with a double-knot.

This kitten will be a good match for a family with kids because he will have them laughing constantly. We will be putting the rescue kittens up for adoption in 2 to 3 weeks. 

Found One Pound Bengal - Maine Coon Kitten

On a cool day in November I was working in my yard and though I heard a kitten meow.  Upon investigation of the bamboo and not seeing anything I decided that I must have mistook what I had heard.  Know that nestled among the bamboo shoots I have a feral cat shelter that is stuffed with straw to keep the cats warm. One of the spayed feral cats had been sleeping in this shelter and both my husband and I thought it was odd, since this cat sleeps in a large thicket den in my neighbors yard.

We watched this adult feral cat and her behavior was odd.  She  has been seen going in and out of this shelter which is my old work shed.  I keep food , water and cat beds in this shed.  Know her behavior was odd because she doe s not eat at the feeding station, my neighbor feeds her or she hunts in the woods.

 I made a point to watch her and glad that I did.  The feral cat that we call Lucy ate at my food station, then went back to where the cat house was and regurgitated her food.  This spayed feral cat had found a kitten and was trying to care for it as best as she could.

There was no way to get close to the kitten that appeared to be very small.  If I attempted to take the kitten and failed then the feral cat  would take the kitten to the woods and we would never see it again.  So husband and I watched Lucy the kitten and cat house.

The weather forecast was calling for colder weather throughout the night and I worried about the little kitten. We h ad our dinner, watched a movie and went to bed.  Then for some reason I got up at 5 AM, put on my slippers and fleece robe and went outside.  I walked 30 feet to the front of the house and the first thing that I saw was the leaves moving on the lawn.

I thought perhaps a field mouse was coming toward me or other forest animal, I soon learned it was the one pound Bengal and Maine Coon Kitten.  When the kitten reached me it was meowing loudly and I recall hearing leaf movement coming from my side yard.  I suspect coyote were coming for a snack or maybe it was Lucy the feral cat?

No time was wasted I picked up the kitten, and put it in the pocket of my fleece robe and hurried to go back indoors.   Once inside I felt the kittens ear, nose and paws; they were cold as ice.  I took steps to warm the the kitten and then followed that with bottle feeding.  The kitten is not feral which means that a human had to have abandoned the baby cat.

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Determining Kitten Age

A few weeks ago I thought I found a  8 week old kitten but after taking cat to the veterinarians I found out that the kitten was older.   The veterinarian examined the cat and asked questions pertaining to the kitten eating habits, feeding schedule, sleeping habits and activity, and then determined an approximate age.

I learned that the kitten was approximately 10 weeks old. The cat was small for its age because it was underdeveloped. As a stray, the kitten did not get the proper nutrition. Know that an orphaned kitten could appear to be small due to their lack of food from queen cat or from being abandoned, left to forage on their own.

Feral kitten with Queen cat

Other ways to Determine Age of Kitten 

1. Determine an approximate age for the kitten by their eating-sleeping habits. 
2. A kitten that is not able to go to the bathroom on their own or needs to be fed a milk replacement by way of bottle is a newborn age three weeks and under.
3. If the kitten is drinking replacement milk from a glass bowl, eating soft kitten food or wellness core kitten formula grain free and no GMO kibble moistened with replacement milk and eats five to six times a day the age is 4 to 8 weeks.
4. Kittens that are age 12 to 24 weeks old are weaned from replacement milk and eating solid foods that is moistened with water or canned kitten food. These kittens generally eat three times a day.
Another way to determine the age of a kitten is by their weight: each pound represents month (example 2 pounds = two months)

*The photographs that you view on this post are of the many kittens I have rescued over the years. 

Meet Houdini our Great Escape Rescued Kitten

It takes time for kittens to develop their personalities and once they do you will be able to match their personalities with a proper name.  Meet Houdini our rescue kitten that is the master at escaping from rooms, carriers and cat cages.

In the photo you view a sweet three week old kitten that we rescued with his four siblings. This kitten is dirty and is banged up, and this is how we found him.  We suspect that he and his litter mates went without food and water because they are small and do not look healthy.

We found these babies in a trash bag that was lying in the grassy area on a busy road at night. The kittens were very small and afraid but husband and I did manage to rescue all five of them.  

We keep the kittens is a safe room away from the other animals in the house and foot traffic, in this room we have all that they need including toys, beds, litter boxes, cat tree with scratching post, cat cage and feeding station. The room is 19 x 21 so the kittens have plenty of room to play. You would think the kittens would be happy in the cat room right? 

Apparently not because Houdini found a way out of the room and out he runs, past the dog and other cats, as if to say “Here I am. “

At night we put all of the kittens in a large cat cage we latch it shut but found out that no latch was going to keep Houdini in. He broke out of that cage in no time and all the kittens followed him, running through the house and playing as kittens do. 

 Last week I put Houdini in the cat carrier and then put the carrier in the car to take him to the veterinarian, no idea how he got out but he was running all over the car and I needed to stop the car and get him.  Husband and I laugh at Houdini because he is so smart. He even knows how to open the door to our bedroom and get in to visit us. 

 Houdini will make a sweet kitty for a family, as he is fun, affectionate and will make his people smile and laugh.

When Kittens Bite and Scratch

When you look at my hands you will see scratches. Know that these scratches are from the kittens that I care for.   When the rescued or abandoned kittens get to be a certain age they tend to play a little roughly by scratching and biting. Their  sharp little teeth hurt and sometime the scratch or bite gets infected.

Generally this rough playing with the biting and scratching occurs when kittens are about 7 to 8 weeks old. One day your kitten is sweet and the next morning something is different because your adorable kitten has discovered that her teeth hurt and she wants to bite everything and she also discovered that she has claws.

Discourage your kitten from playing with your hands or feet. Instead buy dabird (bird with feather on a stick) and run the bird across the floor. Your kitten will chase after the bird and find this to be amusing. If there are no litter mates for kitten to play with then buy your kitten a stuffed toy. Spray the toy with catnip and now you have a toy that kitten can play with and you hands are not their source of entertainment. 

 In addition to the cat toys, now is the time to teach your baby cat to use a scratching post.  I recommend buying a medium sized cat tree that is covered with carpet.  This tree will provide your kitten with hours of entertainment plus the cat tree will be their place a safe area to scratch.

Note:

Sometimes those dagger claws will puncture the skin and let me tell you this darling kitten’s playful behavior is not fun at all. So clip those claws so that they will not scratch you.  

I recommend that before you handle any stray or feral kitten that you make sure that you have on protective clothing; arms and legs covered with long sleeve shirt and if possible a jacket plus leather gloves to protect your hands.  Helpful to be current with your tetanus shot. Other than than enjoy the kittens as they are babies for only a short time.