If you’ve got your kitten quite early you might find that they are using you to hone their biting and stalking skills. Usually when kittens are with their litter they will play fight with each other and learn what is acceptable and what’s not. This information is learnt between 5 and 13 weeks so if you’ve got your kitten at 8 weeks you’ve got some teaching to do. If your kitten never got the chance to learn right from wrong or seems to have “forgotten” then here are some tips which will help your kitten learn boundaries when it comes to play.

Since cats are natural predators they will stalk and pounce on anything that moves and this includes you. Sometimes it doesn’t even have to move such as your feet when you’re fast asleep, they still can’t help giving your toes a little bite.

If you don’t want your cat to stalk and bite you it’s important that the cat learns that this behaviour is not acceptable, engaging with your cat while they’re in this mood only reinforces this biting and pouncing behaviour.

If you realise that your kitten or cats about to attempt to pounce and bite, usually because they are crouched close to the ground, their ears are flat and they’re giving their tiny little bum a wiggle it’s time to distract them.

A rod type toy or dragging ribbon along the floor should be enough to distract the playful kitten. If they do attempt to go for your legs stand still and don’t engage, they soon get bored with you if you give them another toy to play with.

If you find that they suddenly start playfully biting while you’re stroking, stop stroking them immediately and tell them “no” in a very firm and low voice then remove yourself from the situation. They soon learn that this behaviour is unacceptable.

It’s important to reward good play with shows of affection, treats, new toys and words of encouragement in a suitable happy tone of voice. Your kitten may not understand the words you use at first but will understand the tone you’ve said them in.

By withdrawing from bad behaviour and reinforcing good play your kitten will soon learn what you expect from them.

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