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. :D


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... :cool:
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. :D

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.

[RedHedd]

Welcome to PT. I have to agree with everyone here -- NEVER hit a cat. They just don't understand and will learn to distrust you and will probably retaliate even more. Biting is normal cat behavior for some cats. My Mishi sometimes bites when he's playing - usually just gentle nips, no breaking the skin. When he starts to get too rough I just say NO! in a really stern voice. They seem to learn what NO! means pretty quickly. The spray bottle doesn't work with my two -- they just get curious about where the water is coming from. :rolleyes:

As for the stuffed animals, my RB Goldie had many favorites during her 15 years on earth. Now I sleep with her favorite teddy bear in memory of my dear departed fur child. Treasure these moments with your new baby - they grow up so quickly.

[Mercles]

Just wanted to offer my heartfelt sympathies on your loss of Goldie. I have a Russian Blue named Quigley, and he will be 15 on July 15th. He is starting to have some age related problems, and I now must face the fact he will not be with me forever. Wehave been through so much together that I cannot begin to imagine what it will be like without him there. He shares everything I do. He sleeps with me every night. I do not think we ever get over the loss of one of our precious furkids, but over time the pain becomes managable. I always try to honor their memory by giving the love to another cat, not in the same way of course, but because the love needs to be given, and there are five others I also have who will need it, as they are sure to feel the loss too......May you and Goldie be reunited at the Rainbow Bridge............

[LOT]

When me and my friends name the cat, we haven't even went to the doc yet to see if it's a she or he. I guess we just assumed it's a he...

"Momo".. I got the idea from a Japanese anime/comic (Prince of Tennis) character, Momoshiro. :)

Later when we find out she is a girl, I kinda feel Momo is a bit masculine... but, oh well.. ;)

[L. Wayne]

LOT, welcome to Pet Talk. We hope you stay around and become one of the "gang."

As far as Momo's biting, you say she is about 8 weeks (2 months) old, kittens do not understand the sharpness of their teeth and claws. However, she will outgrow the tendency to scratch and bite any of her toys, including your hands and fingers. Enjoy her kittenish ways for when they grow into early adulthood, (usually in about 6 months) they will forever abandon their kitten play antics. Generally, I have found that kittens seem to respond better in overall behavior patterns with a playmate or a littermate rather than being alone. But correcting a kitten habits are best done through preventative measures rather than correcting them or situations as they grow up. Right now, I have 2 small kittens, and they tear into anything that is not "nailed down", including chewing up mail, papers, and they have also learned to take the front pannel off of one of my computer speakers.:D So, I cannot correct much of their kitten play, I accept the responsibility and then place things in such a way so they cannot do damage to them. Good luck whith your Momo and we hope you get to know everyone on the Pet Talk board.

..........wayne

[ScantyNebula]

Toby is going on 9 months old, I bought him a stuffed dog toy, he does the same thing.. Here's an idea: play fetch with him! I throw the toy down the stairs, Toby runs down, and comes back up with the toy in his mouth, and I give him a treat for being such a good boy!

If Toby is scratching the carpet, I just clap my hands loud or yell "NO!" if he does something bad, try that. Toby knows now that clapping hands means toby was bad!

[carole]

MOMO is a real cutie pie, im glad you wont hit her anymore as well, as for the toys, lexie has salem the black cat toy off sabrina, its hers now, she loves to carry it upstairs, plonk it on our bed, kneed it, lick it, kick it,and she even hisses loudly at it, she is fond of her kitten as i call it, so its not unusal behaviour from what im told here on pet-talk although i had never experienced with a kitty before.
Im lucky lexie wont even bite when she is in play mode and you pat her, she just stops immediately,she is very loving.
MOMO is very young and will bite and scratch in play mode, just take the others advice and im sure the tone of your voice will soon let her know you mean business and to stop.:)

[RedHedd]

Thank you Mercies. I knew this past Christmas that it would be our last one together as she was showing signs of ... what at the time I didn't know, but I just intuitively knew she wouldn't be around too much longer. She'd had a normal exam around Xmas, but her weight was down. After the holidays she started having continuous diarrhea and her appetite was way off. After trying many different meds to control the diarrhea and increase her appetite we did an ultrasound which showed a mass in her abdomen, many nodules on her liver and an enlarged pancreas. That was in early March -- She was diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer. She fought a good battle; every day I would come home from work expecting to find her dead, but she kept on taking her meds and letting me syringe feed her. That last night she came to my bed and fell over next to me. I knew it was time and I put her down on 4/10. It was the hardest thing I've ever done. I still miss her so, but now I have two new fur kids. They haven't taken her place; they've just made new homes in my heart and I love them both dearly. Thank you for your kind words.

[Vio&Juni]

Momo is so very beautiful!!!!
I am glad that you came here for the advice. We have some good experts here :)

Please post pictures of her, I love black kitties.

[lynnestankard]

Welcome to PetTalk LOT - hope you'll stay around and join in.

Can I just be really boring and back up the good advice from other PT'ers? :eek:

Momo is a beautiful BABY - think of her as just that and you won't go far wrong. She left her Mummy and siblings much too young and you're having to be 'Meowmie' and sister to her - teach her very gently and she'll reward you with years of loving.
As for squirting water - all of my three look to where the water came from and aren't really bothered at all!! :D
Clapping hands and a firm 'No' works wonders.
She's carrying the stuffed toy around because she's lonely and perhaps a little scared - new house, new people - very confusing.
By the way - her pics., are adorable and who would think a tiny kitten could have such a HUGE mouth -(the pic. in the bath) - LOL!!
We all look forward to watching this gorgeous new member of the Pet Talk family grow into a beautiful adult. Thanks for sharing with us.

Lynne