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rwj146's avatar
rwj146
Explorer
Nov 01, 2015

The joys of kittenhood

My little rescue kitten who I named Rowdy is 9 weeks old now. Thinking of changing her name to Jaws. I am trying to break her of the nipping and it ain't easy. I have tried every trick I can think of and she has slowed down some but still surprises with a chomp on occasion. I hope it's just the equivalent of 'the terrible twos' in a child.

Any movement at all means it's time to play, or attack. She pounced on the keyboard yesterday and whatever key or combination of keys she landed on locked up the keyboard. All I got was a cl ck whenever I tried to type. Had to reboot.

Here' s her latest picture.


  • 2oldman's avatar
    2oldman
    Explorer II
    Nov 01, 2015
    Good on you for the rescue. Don't know much about the nipping unless giving her something to chew on helps.
  • toedtoes's avatar
    toedtoes
    Explorer III
    Nov 01, 2015
    What a cutie. It's possible at that age that her nipping is due to over-stimulation. If she gets too rough or starts nipping, try giving her a time out in a quiet dark room (or crate with a cover on it). Let her rest for a while and then let her back out in the main activity area.

    A friend had a kitten who would be in the hallway and get so stimulated by the activity in the living room that he would run down the hall and attack whoever was on the couch. She started doing the time outs and put him in a darkened bedroom when he got like that. He settled down real nice and stopped the attacks.
  • rexlion's avatar
    rexlion
    Explorer
    Nov 02, 2015
    Have you tried a spray bottle of water? A squirt in the face would deter most cats since they don't like getting wet.
  • Impkitti's avatar
    Impkitti
    Explorer
    Nov 02, 2015
    If she plays too rough, do what cats do. Yell "Ouch" or some other pain noise and stop the game. Ignore her for a few minutes or until she calms herself down. If she is in full-on play mode and the yell/ignore does not work, use a wand toy to distract her so she can expend her energy without injuring you.

    Time outs in another room or her crate only confuse a kitten. By the time you place her in the room or crate, she has forgotten why she is confined. Their attention span is very, very short.
  • bamcote's avatar
    bamcote
    Explorer
    Nov 02, 2015
    They do grow out of it. I adopted two young kittens last fall and the nipping didn't last too long. I tried to give them something to do or play with that didn't involve grabbing my arm and chewing and kicking.
  • rwj146's avatar
    rwj146
    Explorer
    Nov 02, 2015
    I haven't spritzed her with water yet, that may be next. I must admit, she is determined. I have very lightly tapped her head as a last resort, while loudly saying NO, this is after trying to distract her with toys, using the compressed air to make her stop and it worked for awhile.

    I take a blood thinner so any little nick will bleed just a drop or two, my arms look I stuck them in concertina wire. Maybe because she didn't have any littermates she doesn't know any boundaries, and as Bamcote wrote, maybe she will grow out of it soon.

    She goes for her first shots this week and a physical.

    Thanks for the responses, I hope everyone has a good week..
  • rockhillmanor's avatar
    rockhillmanor
    Explorer
    Nov 02, 2015
    rwj146 wrote:
    My little rescue kitten who I named Rowdy is 9 weeks old now. Thinking of changing her name to Jaws. I am trying to break her of the nipping and it ain't easy. I have tried every trick I can think of and she has slowed down some but still surprises with a chomp on occasion. I hope it's just the equivalent of 'the terrible twos' in a child.

    Any movement at all means it's time to play, or attack. She pounced on the keyboard yesterday and whatever key or combination of keys she landed on locked up the keyboard. All I got was a cl ck whenever I tried to type. Had to reboot.

    Here' s her latest picture.


    Cool picture. He sure looks like a little devious kitty, appropriately named Rowdy! :C

    They DO like to play around computers when you are working. Mine used to sit on the printer. One day he was pushing around a CD on top of the printer. I hit print on a job I was working on and as it took the paper in he flicked the cd and it went it with the paper. Had to buy another printer.
  • toedtoes's avatar
    toedtoes
    Explorer III
    Nov 02, 2015
    Impkitti wrote:


    Time outs in another room or her crate only confuse a kitten. By the time you place her in the room or crate, she has forgotten why she is confined. Their attention span is very, very short.


    The time out is NOT a punishment. It's a chance for the kitten to relax without all the distractions going on around her. Just like babies, some kittens gets overwhelmed with all the noises, movement, etc., going on in the room. They get sensory overload and can't calm down. Moving them into a darkened quiet room lets them calm down.
  • WandaLust2's avatar
    WandaLust2
    Explorer
    Jan 20, 2016
    rwj146 wrote:
    My little rescue kitten who I named Rowdy is 9 weeks old now. Thinking of changing her name to Jaws. I am trying to break her of the nipping and it ain't easy. I have tried every trick I can think of and she has slowed down some but still surprises with a chomp on occasion. I hope it's just the equivalent of 'the terrible twos' in a child.

    Any movement at all means it's time to play, or attack. She pounced on the keyboard yesterday and whatever key or combination of keys she landed on locked up the keyboard. All I got was a cl /albums/ag45/rj146/IMG_0068_zpsbywuuryq.jpg[/IMG]


    Get some of those interactive toys (on strings) and play with her. Let her "catch and kill" them. She will lose interest in your hands. It works virtually 100% of the time. ;)

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