Biting/Scratching

When a kitty is getting overstimulated they may respond to nipping inappropriately. That can be a pretty common behavior issue with cats, especially young kittens, and there's a few ways to help correct it: 

You can usually tell when a cat starts to get overly excited. They get very amped up and you can tell they're about to act out. If you watch for signs of this and can notice it in time, you'll want to stop the exciting behavior and give them time to settle down. 

With cats who bite a bit, we also recommend lots and lots of play time with feather wands with extra long handles. We recommend playing with the cat with the wand at least 20 minutes per day and only with long toys like this. Using a long wand toy puts a clear separation between you and the toy and helps reinforce that the toy is the appropriate object to bite and not people. They need a clear visual sign that there is a difference. 

When they do bite or behave inappropriately, he/she is seeking a reaction from you. The best thing to do when they do this is to quickly and unceremoniously reject them by putting them down and walking away. You're teaching them that this behavior means fun time comes to an immediate stop and that attention is only given when he/she is being well behaved. You may have to do this many times before they learn the lesson, but they will come to realize that when he/she acts out, it means you leave, and that's not fun at all. With cats who get overstimulated, it's also important to make sure we don't play rough or use our hands or fingers as toys. Again, we want them to realize what is an appropriate toy and what is not. So use wand toys liberally and when he/she starts getting overly excited, back away.

Scratching

Here are a few tips for managing a cat's natural instinct to scratch: 

If you trim the cat's nails weekly, it will drastically help the amount of damage she is able to do upon any surface. Note: kittens under 6 weeks old should not have their claws clipped; please discuss this with your foster mentor if you have concerns. For adult cats, if you don't know how to trim nails, below is a helpful video.

We also recommend you pick up a horizontal cardboard scratcher and a tall vertical scratcher for them. Every cat has their own preference for scratchers and you might have to try a few to find the one that works well, but most cats tend to love the cardboard variety. You can lure them to it by sprinkling catnip on the new scratcher, too. One other thing to remember is that the vertical scratcher must be sturdy enough and tall enough to not topple over whenever the cat tries to use it. Take your own kitty’s size into consideration when buying a vertical scratching post.