It’s not unusual for a young and rowdy kitten to bite and mouth your hands. Your new furry four-legger is getting to know you and the exciting environment around them. Your young cat may be teething as well and the biting gives a sensation of relief on the teeth and gums.
When occasional biting makes its way to becoming hard and intentional crunches and grips, it is time to teach your playful cat to not bite. In fact, it’s preferable to nip this sometimes annoying habit in the bud before it becomes a problem. Let’s look at 3 effective ways to train your cat to not bite.
To know how to approach your cat about biting, it’s important to understand why they bite. What is normal behavior for a cat, anyway? When a kitten or young cat plays with their mom and siblings, they do “bunny-kicks” and bite a lot as a form of play. It’s also how they learn their family rules and dynamics.
During play, a kitten will mimic and learn how to stalk prey, pounce, and grab toys. If a kitten is removed from their feline family at a very young age, they may not learn how to reign in their behavior. This can result in increased biting and harder biting than your cat really intends to do.
And that’s one reason that you may have to train your cat to not bite!