Kitten behavior questions

[NaturalMamma]

We got our sweet kitten about 6 wks ago. At first we kept her in a bathroom set up and dedicated to her as we got her accustomed to the rest of the house (2 floors). At night she sleeps in the bathroom. Right around Christmas we decided to have her sleep with us at night, but she was waking us up in the early morning by biting our nose. So we put her back in the bathroom for the night. She's very content there and doesn't cry or anything. In the morning when I wake up and she hears me, she starts meowing and I take her out immediately and she purrs and cuddles a lot.

So my question is this: how long do you think it'll take before she "outgrows" biting our noses while in bed? I guess we're a little anxious to have her sleep with us again. DH, DD and I co-sleep and we'd all love to have her with us at night. Considering she has a long ways to go before she's an adult, I'm hoping we won't have to wait until she's a year old. She's about 14 wks old now.

[WaitingForKiddos]

I think that the only way to get this little one to spot nibbling noses is to correct her when she does it and make sure that she's not asking for something. I'd let her sleep with you tonight and also leave out a dish of food and water and her litter box in/near the room you're in. If she wakes up and starts to go for your nose tell her 'no' firmly and redirect her in a non-playful way. If needed tap her gently on her face and then praise her when she lays back down or stops going for your nose. If she goes to the bathroom it's a punishment, not her own private room.

14 weeks - about 7 months is also a crazy time for kittens. They seem to get extra wild and rebelious....but also extra lovey and playful.

I had a cat that was obsessive about nursing my ear lobes. It took a few nights of redirection but he finally got it that it wasn't welcome and that the bed was much warmer than a kennel.

[sunnysandiegan]

We rescued a kitten about as old as yours was when she came to you. We also had her in her own private room when we were not home and at night for the first few weeks. She liked it a lot and was very content. When she seemed comfortable in the whole house, we stopped putting her in her room when we were gone and a few days later stopped putting her in there at night. She has adjusted quite well and is the most loving, adaptable, playful kitty any of us has ever known.

Our kitten never bit our noses, but she was rather rough with her claws and teeth at first. She was teething, it seems. We did a LOT of redirecting to her toys and scratching post. She quickly learned to play without her claws extended. Once her teeth were in, she stopped gnawing on us (she never really BIT us, but did like to gnaw). She is about a year old now.

[NaturalMamma]

Well I guess we'll have her in our bedroom starting on Friday night. I don't want her to become so accustomed to spending the night in the bathroom that she has difficulty adjusting to nighttime with us. Previously when she was in our bedroom (which also connects to our master bath and closet) for about 6 nights, we were picking her up and putting her back on the floor whenever she bit our nose. We'll keep re-directing her. I just wasn't sure if my expectations were too high for her. LOL We'll have to make it work b/c I don't want to confuse her by having her in the bathroom again.

I'm also wondering when would be a reasonable age to give her the run of the house during the night. Even if a house is fairly kitten-proofed, there is still so much I can imagine her getting into. I don't think I'll sleep the first night we give her that freedom. I'll be so afraid something will happen to her.

She was from a litter of kittens that were abandoned at 2 wks of age on the doorstep of a vet hospital (without the mother...don't know what happened to her and there was no note left). One of the techs there hand-reared them and she came to us serendipitously. We adore her and she's so sweet and loving...and of course, all kitten too.