Biting, scratching and pouncing

by Samantha
(Chicago)

I have a 4 month old Kitten that I've had for almost 2 months. When I first got him I took him to the vet and found out he had an upper respiratory infection so he was on antibiotics. Unfortunately both of his eyes started to get "gooky" one after the other and i am having to give him eye antibiotics (possible herpes). I attributed his previous behaviours to being sick (he wasn't very playful and would just sleep all day), but not he is in constant kitten mode. He climbs legs (mine are full of scratches) and tries to climb my back when I'm sitting on the couch. Most of the time when I try to pet him he will roll over on his back and hold on to my arm and start biting, sometimes hard. I've tried hissing at him and yelling "NO!" or "Don't Bite!" but he just doesn't get that he's doing anything wrong. If I go into the bathroom and shut the door he will immediately start meowing like he's dieing and scratch at the door. He wakes me up multiple times at night biting my hands or running across me. I have kicked him out of the room and shut the door, but he starts meowing really loud and scratching at the door. He also likes to jump in the refridgerator and bites if you try to take him out. I try to play with him as much as possible at night an hour before I go to bed (he has a ton of toys and a 5 foot cat tree) but none of it helps. Is there anything I can do to make evenings a little more bareable?

Answer by KAte
Hi
this behavior is a learned behavior or lets say one that he has picked up and which has not been taught to him as wrong. this is a common problem.

Basically your cat is playing and he thinks that biting and scratching etc is a game and Ok, he knows no different. the trouble is the way cats learn and the way we do are completely different. So shouting and squirting water is often not very effective. instead you need to use their language ie negative and positive reactions.

this can be quite a time consuming practice but is the best way to teach a cat and if done every time will soon stop these so called bad habits.

please see my page about this process here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-discipline.html

Kittens are full of energy so it does need to be channeled, so make sure you have things like play tunnels and climbing posts and things to chase and things to explore.
https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-toys.html

best wishes KAte

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