I am responding to Shannon and Mitch's question about the biting problem, as
I have had luck with my little girl who at first bit VERY hard.  But I want
to put a disclaimer in right from the start because I think this method
might otherwise upset some people on here.  First, I want you to know that I
love my animals dearly and would never abuse them, and I tried everything
else first.  Making a high-pitched yip did absolutely nothing (actually, it
worked great for the little boy, and I haven't had a problem with him
since).
 
Scruffing only caused her to retaliate.  Bonking her nose lightly got her
more excited and biting harder.  And picking her up and cuddling her didn't
do anything, as she just squirmed around and bit even more.  I talked to a
friend who has raised many many kittens, and she suggested moving the bitten
finger in towards the bite, instead of pulling away.  It confuses the
animal, and they let go.  This worked at first, but then she caught on and
just chomped down harder.  Finally, I decided to try a more severe form of
this last method.  I had noticed that in playing with her roommate Taz, she
liked to assert her dominance over him by pinning him down on the floor on
his back.  So I decided to talk to her in her own language.  I got a pair of
light cotton gloves, enough protection that her teeth wouldn't hurt so much,
but thin enough that I could feel how much force I was exerting.  The next
time she bit me, while the bite was on me, I flipped her over on her back
(gently), and pushed my finger into her mouth (crosswise, the way a dog
holds a stick, not lengthwise pushing my finger down her throat).  And of
course I was very careful not to push hard, don't want to hurt the jaw, just
enough to make her uncomfortable.  I then held her in this position until
she stopped squirming, and let her go.  It's very important to do this while
she is biting, or she'll have no idea what I'm trying to teach her.  Also,
it's important to only let her up when she stops squirming, or she'll think
she won the fight.  Anyways, after a day of this, she seems to have accepted
that I'm in charge.  I'm really proud of her, she's been so good, and I let
her know it constantly.  She still bites in play but has been very good
about not bearing down.  She even occasionally nips the air just in front of
my finger, I'm sure it's an intentional miss.  Every time she acts like this
I give her a whole lot of lovin and huggin and Ferretone (yes, I know not to
overdose.)
 
So anyways, this method worked quite well for my wonderful aggressive little
hell-child.  Of course, I recommend trying everything else first, and if you
do try this method, be sure to do everything gently.  After hearing some of
the rabies scare horror stories on here, though, I sure think it's a whole
lot more important to cause them a little discomfort now, than have them
grow up being a biter and ending up getting destroyed because they chewed on
the wrong person.
 
Wendy (ready with the flame-retardant asbestos suit)
[Posted in FML issue 1646]