I have 2 dogs and 2 cats at my parents house so im used to being with animals. I recently was given a stray kitten who now resides in my apartment. He is very playful and energetic. He is probably 7-8 weeks old. My problem is he likes to play A LOT. He especially likes to hop on your feet and claw / nibble.He doesn't "bite" but his little teeth are sharp. When I go to bed he will sleep with me for an hour or so but then he will want to play. He will start biting / purring / etc. If I put him down he will meow until he gets what he wants. He is very stubborn. When I eat at my table he will jump up to smell my food. Even if i put him down he will jump back up over and over.
Any tips? He is a strat kitten so I know i will need to be patient but I don't want him to grow into a nasty cat. My other 2 cats are much more laid back but we got them when they were a little bigger. Are all baby cats this stubborn / playful ?
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your kitten is a baby. 8 weeks old is still very young, and technically should still be with the mother and other siblings for a few more weeks because that is when a lot of the manners and behavior modification occurs.
Because your kitten is so very young, you are going to have to teach it how agressive he can be. When he would play with his siblings and he would bite too hard, they would cry out. This would cause him to stop biting and lick as if to say "sorry". Cry out "OW" in a high pitched meow like way. You'll know you have it right when the kitty stops biting and licks you.
There is also nothing wrong with establishing a "safe room" for your kitten. A place to put the kitten while you are sleeping or away from the house that is kitten proofed so he can't cause any harm to himself, and that has lots of toys, bedding, food and water. this will be his "nest" or "cave" and he'll gain a lot of confidence getting used to this one area. it will also spare your toes and you'll get a good night sleep (so long as your kitten doesn't get lonely and you give in to his meows by going to visit)
At this age, cats have NO impulse control. they want what they want, and they go and get it. Controlling those impulses are a learned behavior. you are doing the correct thing by putting him back on the floor when he jumps up. Don't encourage him to jump up in any way by acknowleding him (other than to put him on the ground) if he sits there for a few minutes, you can reward with praise. You can also try distracting techniques of feeding a snack or small meal before you eat. Kittens that young burn through their food at an allarming rate, and it is not unwise to feed them multiple times a day. Frankly you can't over feed a kitten under 6 months of age. They have so much growing and playing to do. They simply won't eat if they aren't hungry. I've known litters of kittens to burn through twice what an adult cat would eat.
Do not punish a kitten. Ignoring behavior (if you can - removing yourself or the kitten from the situation to ignore is appropriate) that is attention seeking that you don't like. Act disappointed in the kitten if you feel you need to verbally correct a behavior, and praise the living daylights out of it for any behavior you like or want to encourage. Even if it is just sitting quitely on the floor near you while you eat. I mean he isn't jumping up then that is praise worthy :)
Yes, my kitten was like this.
I made the mistake of letting him try my food once and he just assumed that he could be all in my plate each time I ate. I could never eat in peace. So, number one - don't feed your kitty any table food at all. 2. be consistent with placing him away from your food each time he tried to eat it. Cats will try things over and over. They are very persistent and if you let in just once they will continue to do it.
As for play, this didn't work that great for my cat but it should for most cats. You can use a spray bottle to train him to not bite, keep toys to distract him from biting you or try the method where you just stop the game and ignore him when he plays too rough.
Good luck!
playful yes . . . but stubborn not really. I think you need to take control. get him a kitten kennel. if he miss-behaves put him in his kennel. use this routine until the cat learns that he won't always get his way.