Teaching Nala not to bite?

[NovelNerd]

Nala is getting super playful and aggressive. She is bitting hard and sometimes flies out and attacks my feet. I've ways had dogs and puppies and but its been forever. I've never had to train a cat and everything online seems to say something different. She has tons of toys, and I will try to tire her out with her mouse on a "fishing" pole stick. I tell her "no" when she is rough and move her away from me, but it doesn't stop her from running back and attacking again. Help me cat people! You're my only hope.

[mlp4me]

All that comes to mind is a spray bottle full of water to deter her. When we had a cat it worked wonders to get him trained to not jump up on the kitchen counter.

[LadyMoondancer]

Kittens just love anything that moves.  Especially feet or fingers!  I tried spray bottles too, but never had any luck.  For one thing, kittens tend to zoom out of nowhere and I didn't always have a spray bottle on hand.  For another, even when I sprayed them they seemed to regard that as part of the game.

Here's what I did with my cats when they were kittens:

1. When they pounce, yelp as though you're in pain.  Be really dramatic.

2. Turn your back on the kitten and ignore them for about 30 seconds, no matter what they do.  Even if they try pouncing again, clawing you, anything.  Moving objects are exciting; static objects are not.  People who pay attention to you are fun; people who ignore you are not.

You will have to repeat this a LOT at first.  Again and again and again.  But she will learn when something hurts you and will start being mindful.  My cats are ten years old now and still so careful with their claws.  Even when I'm doing something they don't like, like trying to jam them into a cat carrier, they won't scratch me.

Another thing you can do is start trimming her claws with cat nail trimmers.  This is a GREAT thing to get a cat used to while they're young!  They are basically like human fingernail clippers, excepted shaped differently:

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Your kitten will not like them at first, but if you feed her treats after every use, she will get used to them.  There are various videos / pages on the internet showing how to use them.  Using them doesn't hurt a cat at all, just be careful not to hit the quick.  (The quick = equivalent of the pink area under our own fingernails.  You will be able to see it, it looks pink under the claw.)

[ponygrl07]

I use spray bottle with just a bit of white vinegar in it. 90% water to 10% vinegar. The smell tends to make them stop more than just water alone. Kitty caps are also great for scratches that may occur. I spray till they get the message and shake the bottle when I do it. Now as adult cats I can just shake the bottle and don't even have to spray them HAHA. Hope it helps 

[Mkia]

This used to drive me NUTS when our cats were kittens. We didn't do anything special to "train" them and they just grew out of it. She's in her kitten stage and everything is a fun toy to attack, including your feet. But she will grow out of it soon, I promise!

[banditpony]

Here's what I did with my cats when they were kittens:

1. When they pounce, yelp as though you're in pain.  Be really dramatic.

2. Turn your back on the kitten and ignore them for about 30 seconds, no matter what they do.  Even if they try pouncing again, clawing you, anything.  Moving objects are exciting; static objects are not.  People who pay attention to you are fun; people who ignore you are not.

You will have to repeat this a LOT at first.  Again and again and again.  But she will learn when something hurts you and will start being mindful.  My cats are ten years old now and still so careful with their claws.  Even when I'm doing something they don't like, like trying to jam them into a cat carrier, they won't scratch me.

This is what I was thinking, although I've done it with puppies not kittens.

She obviously doesn't have any siblings to rough play with to learn good behavior through other cats.

[NovelNerd]

This used to drive me NUTS when our cats were kittens. We didn't do anything special to "train" them and they just grew out of it. She's in her kitten stage and everything is a fun toy to attack, including your feet. But she will grow out of it soon, I promise!

I've just been concerned since other kittens have kittens around to learn from. Nala just has us to learn proper behavior and by Us I mean myself and the dogs. Lol

Are you guys sure the yelping is a good idea? Typically that shows submissive behavior.

[banditpony]

I always thought telling was a verbal way of saying hey, that hurts-- abd it should startle her. You would still be in command because then you cut her off from play.

[kaoskat]

When Kyo was young, we used his crate for "break time". When he'd get too hyper and start pouncing on stuff he wasn't supposed to (read: us) or biting we'd put him in his crate for a few minutes to calm him down. It interrupted his play mode and he learn not to get so rough or play time would end. We never permitted biting, playing, "love bites", or otherwise. That was not an ok way for him to show affection. And now he's an adult and he knows better and he never bites or "mouths" us.

[Whippycorn]

The concept behind this should be the same for pups and kittens ... they need to learn early that the fun stops if they bite or scratch. If she does it, I'd make a noise to indicate she's hurt you and end play. Using a few minutes of time out if necessary, when she comes out, redirect her attention to something she is allowed to bite or scratch (toy/ scratching post).

[Aitsuki]

Yelping isn't submissive behavior... it's how puppies and kittens let their siblings know when they've gone too far with play fighting. It's like the saying: "It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt". Animals have the same logic.... they don't want to hurt their family. So make a LOUD noise that indicates you're hurt; it'll properly chastise her just like her siblings and mother would when she gets rough. If she gets too out of control, grab her by the scruff of her neck and lift her. Cats automatically calm and still when lifted like that; it's an instinctive reflex. Their mothers carry them that way to move them when things are dangerous, so if you need to get control, literally take it. It will remind her that you're in charge without harming her.

[Princess Lala]

I had two kittens growing up, one of them I bottlefed because he was a month old and needed a mommy! :3 When he was at his cutest kitten stage, he was hardcore hyper. He bit me like crazy even though he would take naps with me. He eventually stopped as he got older and switched to the whole "making biscuts" paw motion that got annoying in the middle of the night! Better than biting, but he would wake me up! xD

Keep playing with her until she is very tired! Toys can be awesome because cats can take loads of play aggression out on them instead of their owners! Feather teaser fishing poles are a great way to tire kitties out!

I have a ferret (i know, obviously related to dogs and not a cat unless you call it a "catsnake") but when I got her at 3 months old as a kit she would attack my husband and i like CRAZY! We would scruff her whenever she bit us, every single time she bit, and now she doesnt do that at all unless we play super rough!! I would think the same method would work with kittens as they have the extra skin there that ferrets do too! :3 I would suggest scruffing over a spray bottle. Spray bottles can upset some animals.

[rybett]

We put a collar with a bell on it for one when she was like this.  Breakaway collar, only on when she had humans to supervise.  She was little and FAST!  The bell gave us a warning where Casey was.  Plus the stuff others mentioned.

[Squirrelypaws]

Everyone's already given great advice, I think. ^_^

What I always did with our cats was basically act like a cat myself when they annoyed me with their kitten-ness. I growled at them, hissed, and (gently) swatted them away or bopped their heads. They all seemed to get the message pretty fast. LOL

[Galactica]

Here is some advice from a professional!  Seriously we have had MOST of the problems this guy deals with on his show (Cats from Hell) and his advice WORKS

http://www.cat-world.com.au/General-Cat-Articles/kitten-biting.html

There is even an episode about an ankle-biting kitten...
http://jacksongalaxy.com/2014/06/24/cat-mojo-how-to-stop-your-cat-from-attacking-your-ankles/

Some more general advice: http://jacksongalaxy.com/2015/04/05/before-you-get-a-kitten/