Training a bold kitten?

Lillylilly

We have a kitten who's 14 weeks old and he's incredibly hyper and bold. He has plenty of toys, a scratching post and as I work shifts, there's almost always someone home with him. For these reasons, I don't think his behaviour is due to lack of exercise/ stimulation. He seems to be on a path of destruction- he is constantly scratching and biting us, trying to tear the curtains/ cushions. He climbs on everything and knocks things over. Myself and my partner both grew up with cats so we know how hyper kittens can be, but this little maggot is in a league of his own. The only time he's good is when he's snuggling down for a nap.
We try to be consistent in disciplining him. We tap him on the nose and use strong tones of voice, but he seems to think we're playing, so attacks with more vengeance. We also sometimes put him in the hallway to "cool off". None of these seems to be working (we've had him since he was 7 weeks and employed the same techniques since!). We plan on getting him neutered when he comes of age, so hopefully that'll alleviate some of his behaviours. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do? Does anyone use the water squirter method?
I'm fed up of being covered in fresh, deep wounds and my house is a bombsite... help!!!

The Sweeper

Don't tap him on the nose, or anywhere else. He sees that as a play interaction, you 'upping the ante' and swatting him like another kitten would, and therefore he now has permission to mercilessly launch himself at you with all teeth and claws in play.

Since you have a highly active and scratchy kitten, you must never, ever play with the kitten with your hands. Don't wrestle or rough and tumble him, or flip him over or wool him with your hands - when you do that, your hand takes the place of another playmate, and therefore your hand is a valid target for biting and scratching.

When you go to stroke him, if he responds with claws and teeth, you must freeze and make a loud, sharp noise, like 'NAH HA!' When he lets go, withdraw your hand and your attention for a moment. Continue to interact like this, to teach him that your hands are not toys and not to be attacked.

If he's being a right pest, pick him up and put him out of the room for a minute. You don't have to lock him away somewhere, just pick him up and remove him from the couch and put him down in the hall, then walk back to your couch. He'll most probably follow you back, but he'll be a little uncertain and know something's up because he's been put aside.

Toys - toys on their own are useful, but you really need to play with him with something. Kittens latch onto 'fetch' very quicky. Get a favourite toy he can pick up, like a cloth mouse (mine adore my non-snag hair bands, the thick fabric elastic ones - they're too big to be swallowed or choke on, and just nice to lift up and carry around). Throw the toy for him. When he chases and catches it, praise him loudly. Hopefully he'll return to you, carrying the toy incidentally - you can take it from him and throw it again. Repeat until he stops the game because he's wrecked.

If he's destroying your furniture, you really need to get him a cat tree - scratching posts are all well and good, but often they're a bit crap and they won't last until the cat is bigger. A multi-level tree is far better, because it couples scratching areas with elevated resting areas, which cats love. You must position the cat tree near to the area you spend most time - e.g. the couch. Putting it in a different room is useless - he wants to scratch, climb and play near you, so give him something to scratch, climb and play with, near you.

Also, learn his body language. You should be able to see a pounce coming a mile off - they're not subtle. Ears forward = alert and interested. One ear cocked backwards or sideways is uncertainty. Both ears backwards is highly uncertain or confused. Ears deliberately flattened is aggressive, (though ears slightly sloping is a sign of relaxation - so if your cat has slightly flattened ears when asleep, it's because he's chilled out, not pissed off). Tip of tail twitching is also uncertain. Lashing tail is angry or agitated. Tail up straight in the air is very kittenish, looking for you to be the carer and minder. Tail up with a crook at the end is precisely what it looks like - a question mark! This tail is a sign of curiosity, what's going on. If you call your cat when they're ambling past and they flick their tail but keep going, that's like a wave - hey there, I hear ya, I'm just doing something else.

Start to interact based on your kitten's body language. Try to be conscious of whether, to him, you look like you're playing when you're trying to give out to him.

Squirty water bottle - item of last resort. Clapping your hands and making a sharp noise should achieve the same thing unless the cat is really persistent. He will calm down as he grows up, as long as you set the boundaries now. And remember - if your techniques aren't working, change them. It's just like with teachers in school - if the kids aren't getting it, don't just repeat the same thing in the hope they'll catch on - you have to try different approaches.

theghost

You could try saying "bold" or "no" in a very stern voice when he scratches/bites you, then turn your back and refuse to play with him for a few minutes. This works with puppies, and I seem to remember my father doing the same thing with young cats many years ago. Curtains and cushions he will grow out of

encore1

the water thing is quite good, but you have to remember too that he's only a kitten and thats what kittens do! some are grand......and others are pure nightmares, lol!
do you let him outside yet?

Lillylilly

Thanks a lot for the advice. It all makes so much sense. My boyfriend is forever wrestling and messing with his hands with the kitten, so I reckon he sees my hands as potential play things!! I get ripped to shreds while my boyf gets away with little scratches!
Encore, he's recently gotten his second vaccine so we're gonna train him to go to the loo out in the garden soon, but he often goes out there when my boyf is having a cigarette. I wondered was it that he craved more exercise but obviously he's just a difficult little maggot!

theghost

Yourself and your boyfriend have to have a consistent approach to the scratching/biting thing. The kitten will only get confused if he's allowed to bite one person's hand and not another's.

McKuntmissioner

Couple other suggestions: use double sided tape on areas that you want to keep kitten-free, or scratch-free. Kittens don't like the feel of the stickiness on their paws, and they'll learn to avoid the area.

I used water bottles to train my last cat with great success, and would highly recommend it. Don't spray the kitteh in his face. As long as he has an aversion to water it'll deter the behavior in question. (I attempted to use the water bottle again on my current cat, but he's half Bengal and enjoyed being sprayed w/water.)

Sigma Force

Some good advice there, you could also be naughty yourself and sneek in another kitten for company then they can wrestle and play together and get rid of some of their excess energy. I love when they climb up curtains they look so cute.

Check out zooplus.co.uk for good value cat trees, the higher and more fun the better your kitten will love it. There's a load of toys as well you can try, years ago though our cats used to have more fun playing with pens and rolled up tin foil and toilet rolls.

Sundew

Our 16 week old maine coon kitty is full of beans and has regular outbursts of energy and play throughout the day and evening.
Like some previous posters mentioned a "cat tree" is essential if you don't want him him swinging out of the curtains

We got this one from Zooplus and I am so thankful I bought it before he arrived. He really goes on the attack and we have seen all sorts of acrobatics on it!!!

http://www.zooplus.ie/feedback/shop/cats/scratching_posts/medium/127229