posted
We have a cat. He's normally a very nice, sweet, affectionate cat, but sometimes, for no apparent reason, he'll bite. He'll be sitting on your lap or next to you on the couch, apparently quite happy, and then for no reason at all--CHOMP!
Anyone have any idea what is going on in his fuzzy little brain that makes him do this? Anyone have any idea of how to break him of it?
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by BeachLife: Is it a playful bite, or a spiteful bite?
Sometimes the one, sometimes the other. He's drawn blood sometimes, but usually he doesn't even break the skin.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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Keep a squirt gun or spray bottle of water near and wet him down with it after he attempts to bite. He will eventually develop an aversion to the behavior.
Or not. He's a cat, they are inscrutible.
Mournful hiding the scratches on her left hand....Shadow did NOT want her nails clipped.
Posts: 321 | From: Ohio (Land of Good Morning) | Registered: Apr 2004
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It's likely the natural urge to pounce and bite - does he have suitable toys to 'hunt'?
-------------------- This is where I come up with something right? Something really clever... Posts: 6552 | From: UK | Registered: Oct 2002
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Are you petting him or touching him in some way when he does this? Or are you not touching him and he is looking for attention and not getting it?
My male cat does this as well. He will be curled up nice and comfy on your lap, you are petting him gently, he's purring, and then all of a sudden CHOMP! And off he runs. He knows what he is doing is wrong (swats, chasing him down, holding his head tightly while yelling, water squirts, you name it - he knows it) therefore the running, but we have decided that unlike the female cat, he doesn't know how to say "Stop" nicely. He is also known for biting if he comes up to you looking for love and you ignore him.
Biting is his way of letting us know that he doesn't want what we are giving him anymore (love or non-love).
That and telling us not to touch him there! (He doesn't like it if you touch his stomach.)
If that isn't it, check him out. He may have something that is hurting him and you may be inadvertently touching it, causing him to bite you to stop touching him. Check his ears, neck, his entire body for something that may be causing him pain.
-------------------- I swear, it was funnier in my head. Yeah, I used to be pink. vanilla_pink. Posts: 2493 | From: California | Registered: Nov 2003
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I agree with Vanilla Pink. I have a male cat who often acts the same way. He'll just chomp down right in the middle of being petted, but usually it's the begining of being playful. He's very strongly bonded to me, and plays rather rough with me. I have the scratches and bite marks to prove it.
I had another cat, many years ago, who would do the same thing. But in her case it was because she had a sore spot on her spine. If he touched it, you got bit and there was no playfullness involved and no hissing either which is usually the other tell tale sign of non playfull behavier.
But as others have said, sometimes cats are cats. Changing behavier isn't always entirely possible.
Beach...unless you're changing your behavier...Life!
quote:Originally posted by Jay Tea: Has he been neutered?
It's likely the natural urge to pounce and bite - does he have suitable toys to 'hunt'?
Yes, he's neutered. And he has toys, but he mostly ignores them. The only thing he likes to play with is an ice cube; he'll 'play soccer' with one if you drop it on the kitchen floor.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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quote:Originally posted by vanilla_pink: Are you petting him or touching him in some way when he does this? Or are you not touching him and he is looking for attention and not getting it?
Sometimes yes, sometimes no.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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My Grandpa used to call them "love bites." I have 2 grown cats and 2 kittens. When they want to play, they bite and box each other w/ their feet. Problem is they don't realize that bites hurt humans sometimes. I am sure he doesn't mean you any harm. Did you try biting him back?
-------------------- "My Very Educated Mother Just Said Uh-oh! No...Pluto..."~ Steven Colbert Posts: 3256 | From: Somewhere in Ohio | Registered: Apr 2004
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quote:Originally posted by Bach_girl: Did you try biting him back?
And get a mouthful of hair? No thank you.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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My spayed female cat does that too. Just does. She's a cat, she doesn't need a reason.
--NewZer0
-------------------- I study medieval literature because that's where the money is. Posts: 1431 | From: Corvallis, OR | Registered: Jun 2004
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My cat has 2 types of bites. Sometimes when we are petting him, he would start licking. SOmetimes, after a few licks her puts my fingr in his mouthand gently gnaws it. It's almost like he's trying to "feel" me with his mouth
The second type of bite happens when we pet his tummy when he does'nt want to be petted , or sometimes if I get too close to his ass, or sometimes when I put my hand on his shoulder. He puts both of his paws, with claws out around my hand and starts biting it. A strong "No!" makes him stop and he slinks off ashamed
-------------------- Nico Sasha In between my father's fields;And the citadels of the rule; Lies a no-man's land which I must cross; To find my stolen jewel. Posts: 4912 | From: VA | Registered: Jul 2003
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We've had him checked out by three vets. There's nothing organically wrong with him. All we can think is that some neuron misfires in his feline equivalent of a brain.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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How old is your cat? Our baby cat seemed to outgrow biting us at age 3 or 4. She turned 6 on April 1st. (my baby is growing up, whaaaaa) Squirting her never did any good since her fur is so thick. I think we would simply withdraw affection if acted up while being petted. She'll occasionally pick on the other cats but I can't remember the last time she bit a monkey.
Posts: 2655 | From: MO USA | Registered: Jul 2003
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Chances are there's nothing wrong with your cat. Some cats will niip or bite as play, some will do it if they are being over-stimulated, sometimes they'll do it "just because".
I am firmly convinced that cats can have the same range or emotional response that people do. I have never seen two cats that act the same way, they all have very seperate and individual personalities.
Did you have your biter since kittenhood, or was he an adoptee? If he's had previous owners, it may be a holdover from the way he was originally taught to play.
Watch for signs of agitation, like tail flicking and ear flattening. They might yield subtle clues about when he's getting ready to bite. If you can't peg down a cause, try reforming him with some discipline techniques, like those mentioned above.
Vanilla Pink - your cat sounds as though he knows exactly what he's doing, and I suspect he gets a kick out of it. Chomp-run sounds almost like a play behavior. Kind of like the children's "neener-neener, you can't get me" game.
quote:Originally posted by Priestley's Mouse: Did you have your biter since kittenhood, or was he an adoptee? If he's had previous owners, it may be a holdover from the way he was originally taught to play.
He was a stray my father took in, but he was obviously not feral, but a housecat that either got lost or was abandoned. Father had him a couple of years, though, before this behavior showed up. I'd guess he's about 5.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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I had a cat like that - when we took him in, he was a very scared stray kitten, and responded by hissing to anything that moved within visual range. He's now 10 years old and the cuddliest, friendliest cat around. However, he has always done the purring-to-biting shift - I suspect it's either playful or "Ok, I'm happy with how you pet me, now STOP". However, even at his advanced age, he likes a healthy tussle with me at least a few times a week, so part of it is just in his blood. We have a fairly ritualized form of agressive play, so it's never been a problem, the only other time he bites is if I put my feet into his belly when he's laying at the other end of the couch.
Posts: 441 | From: Between Flint and Lansing, MI | Registered: Mar 2005
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quote:Originally posted by Priestley's Mouse: Vanilla Pink - your cat sounds as though he knows exactly what he's doing, and I suspect he gets a kick out of it. Chomp-run sounds almost like a play behavior. Kind of like the children's "neener-neener, you can't get me" game.
PM
Oh he knows exactly what he is doing. Hence the running away part. Thankfully though, he is getting older and has learned that if he just gets up and walks away, we are no longer annoying him. When he was younger, we tried everything to get him to stop - the only thing that worked was to be quicker than him, catch his head tightly during/right after the bite, tell him "NO" sternly and then release him. We knew his warning signs (flicking tail, flatening of the ears) and knew to stop ourselves. What was the kicker was watching him display these signs, and then jerk his head to bite - but then instantly pull back without biting because he knew it was wrong.
He is not as much of a biter anymore, but we still tell people that he is because he does not do well around strangers and keeps to himself and hides when people he doesn't know are around. By telling everyone to be careful and that he bites makes them wary around him even though I know he isn't going to go within 6 feet of them.
vanilla(this is the cat that is deathly afraid of plumbers)pink
-------------------- I swear, it was funnier in my head. Yeah, I used to be pink. vanilla_pink. Posts: 2493 | From: California | Registered: Nov 2003
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Biter was a very sweet kitty last night; he didn't snap at either of us once.
-------------------- "The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains pure in heart."--Iris Murdoch Posts: 3307 | From: Charleston, WV | Registered: Oct 2002
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I had a rabbit that did something similar. I didn't figure out why until I tied him out in the yard to play with neighbor kids. They lost interest in him, and played with something else, so we walked up to them and gave them a good, hard nip to remind them he still existed. It could just be a ploy for more (or different) attention.
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