cat playing with ball

Breaking Your Kittens Biting Habit

TLC Pet Food gives tips and advice on training your kitten to stop biting and using you as their chew toy.

Kittens are excellent companions and will bring lots of joy to your life; however, they also get a lot of tiny sharp teeth. Kittens bite by nature, so it is essential to teach them from the start that you are not an appropriate chew toy. We have laid out the best ways to help you break your kitten biting habit:

Keep Them Active

Kittens will bite for many reasons but keeping them busy with proper toys will make it less likely for them to use you as their chew toy. Cat’s naturally want to “attack” things that move as a way of performing their instinct to “hunt.” Giving your cat toys that will allow them to chase and play will help keep your hands and feet safe.

cat playing with cat toy

Let Them Know

It is most likely that you will endure a bite from your kitten at some point, so it is essential to react in a way that will teach your cat not to repeat this behavior. Make sure to give them some form of calm and firm verbal reaction. Another critical step is to avoid quickly pulling your hand away. Kittens love objects that move, making them want to chase after your hand thinking you are engaging in play with them. Instead, slowly remove your hand from their mouth and walk away. You want to teach them that biting you means they lose your attention. After a bit of a bit, engage them in playtime with a toy to help stimulate them. It is essential to give them a good chew toy while they have these urges to bite.]

Positive Reward

Rewarding your kitten’s good behavior will help reinforce the actions you want them to repeat. After your cat uses a play toy to engage in biting, reward them with food. Rewarding will help strengthen the idea that they did a good job.

Get to Know Your Cat

Another reason kittens may bite is their personality and how well they take to being pet and cuddled. Although some cats enjoy being pets, not all cats are the same. Take time to learn your kitten’s behavior and their warning signs for when they have had enough. Kittens do not have a way to let us know they no longer want cuddles, so they will often use biting as their form of communication. You will become familiar with your cat’s behavior, be sure to listen to these signs.