For Michael (sorry it took so long):

So when you get your friend to adopt a kitten from the clinic and then the kitten becomes a terror, what do you do? Well you try to give him some advice so he keeps the devil cat under control in the safety of his own home. “Hey Jamie, you should write a post on how to stop a cat from biting,…” “Sure Mike” 4 months later,….

Biting and bunny kicking (kicking with their back feet) is a normal behavior closely mimicking hunting prey, and is a normal play behavior for kittens. Often kittens will learn to reign in how hard they can bite through their litter mates and mother. This bite inhibition isn’t learned with kittens that are taken away early from their mom and litter mates. Even so, these “reigned-in” bites may still be too hard for a human hand (or foot).

First off, never use punishment. Cats do not respond to punishment based training methods. Punishment results in stress and a stressed cat is not one that learns and it often can result in other things like urinating outside of the box or becoming even more aggressive. *

Don’t promote the behavior by using hands and feet when they are playing aggressively, similarly avoid using toys with fingers. Using toys like throw toys or kick pillows or the wands to help your cat burn energy and use their instincts. Without doing damage to your soft human body.

Withdraw! If you are playing and they do bite, give them a firm “No” and stop playing/engaging with them for a bit. The goal is for them to learn that as soon as they bite playtime ends.

Understanding your cat. Ok this is a cop out but understanding certain signs like when they are becoming overstimulated and hyper-excited is important in eliminating/preventing these situations. We know that the cats will love petting,… until they don’t. Tail twitching starts and they turn around and bite. Recognizing the precursors to the bite will help you stop before they get to the bitey phase.

*Cat training and behavioral modification studies have shown very reliably that punishment based systems do not work, and if they do they have a very short time the animal will continue to show the desired behavior. Positive reinforcement is the way to go people.