what it means when she carries a stuff animal...

[LOT]

hello! my first post! my cat is about 2 months old, her name is Momo.and I am wondering what she means when she bite a stuff animal and carried it from the living room into my bedroom? I have been using that stuff animal to play with her, and she always bite it while kicking it...

for almost a month and a half of having her, she still bits my hands/fingers (and my friend's too when they visit). I read from some website that teach me to spray a bit of water in her face. some other friends told me to hit her ass. The spraying water didn't work all that well, so i hit her a bit harder, but then she thinks i am her her enemy and bite me even harder!! i was a bit frustrated... but then the next morning, she seems to forgot, or maybe she was too hungry...

thank you!!

[PayItForward]

NEVER HIT A CAT They will never understand why you hit them.
and it is very cruel behaviour
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Welcome to Pet Talk.


Kittens will naturally bite your hands etc. The best things to stop this behaviour is :-

: Play with fishing rod toys. (or string etc)

: Don't encourage hand play. If your kitten bites, place her on the floor and ignore her for a minute.

PS. Sounds like she is playing with the stuffed toy.

[PayItForward]

PS. Although you can spray a cat with water to disciple her, I wouldn't spray her in the face.

[emily_the_spoiled]

Tanner (who is almost 8 months old) likes one of my stuffed toys. He will carry it around the apartment and fight with it. I have no idea why he picked that particular stuffed toy, but he drags it with him all the time.

Good luck with Momo and welcome to PetTalk

[Prairie Purrs]

Pay It Forward is right--don't ever ever ever hit a kitty. A "time-out" (stop playing with her and ignore her for a bit) when she gets rough is the best way to teach a kitten that she shouldn't bite.

My cats play with stuffed toys, too. Sometimes they'll toss them in the air and play catch, which is really cute.

[Mercles]

I think both may be reactions to being taken away from momma, and or littermates too early. The kitten never has a chance to engage in rough behavior and play fighting with littermates. I have a feral that is now almost 14 yrs. old, but I got him at 3 wks. old, and he sucks my shirt as a calming measure. He also has favorite toys that he carries around with him, and he makes a "calling" type of noise while it is in his mouth. Very loud noises, I might add....I agree with the other members advice to NEVER, EVER hit a cat with your hand, or anything else. Also distraction with an interactive toy is a good redirecting bad behavior option. If the cat is not encouraged to play with hands, they usually can successfully be delt with untill they grow out of it.....

[mesiecat]

First, welcome to pet talk. Second, please never hit an animal. She is a baby...Both my cats still carry thier toys around and one will be 6 yrs next month. She is trying to play ans is probably lonely. Spraying water never worked for me. My siamese always wants to know where the water came from.

[Tonya]

I think that there are alternative ways to discipline for the most part. That goes for everything from dogs to cats to children. I do spank my dogs and my kids, but only if whatever they did severely jeopardizes their safety. Even so, 99.9% of the time, I can get my point across without hitting. I do not discipline my cats in any physical way what so ever. I agree with everyone else about hitting cats. Cats especially don't have the personality to comprehend spankings. It'll only make your cat resent you. She's probably just being playful. One of my cats bites all the time. She bites when she wants to get pet, she bites when she doesn't want to get pet, she bites to play, etc... I just say a sharp "NO!" and put her down. I let her know I don't want her around me if she's going to hurt me.

[Steffi N]

My Lovable (age almost 3) will bite when he wants to play. After a few jumps in the air with the "cat-fishing" toy he will settle down. If I can't play at the time I will just put him in the bedroom with the door closed for a few minutes.
Welcome to Pet Talk. We would enjoy seeing a picture of Momo.

[LOT]

thank you for all your inputs! ... good that i found this website (surprisingly from Tech TV) before I hit Momo anymore!

About biting, I kinda let her bite my fingers (when she first bite it softly) and I froze my hand, and then she qucikly lost interest, it seemed.

To those who has more than 1 cat at home, I truly envy you guys! I want to see how Momo reacts to other kittens! when a cat see another cat, they automatcially know it is another cat? ... hmm , very fascinating

for Pics of my lovely yet naighty Momo...
http://members.rogers.com/isanton/momo3.htm

[Lorraine]

Oh Momo! You are such a sweetie!! What cute pictures!
I agree, NEVER hit your cat, it doesn't teach them anything, except probably to be more aggressive, if anything!
Kittens rough play alot, the have very sharp claws, and teeth. I am sure Momo does'nt even know she is hurting you, to her, she wants to play and wrestle, like they do with their brother's and sisters as kittens. It's natural kitty play. Part of that is kicking with their back feet, and biting, just like lion and tiger cubs do when you see them on T.V.
I'm sure she just loves to play with that stuffed animal, which is why she takes it with her, probably like a security blanket!
Good luck with her, and be gentle!

[IttyBittyKitty]

She is beautiful!

Pixel does all those things too. I adopted her from the local shelter and she probably was taken away from her momma too young too. She has adopted a heart-shaped cushion which she dragged all the way up the stairs, into the bedroom. She then proceeded to rip the stuffing out... it looks a bit decimated now! She also loves to bite when she's playing, but we just ignore her or spray her and she gets the idea. If she gets too naughty, she gets "banned" from whatever room we are in at the time.

You should never hit a cat! Continue with the spray - and if it doesn't work, try adding a little lemon juice or other citrus type liquids to the mix. Bastet's Mum suggested it in another thread and it sounded like a good idea as cats hate the taste of it. Always be careful never to spray their faces. Also try yelling! Pixel is very good when her Daddy yells at her!

[PayItForward]

good that i found this website (surprisingly from Tech TV) before I hit Momo anymore!

I'm pleased you won't hit your darling baby, any more. This is what Pet Talk is for, educating & supporting each other.

After all you were simply following (misguided) advice of others. Now you can spread the word back to them.

PS. What does Momo mean ?

[K & L]

Those pics are great! I love the tub one. She's adorable.

[Cataholic]

Your kitten is two months old....for the last month and one half she has been biting you? You had this kitten from two weeks of age?

First, she is a kitten. Kittens bite. Kittens scratch. Kittens have accidents. The only thing kittens don't have is the sense to get up and run from ANYONE THAT HITS IT. Good lord. It is a two month old kitten!! Do you hit a two month old baby cause it cries?

Try distracting noises when she bites. A loud high pitched cry should work.

As to carrying stuff around...both of my last kittens did that. Allie, who turns 3 in August, still does it. It is play.