I think he's playing. If he were being agressive, you'd know it. If he didn't want to be bothered, he'd also go away. Depending upon how hard he's biting/kicking, you can decide whether it's too much or not. I'd caution you not to reprimand him harshly, because it may result in him not coming to you, thinking that it's not Ok to play with you (which is how I think he's seeing it - as play).

If it's too much, you can just take your hand away and pick up a toy and use that with him, instead. A wand with a string, for example (many available), or other type of interactive cat toy. I'd think that you want him to play with you, but also understand that you don't want to be wounded. From what you've written I think he's encouraging you to play. Just find a way to satisfy that (for him and you!) and enjoy!

I hope he's just playing and not going to carry that into his adult years.
A neighbour got an adult cat, and she was the meanest bich I think I've ever seen. She would bite and scratch for no reason and turn on a dime. The lady's arm was black and blue and I told her to give it back to the couple she got her from.

Encourage him by playing with him with a toy as SuzieQ mentioned. Mom's cat Tiger used to bite Mom sometime and she called them Love bites, but sometimes they don't know their own strength. Smudge will sometimes bite us too, then immediately feels remorse and start licking us when he did it.

Since the kiiten's so young, there are two basic instincts that are at play. First is as suzie described; he wants to play. Kitties "play" by using their instincts so using a wand with feathers (unless you have birds in the house) or a mouse on a string are good options. Get the little guy a couple toys that crinkle but are soft and plush (Kong makes some good ones) and toss it for your cat. The least expensive toy is a bit of wadded up paper.

The second instinct may be hunger. You may now be considered "mommy" and he's coming to you letting you know he's hungry. He may be teething, as this is the age when they start losing baby teeth and get their permanent teeth. Little ones should be fed 3-4 times per day, with kibble available for grazing.

At this stage, you need to start trimming his claws every two weeks or so. Make sure he's not in play mode or your hands/arms will look like shredded wheat. Try for one paw at a time and reward with a little treat.

I also have an almost 4 month old cat that we found when he was 5-6 weeks old (and literally at death's door). He shows the same behavior you described. I've got him trained to play fetch with his toys and he can tell the difference between his "sparkly ball", "crinkly ball", "bear" and "lion". We got him a hand puppet of a lion from Toys r Us that we use for rough-house play.

Enjoy your little guy! I've been blessed with 21 and 18 year old cats in the past and am hoping my new one enjoys a long, happy and healthy life too!

We have a 4 year old cat who will bite and claw at you when he doesn't want to be bothered or when he has had enough. I think with a cat you need to let the cat come to you when he/she wants attention. The only place I can really pet our cat is in the computer room which is where he will come and lie on my lap. Petting him any other time might result in a bite or scratch.

My older cat and our deceased cat both would let you pet them at any time and rarely (if ever) bit or scratched. Your cat is still young though and might grow out of it... or maybe it is just his personality?

Kathleen, I think he is probably playing, I was always told not to play with them with my hands so as not to encourage the kitten to bite or scratch when trying to handle them. I used a big oven mit looking thing, it is the opposite of a mit tho, thinner on the palm area and thicker on the top. It worked well for me. Our new baby is just starting to go thru this stage, and most likely so would the two new ones if we could touch them! LOL!!! I have to say that the three older ones never try to bite.

Like Lydia's cat, our Daisy likes to be petted but if it's just too much petting or if she doesn't want to be bothered, she will gently attack the hand which is annoying her.

If he bites your hand and you respond by petting him, you are unintentionally teaching him to bite your hand when he wants you to pet him.

When our cats were kittens, if they bit or scratched for attention we howled and carried on as if it really hurt, turned our back on the kitten and payed no attention for several minutes.

They are grown cats now, and almost never bite or scratch.

if you watch kittens in the wild and I have plenty feral cats here you can come watch LOL what you are talking about is exactly how they play with each other and a lot of that behavior is preparing them for hunting and killing which they would have to do for themselves in the wild.
When you put them in a domesticated situation you become the other kitten or mother and they still have that inbred into them to learn and try out those types of movements and behaviors it is natural to them.
When they begin doing that what I do is just give them one of their stuffed toys, in real life they would have possibly caught a mouse or bird and then they will play with it till ready to eat it, in the house they will play with the toy instead.
In general domesticated cats will outgrow that behavior since they do not need the hunting and killing moves since you are providing their food.

I always made what I called a cat fishing pole for my young ones, I got a long stick or rod and a piece of ribbon or even better elastic, tied it to the pole and on the other end I tied on a piece of fur, I used real rabbit pelts but you can use fake fur, and I added a few pieces of ribbon streamers to that. I would then cast out my fishing pole and I caught me a cat every time! They would play with me for hours with that thing. The elastic ones are best because they catch the thing and run with it and it stretches to let them go then boing it comes flying back.

I have been so lucky with the 15 cats I've had over the decades. None has ever bitten or scratched me. One fell off the top of the chair where I was sitting and scratched my face on his way down but that was unintentional. And they all have/had claws. This is a form of playing in young kittens. You should have a toy like a feather wand to play with him. If he does it, immediately walk away and don't engage him. Some cats don't like certain parts of their body to be petted like the lower back.

I think he's playing too. Kittens do that to each other and to their mother as well....biting is part of a cat's nature. They should learn how to control it as they get older. My cats' mother would give them a little slap when they got carried away biting each other.

Oh Raven reading your post is so funny! You are quite the fisherwoman aren't you?! LOL That is priceless.

Well, thanks everyone. Speaking of fish...yesterday he knocked Neo, our Beta off onto the floor. I thought the glass bowl had shattered but it hadn't, just knocked most of the water out of it all over my kitchen. So, Neo is now on the island where Bushido does not go.

My sister had a cat where her room mate would cover the kittens face with his hand and roll him around, the kitten would curl it's paws around his hand and kick with his back feet. The kitten grew up to think a persons hand would attack him. He couldn't be picked up, he saw it as an act of aggression as your hands came towards him.....eventually he couldn't be handled at all. She gave the cat to us. He would get on the dinningroom table and touch foreheads with you.....play with a toy on a string....he liked our dog....he'd sleep on our bed.....just couldn't put your hands on him.

This was an extreme case....I hope your kittens behavior can be turned around.

At least your betta is still alive. I think I posted on here one of my cats ate my betta or must have. I went to feed the fish and he was gone and the grid I had on top was undisturbed so the cat must have stuck her tiny paw thru and snagged the betta because he was friendly and came up to greet everyone. Now my new one is weighed down with a better grid and antique round weights.

If they get over-stimulated, they can show it by being aggressive. And in the winter, sometimes we get static shocks when petting the cats and they hate that, I wonder if that could be part of the problem you're having?

He's so young, I have to think that he's playing/rough-housing with you. Keep his toenails trimmed, that'll help you a lot. :)

As said, keep the claws trimmed and you need to start young to get them used to it. When a cat bites my hand without cause, I automatically push back into their mouth. They're so startled they will learn not to do it again. If they come up and bite, often it's a message of wanting to play, they're hungry and the dish is empty, or the water is low or the litter box needs attention or any number of things. I have a zero-tolerance with mine. I keep a squirt bottle of water nearby and she gets squirted when she does it. She knows it and doesn't do it often. And I have a memory. She runs away and hides a while but comes back like nothing happens. Then I squirt her. She knows what it's for. If she nipped rather hard, she'll get a couple treatments. She then comes to me, head hanging and apologizes. It's kind of funny. It also helps to ignore them too when they've misbehaved - don't pet them. They're like kids. They'll often push you as far as they can.

I have very gentle lap cats age 4 and very occasionally Carrie will "taste" my hand by holding onto a piece of skin while in my lap. I just continue to talk to her. She is purring and stops herself. There is nothing agressive about it. It seems loving to me. I have had Carrie and Charlotte since they were 3 weeks old. They were a part of my 4 female cats I fostered. I named them from the Sex and the City show.

Your fur baby sounds like our new one, Baylee...She was dumped at a young age and of course I had to take her in...She is a toughie, has no fear and terrorizes the older 2..But, she was a biter and I had the marks to prove it...She had a brother who adopted the neighbors and I was told, it would have been good to have kept them together and that way they could have taken out their energy on each other....But, I think in time, she will settle down (if I live that long, lol)...She's scheduled for her "surgery" next week and hopefully after that, she will be a sweet little docile fur baby.....
Each cat/kitten is different and I guess you just have to find that secret to keeping them happy......

Most likely it is playing... and is why I always want more than one kitten.. they entertain each other and much less wear and tear on me and my time... but still lots of fun to have and love..

Carolyn

none of my other cats (past cats) tried to snag me but the two free-loaders who come in for a nap will -thinking they are playing. I cant trim their nails since they are outside living a cats life most of the time A good loud o "ahahahah "will loosen their claws