Hi guys, kitten lady here and today I'm going to be teaching you how to get kittens
not to bite you.
One of the most common questions I'm asked is
how you get a kitten not to chomp down on your hands and feet.
I get it,
when you're working with kittens, sometimes you feel like a human chew toy
Their teeth are so prickly and sharp, and they do have an instinct to bite.
So when I'm asked this question my answer is always the same
biting is a perfectly normal behaviour for kittens.
But there are things you can do to get them not to bite you.
So before we begin, it's important to know that cats are a predator species.
So if you're raising a kitten you're literally raising a micro-panther
These guys have a biological instinct to stalk, hunt and kill their prey
just like a lion or a tiger does.
If we love cats, we have to love them fully -
not just when they're sleepy and cuddly, but also when they're ferocious and playful.
These are the behavioural characteristics that make them who they really are
Your kitten might be raised indoors, and have all of their needs met like shelter and food
But we have to remember that they have evolved for thousand of years
to have certain behavioural and biological needs that help them to survive.
One important psychological need they've evolved to have is the thrill of
stalking, pouncing and biting their prey.
Just because you fulfil a kitten's physical needs does not mean that you're meeting all of her psychological and emotional needs
And of course, just like humans, they have to have more than just food and water and a place to go to the bathroom:
To be happy, to be psychologically whole, they have to experience the hunt, which does include biting.
So how can we stimulate hunting in our homes without becoming a target of their tiny teeth?
Here are 6 tips!
My first piece of advice is to make your toys move.
I want you to picture a lion on the savannah.
At first, the lion is at rest. There's nothing but stillness. Suddenly, in the distance: movement.
What happens when a lion sees movement? She might crouch down really low;
Her eyes will dilate. Maybe she'll even wiggle her butt. Her adrenaline is pumping
And when the moment is right, she... pounces!
This cat is feeling psychologically whole.
Now I want you to picture a kitten in your home. The kitten is at rest.
Maybe nothing's been happening all day. Suddenly, you walk into the room
and as your foot goes past that kibble, they're thinking...
ATTACK!
This is because the only thing they've seen move, all day, is you.
So you become a target of their bite. Makes sense
Stalking and biting a moving target is the pinnacle of happiness for a cat, especially for a kitten who's just staring to make those connections.
In both scenarios, first there is stillness and then there is movement.
This right here is really the key to getting kittens not to bite you
We have to be getting them into a healthy, hunting rhythm.
We have to be playing with our kittens actively, multiple times a day, with toys that bat and move.
If you just throw a bunch of toys into a room and expect a kitten to be satisfied
that's just not going to work. Because if we never make toys move for them,
then the only thing they ever see moving is your hand and feet.
So starting around 4 weeks, kittens are really developing a strong desire for this kind of activity
They have strong eyesight, they're able to track objects visually in space
And their coordination has improved, enough that they can start gently batting at objects.
If you're not sure how old your kitten is, you can watch my video all about kitten age and development
By starting kittens off with playing at a young age, we also associate biting with toys
so that they don't eat your hands and feet as the prey instead.
My second piece of advice is: don't play with your hands.
It's also important that we're not encouraging kittens to view our hands as prey.
I know how tempting it is to twinkle your fingers at them, or tickle their bellies.
But it does teach them to view your hands as a chew toy.
Take my word for it: do not do this. It's a lot less cute when the kitten grows into a full grown cat who bites.
And cats who bite may not have a good experience in their adopter's home.
So we don't wanna be encouraging this behaviour that might make them less adoptable.
Third piece of advice is: to redirect biting to an appropriate target.
It's important that anytime we give a kitten a 'no', we give them an equal and more attractive 'yes'.
For instance, you can't just say to a kitten "don't bite anything" - that's madness!
They're a kitten. They're going to bite. Instead of saying, "don't bite", you should be saying, "do bite - but bite this instead!"
If a kittens biting your hand, you never want to punish or scold them: they don't understand what that means.
Instead, if a kitten is biting you, just make your hand limp, move it away, and show them something that is much more interesting to bite on
Just move the toy around, and always redirect their biting behaviours toward an appropriate target.
Try playing with the kitten with a variety of different objects, and redirecting their behaviour toward
things that move differently. Maybe your kitten wants a kipper toy that they can bunny kick with their back feet.
Or maybe they want a crinkly toy that makes a lot of noise
Maybe (laughter) maybe they want a wand toy that flies through the air like a bird.
There's so many different types of toys that you can use with your kitten, and they all move slightly differently.
You also don't have to break the bank to provide them with this enrichment. You can even make cat toys at home for free
with stuff that you already have. Just remember, the key is actively playing with them with toys that move.
My next piece of advice is: don't be a tease! Woah!
It's important not to tease or taunt your kittens with toys. Giving them a little bit
of a challenge is nice, but if you never let them actually catch it
then they don't get the satisfaction of the kill, and that's not a psychologically
fulfilling experience for anyone. Instead, (woah!) instead, you wanna give them a little bit of a challenge
and then let them catch the toy. Good job, Cabu, you are such a mighty beast!
Ohh! You're a mighty beast too! Good job! You guys are truly terrifying!
This also applies to laser pointers, which of course you and I know the cat actually can't catch.
But for them that's a very frustrating experience, so if you do play with them with a laser pointer,
make sure that you're giving them a kicker toy or something to enjoy afterwards to satiate the feeling of having hunted.
My fifth piece of advice is to give them a hunter's rhythm. In his book 'Total Cat Mojo', my friend Jackson Galaxy talks about
the natural rhythm of a happy cat. And that is to hunt, catch, kill, eat, groom, sleep.
So even with our young kittens, we wanna get them in this rhythm.
I recommend always following up your play time with a meal. So I like to give my kittens
the thrill of the hunt, let them catch the toy and really kick it, bite it and show it who's boss.
Then after a good play session I feed them.
This is like the reward for being a good hunter. They feel so satisfied and proud.
Then they can groom themselves, go to sleep and wait for the next moment of excitement when the hunt begins again.
So after you play with your kittens I recommend following up with a satisfying treat.
So make sure that when you're playing with your kittens you're doing so in a way that really gets them into that
healthy rhythm of a happy cat. First they'll be at rest;
then they stalk their prey; they hunt. Then they catch their prey, and they kill it by
bunny kicking it and biting it. Then they get the satisfaction of eating, grooming and going back to sleep
My final piece of advice for getting kittens not to bite you is to raise them with a friend.
Having one kitten is really like having half a kitten. Having two kittens is like having a whole
Having a buddy gives them someone who they can really exercise all of those playful behaviours with.
They can take their energy out on each other, they can teach each other new skills
and they even do a great job of teaching each other boundaries by yelping out when they are biting too hard.
I can't over stress how important it is to get a friend for your kitten, especially if they are taking out a lot of their energy on you.
That's why you so often see me adopting out kittens in pairs, and introducing felines to each other
so that they can be best friends. I hope this video is helpful for you.
We have to remember that kittens and cats are more than just cuddly companions - they're also a predator species
with their own psychological and emotional needs, and it's our duty to help fulfil them.
By fulfilling their need to bite and pounce and play, we can bring more harmony into the life of the cat,
and into our own homes.
Good luck! And here's to your bite-free future! Bye bye! (laughter)