I adopted Ruby Lei Lei 1 month ago. She is now 3 months old. I adopted her from the shelter where she was fostered with her mom and a large litter of siblings. She is now the only kitten and will be living indoors only with me. She is extremely playful and I have interactive toys for her to play with. I also spend a lot of time with her playing though the day. She has been biting me and breaking the skin continuously. She is also chewing on everything and destroying. I appreciate any advise/suggestions.
Hi Deborah,
Biting behavior can be normal in kittens, especially when playing. One thing cats are supposed to learn as they grow is something called bite inhibition. When playing with other cats like their littermates, they will learn how hard to bite is "too hard" and adjust accordingly over time. They learn that if others will want to play with them, they need to adjust their biting pressure so it doesn't cause injury. While she was with her own litter of kittens at the shelter, she is still very young and still learning those things now. Without other kittens to play with and learn bite inhibition from, you are the one who has to help teach her that as her only playmate.
One strategy is that when a kitten bites too hard (especially breaking the skin), you need to vocalize/yell very loudly and stop playing. And while this next tip works a little better for dogs than cats, you can consider a short 5 minute "time out" in a small crate or room so that she can cool down if she is overstimulated.
Also, when possible as you already know, try to supplant a toy instead of your hand whenever possible.
Here are two articles from cats.com regarding biting in cats that you can read for further information:
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