How much biting and scratching is normal kitten behavior?

In general, kittens bite and scratch and get into any kind of trouble that they can. The kitten stage is really about learning how to be a cat in a wild-type situation. They're learning how to catch and subdue prey. And a lot of that comes out as anything that's fast-moving or super interesting they're going to pounce on and try and hold, or even do that silly little bunny kick that they do with their back legs. Biting and scratching are normal. We just need to teach the kitten how we want them to interact with us throughout our life together. When these sorts of behaviors happen, we need to redirect them to something that we want them to do or avoid these situations overall in managing how we play with our cats.

That's a great question. That's hard to answer. My one answer would be a lot. That is the way they play. That is the way they explore their environment. There's a lot of things going on when they're biting and scratching. Sometimes, that can be a sign that they're overstimulated or scared or fearful if they're doing that. And then other times, it can just be sheer play. If you have ever seen kittens interact, you know that they sort of kick with those back feet, and they're biting around the neck and things like that. And then you will hear one of the kittens tell that other kitten that enough's enough. And so sometimes they do that to us, and we don't give those appropriate signals to say when enough is enough. That communication can be a problem, but providing them with the appropriate areas to scratch and toys they love can help. Toys that are interactive or that you are interactive with them can get them to move and chase. That's that normal predator behavior. Fostering that in an appropriate way versus them doing that on you or surfaces that you don't want can help to make everyone happy. Sometimes they see your feet under the covers. They come by, they see the foot move, and they pounce on it. A lot of that is "normal behavior," but we want to foster it into what we want them to do when they're a 10-pound cat with big teeth.

Normal kittens do play with other kittens, and when they don't have another kitten to play with, they may use you to bite, chew on, and scratch. While this is normal behavior, it often needs to be redirected to a proper toy or scratching post since you are not the appropriate target for their play.

A lot. Kittens are very active and playful but do not know how much their teeth and nails can hurt. This behavior is normal, and they will reach full maturity by about a year.