Kittens that Bite - Can You Stop it! 

by Jilly Greene

I've got a really soft spot for cats and dogs. And usually I don't worry too much about their unsociable aspects like hole digging and biting and scratching, especially if they are outside animals and working dogs.

But once you allow an animal to live inside your personal space, whether it is in the house or just in the yard - and if you have young children, the animal must learn to live by the rules of household living.

The cat when older does not miss being able to bite its owners and its life is going to be a lot more pleasant when it is an animal that can be trusted around family.

We have had to deal with cats which have come from varied backgrounds. Often they are very bitey when little and if this tendency is not curbed as a young animal it is difficult to do anything with as an older animal.

We never stop being loving to the kitten and we never hit it - but if the kitten bites we do not pull our hand away (they often seem to want to bite human hands) but we grab the kitten by the neck and then gently keep pushing the hand or fingers it has begun to bite into the mouth so that the animal is gagging.

What you are doing is making an association in the mind of the animal with its biting actions and something very unpleasant and (in its mind) possibly life threatening. It is important to overcome this because biting and scratching by animals can be life threatening for young children and older people.

Scratching, has often come about because the animal has been mistreated. It is very important to train your children into understanding that they are to be gentle with animals. When we saw one of the children being hard on our cats, we immediately came over and gently prised the little fingers out of the fur and opened up the hand and showed the child how to gently stroke the animal - telling them to 'Be Gentle' with it. Using the word 'gentle' and using the animals name, the word seems to calming in itself and this way animal realizes that it's safety is important to you and the child is being taught respect, even for the lower creatures.

The animal begins to feel respected and safer and therefore learns, most often to keep away from grabbing fingers without exhibiting fear. While the child learns that animals must be cared for, often they then grow up to be animal lovers.

All it takes is a little thought - and a caring attitude and there is harmony at all levels.

About the Author

Farmer, animal lover, writer, christian. Someone who loves to try and fix the stressful things about life.