Help - manic kitten won't stop biting!

[Lessers]

Hello - I'm new to this and in desperate need of help. We have a beautiful wee tabby kitten called Herbie who is 10 weeks old today. We've had him for 3 weeks. He has always been very active and playful but things have gone a bit haywire over the past few days. He is biting a lot, an awful lot, and lunging at us, and it is starting to cause a major problem for my 8 year old daughter who is becoming frightened of him, and my husband. My husband is not a cat lover, but he has fallen in love with Herbie. His patience however is wearing thin & I'm worried that he will start to think we've made a mistake. My little girl has wanted a kitten for a very long time. She loves him desperately, but the more he lunges at her and bites and scratches her the more worried I am that she will become too scared to be around him.

We also have a problem keeping him off the kitchen work surface, which I appreciate is a standard kitten thing, but today he has started to leap up onto the hob. I am terrified that he will jump up when the gas is actually on!

When he isn't biting he truly is adorable, funny and very affectionate. I know he isn't being deliberately naughty, and I know that kittens running around like mad possessed little gremlins is perfectly normal - but I need to nip this biting & lunging & jumping onto the hob in the bud before it becomes a MAJOR problem. We try saying NO BITE and walking away or diverting his atention to a toy or blowing on his face - but no luck. Can anyone help??
Thank you!
LPR xxhttp://www.catworld.co.uk/cat_chat/icon_smile.gif

[Elaine]

I think one of the biggest mistakes people make with kittens is to use their hands, fingers and feet like toys for the kitten to chase. Avoid this kind of play and stick to using apropriate cat toys to play with your kitten. Its been so long since I have had a kitten but have heard others say things like a sharp ouch! and walking away from the kitten and leaving it alone for a little while has worked for them.
As for the work surfaces, I do remember having a few problems with Eva, eventually what worked for us was to collect some empty cans and put a penny or some little stones inside them and taping up the tops. We placed them randomly and precariously on the counter tops, so that when she jumped up they would fall, making noise and giving her a little scare. After a few times of this she didnt bother after that.
Hope some of that helps and I am sure there will be plenty of other suggestions you might want to try.
Good luck. Kittens are very cute but can be hard work too, bless 'em.:D

[dinahsmum]

Ouch! Poor you.
I won't be much help, it's a long time since I've had a kitten (although I have 2 new babies now, but they are younger than yours).
Agree with Elaine 100% about not using hands as toys. Play with Herbie with string, or a scrunch of paper at the end of a string, or one of those 'fishing rod' type cat-toys, which are great. Play lots, so he gets nice and tired and snuggles down to sleep withourt terrorising you. Stroke him when he is sleepy, so that your hands are soothing things, not play objects.
As for unwanted behaviour, noise deterrents are good. Elaines' cans, or your voice ....psst, psst, psst; sharply clapped hands, etc. (But remember you will need to use your voice to attract - Herbie, Herbie, Herbie - so don't make him scared of you.)
Google clicker training cats and see if that appeals to you - a lot of people have found it useful.

Good luck, hope it helps. And remember, kittenhood is a very brief period, sadly/gladly :roll:

Sorry - forgot to say, welcome to CatPages - hope you like it here and stay to become a regular poster - we'd love to see pictures of Herbie and hear more about him as he grows up.

[Lessers]

Thank you so much Dianhsmum & Elaine - some great tips. We will keep on trying. We do use the dangly toys and he has lots of little soft balls which he loves - but he bit Aimee so hard this morning it was bleeding! Not good! He's now asleep on my lap purring loudly like a little angel!:D

[dinahsmum]

The needle sharp baby teeth will go soon, which will help a little:roll:
Hang on in there - he's not doing it on purpose ..... he's only been on this earth 70 days or so, so he needs a little slack!