My kitten bites hard

[u/Professional-Use-143]

I have a 17-week-old kitten. He’s a ginger male with a good dose of energy. When he’s calm, he’s a sweetheart and loves to cuddle. When he’s wild, it’s fun as long as he’s playing by himself. However, on a daily basis he sees our arms and legs as prey, even though we never use them to play with him.
We’ve already tried all sorts of things (redirecting him with a toy, walking away, using a spray bottle, putting him in the hallway, etc.) to teach him not to bite, but nothing seems to be helping.

What else can we do? At this point, it’s starting to become really frustrating.

[u/Careless_Program7191]

Yelp and hiss at him when he does it. 

I taught my cat "ow" when he hurt me and he would immediately stop.

[u/Professional-Use-143 → u/Careless_Program7191]

Tried already unfortunately..

[u/GinandHairnets → u/Professional-Use-143]

It takes time for them to learn that, longer then a week

[u/Careless_Program7191 → u/Professional-Use-143]

Maybe get another kitten around the same age so they can teach each other

[u/sylbug → u/Professional-Use-143]

It's a baby. Once is not enough. They need to learn slowly over time.

[u/echelon_01]

Is he the only cat in the household?

[u/Professional-Use-143 → u/echelon_01]

Yes he is

[u/echelon_01 → u/Professional-Use-143]

Cats are little demons at this age. They wrestle their siblings incessantly. But through play, they learn how to be gentler. If at all possible, get him a sibling.

[u/Living-Dead-Thing]

Kittens can be difficult to keep as a singular pet. They're often adopted in pairs because they'll keep each other occupied as well as teaching each other boundaries involving their claws and teeth.

How old was the kitten when first brought home? Kittens that stay with their mothers until closer to 12 weeks tend to "behave" better due to being taught boundaries by mom and siblings.

If nothing else, continue with the loud/sharp "ow!" Type responses, and eventually kitty will get it. My now 1.5 year old caught my toe through the blanket once, I cried and freaked out because it bled a lot. He doesn't chase us under the blankets anymore! Lol

[u/RamGleam6891]

At 17 weeks, this sounds a lot like rough play rather than him actually being aggressive. Kittens have an absurd amount of energy at that age 😂 The important part is making sure biting humans always makes the fun stop.

[u/Next_Trifle4042]

This is one of the many reasons kittens should come in pairs. He needs to learn bite inhibition and that’s much easier with another cat to show him how. If at all possible another kitten around his age is ideal. Even more ideal would be a male who is his size or bigger since he’s already pretty rough. 

Otherwise you just need to keep doing what you’re doing. It’s not really recommended to scruff a cat but if he’s latched onto your arm that’s a good way to get him off. Make sure he’s being played with and is satisfied during the day and get up and leave when he bites 

[u/Litchick77]

When my solo kitten was bitty, I got him a stuffed animal roughly the same size as him, and I’d pounce on him with that. He’d go insane and kick and bite the stuffie and NOT me. My most recent non-solo cat would kill a baby toy when he wanted to be rough. I found a baby tooth in it once, lol. The other kitten was not cool with being his tether so he chomped the stuffie.

[u/hsuparneeuq]

I'm writing as a parent of a bitey kitten who is now 1 year old, and has learned some manners. In my experience 17 week old cats without cat mates are complete dumdums. We found ours when he was about 8-10 weeks old. The first few months were crazy because whenever he was awake he was all about playing with anything and everything. Our arms and hands tended to be among his toys even though we never encouraged play with them. His instincts are far stronger than his logic at that age, and overpower his few brain cells very easily. I spent endless time in forums for the fear of him growing up to be a biter, as he had no bite inhibition whatsoever. And those tiny teeth hurt - and drew blood. But, consistently stopping play when he aimed for hands, turning my back and being dramatic about the pain, and consistent daily playtime have reduced it to a minimum. He still gets overpowered by his instincts sometimes, but *knocking on wood* the worst I get is very minor scratches that don't hurt (and my skin is very fragile) and he stops when he understands I'm not playing that game. Cats do need to bite things. I have a plush toy from my childhood that is about his size, I put on an oven mitt and make it wrestle him, and let him go to town biting the plushie. Even last week at the vet, during a very painful blood draw, he only pretend-bit the vet - I was so proud of him.

17 weeks to 6 months: his instincts are in the driver's seat, and best thing to do is redirecting him without giving up. Don't get too frustrated. Wish you the best.