Kitten likes to chew (kittens, eating, stomach, dog)

[doglover29]

Our new kitten likes to chew. He does love bites, but they still hurt--he bit my stomach flab this afternoon. I need to find new ways to let my kitten chew, but not on cords and other things.

I give him enough play time, and he enjoys that, but he needs something else to take his chewing energies out on.

I tried giving him a rolled up clean sock, a paper towel roll, and a soft ball toy to chew on.

Any other ideas? We tried to give him a stuffed animal but he got scared and freaked out.

[fjtee]

Wait, you're a dog lover. You can't have a kitten.

I'd go to Big Lots, or a place like that where they sell lots of cheap stuff, and get a bunch of cat toys. But, honestly, for kittens there is nothing quite so tasty as human flesh. It's a phase - or it should be - and will pass soon enough.

[tagylyn]

My kitty is 10 months old now and she is still a little in the chewing stage (all my cats when they were kittens did this), I think their teething.
But my kitty chews the hell out of cable ties. At first I was concerned with it and kept taking them from her (I couldn't figure out where she kept getting them) but she never ate them so I let her have them. She will sit forever just chewing on it and playing with it.
I think because it's hard and small, and it fits into the side of her mouth; it feels good against her gums.
My fingers and toes very seldom get chewed on anymore!

[tiamot]

OOhh you're in the kitty chewing phase of kittenhood! (Which includes eating litter, as you know!) Bring on the cat toys. Multipacks of little mice, tinkle balls, even scraps of ribbon (don't let the ends fray!) make good kitten toys. The thing is, kittens are into everything. Imagine, if you will, a newborn kitten. They're helpless and not very mobile at all. Gradually the world opens up to them, they can see and hear, and their legs get less wobbly. Next thing you know they're exploring farther from the 'nest'. Pretty soon they learn to jump up on the couch, bed, chair-or shimmy up your pant leg like a squirrel on a tree! As a kitten grows, so does it's grace and ability. After furniture and stairs are mastered, next comes coutertops, entertainment centers, cupboards, trash bins-you name it. Seems like everyday they find a new place to explore that wasn't accessible to them when they were smaller.

I've found that it takes about a year or so to get that wild kitten energy worked out. I currently have four cats-three adults and one kitten-three of which were orphans and hand raised by myself, the other was a stray, but still very young. The three adults, when younger made it a point to hop onto/into anything they were able just to see what was there. After a time they realized that the top of the entertainment center, for example, was a really boring place. A good amount of shooing them off helped them to learn to not be up there. Now that they are adults they don't bother the 'restricted' areas anymore.

Of course, there are exceptions to this. Any new thing brought into the house must be sniffed, layed on, licked and inspected. And if it's a box or box-like forget it, it must be sat in. (This includes plastic totes, cardboard boxes, suitcases, and even briefcases!)

Anything that is in reach can be fair game to a cat, especially when it's a kitten! You'll probably find that even with tons of cat toys around, kitten still goes after a whole range of random things found on the floor.

Anyway, the key is to make safe and acceptable things available to the kitten to chew on and play with. It'll take some time and patience to teach the kitten to stay away from nibbling on unacceptable things like cords and people. Kittens will find a lot of random things on the floor to play with, so keep your eye out. Anything small, like erasers, bits of crumpled paper, coins, cigarette buts, pebbles, leaves-you get the idea- will be found by a kitten. Keep the floors and low areas free of debris and put cords up! When the kitten comes to you and wants to play, don't use your fingers or toes-get out a toy or a cat teaser and use that instead. Take heart though, chewing on stuff doesn't last forever!

Tagylyn, I see no problem with your decision to let the kitten have at the cable ties. If they are large enough to not pose a choking hazard and are made from non-toxic plastics the kitten will probably not come to any harm from playing with them. Realistically the only way to nix the cable tie chewing is to either put them all out of reach or ban them from the house altogether. Of course, kitty will just find something else to chew on! As for why she insists on chewing the ties, is anyone's guess. Kittens seem to nom on things just because they can. But hey, a cable tie is durable, so it offers lots of chewing potential, it's light and easy to pick up so it's portable, and it's rigid so it skitters nicely when batted around. Pretty good qualities, if you're a kitten!

[ShelbyGirl1]

They are most likely teething. PetStages sells some cute little toys that can be frozen...feels good on the gums. My guys are all out of that stage, but still love to play with the toys.
The love bites will eventually stop. One of my Raggies did that up until she was 2! Nothing that really hurt...but just enough to get your attention. Thankfully, she outgrew that!