My cat is eating my clothes (also me)

Nibble

I have a young (around 12 months) kitten, and he's normally quite well-behaved; however, he has a bad habit of chewing my clothes if I let him into my room unsupervised. He's already destroyed the tassels on my favourite hoodie and the laces on two pairs of shoes. He has a scratching post, but that doesn't do much for his chewing problem. Is there a good way to stop him?

The other problem I have is that he likes to play rough. When he's in a good mood, he loves to hunt after my arms and legs, and bite and claw at his prey. I'm sure he's just playing because he purrs and he doesn't attack hard enough to draw blood; but it's still painful and annoying, and it leaves red marks all over my arms (I just tell everyone my girlfriend did it). Throwing him off just makes him think I'm playing with him, and he comes back at me immediately. I've taken to spraying him with water when he does it, and now won't attack me -- IF I'm holding the spray bottle. Is this just a phase that he'll grow out of?

Beck

I had this problem with my cat Scooter, actually. What our vet told us do was, if he bit, to turn at him and say "No!" in a firm, loud voice. Then ignore him for a couple minutes. If he kept doing it, I was instructed to tap his nose. At first I didn't think it was working, but sure enough, he stopped biting and scratching.

I also had to stop letting him play with my hands and feet roughly, even when I really didn't mind. Sends mixed messages, I guess. I held a toy and nudged him with that instead.

Oh, and the spray bottle was a good idea. I didn't find it too effective either, though. Works well when I want him down from counters and stuff, but yeah, if I wasn't holding the squirt bottle he really didn't have a problem biting.

VisionOfClarity

My cat is a 6 month old Maine Coon and she plays like this as well, except she's already the size of a full grown cat so it's pretty rough. I found that getting her a bunch of toys helped. She has a couple of the string toys I dangle for her and a bunch of small mice and balls with bells she can throw around. Once she had more stuff to play with she cut back on the rough play. She still does it once in awhile (she loves pouncing on denim clad legs) but she definitely prefers her toys now. My cat is terrified of the spray bottle (she really, really hates water, more so than the average cat even) but only when I'm holding it, or if I have it set up like a sentry somewhere she behaves if it's in my reach.

Bedlam

Theres a spray that you can get to put on things that he likes to chew. Its not harmful but it tastes god awful and eventually they will learn that chewing things = bad taste. Never had a problem with the cat but we used it with my dog succefully.

VisionOfClarity

Bedlam wrote: »

Theres a spray that you can get to put on things that he likes to chew. Its not harmful but it tastes god awful and eventually they will learn that chewing things = bad taste. Never had a problem with the cat but we used it with my dog succefully.

Oh yea, it's a sour apple spray or something. Would you really want to spray that on your clothes though?

Trowizilla

He might be teething. It does sound like he was away from his mom and littermates too soon; one of the reasons to leave kittens with their families is so they learn bite inhibition.

Not sure if it works with kittens, but here's what I'd do with a nippy puppy: when he starts clawing/biting, make a high-pitched yelp and enforce a timeout from playing. Stand up, turn your back, and ignore him for about 20 seconds or so, then go back to playing. If he's mouthy again, repeat the process. Pretty soon, he ought to learn that biting/clawing = no fun playtime.

VisionOfClarity's suggestion of more toys is a good one. Make sure he has a ton of toys of his own to go after. If he likes cloth so much, perhaps a couple soft cloth mice (with catnip, perhaps) will tempt him. Cats love those feathers on sticks, too. Play with him enough that he gets worn out, 'cause a tired cat is a good cat.

oldsak

Spray him with water when you catch him chewing on things he shouldn't be. I agree with all those suggesting more toys.

Also, keep in mind that cats seem to love being annoying.