Need advice (biting)

[jenluckenbach]

Bonnie (my foster cat) bites when she gets excited. It is usually when playing or after being petted. I have been telling her "NO biting" and take my hand away, but I want to be able to teach her not to do this so that when she gets a home they do not return her with the lable NASTY. She is in no way vicious, but it would not be good for her to go around biting at the hand that feeds even if she thinks she is playing. Has anyone dealt with this?

[krazyaboutkatz]

Jen, I really don't have any advice for you except to just keep on saying no or ouch very loud and then walk away from her. I'm going through this same thing with Sky. Sky loves to play a lot and he thinks that everything is a game. He'll try to bite me while I'm brushing him and sometimes when I pet him too. If you stop giving her attention after she starts biting you then hopefully she'll learn not to do this any more. Good luck and please keep us updated.

[L. Wayne]

Jen. biting, like you described, is usually a kitten thing. But I have seen older cats also do it, especially when they are being petted or receiving scritchies. A cat can tell of your displeasure at some antic of theirs, including biting. You can immediately withdraw your hand and whatever you are doing to your pet, or you can use a bottle of spray water if nothing else seems to get their attention. Usually, cats outgrow this tendency to bite when petted, after about 18 months of age.

[jenluckenbach]

yes, Bonnie is only about 11 or 12 months old.

[BastetsMum]

With Bastet I would withdraw my hand and shout NO in a very loud growly voice. She soon learnt that biting was not an appropriate part of playing. I found the just a loud NO in your own voice didn't work as well. I think its the growl that does it.

[kimlovescats]

I read somewhere ... can't remember where (hehe) .... that when a cat bites, he expects you to pull back on your hand ... just as prey would. That is why cat's teeth curve inward ... so that the pulling-back motion actually sinks his teeth in DEEPER! You are actually supposed to shove your fist, hand, etc. in further into his mouth to take him by surprise, and thus release his grip on you.

NOW.... I can say this... I "ain't never tried it myself... GOOD LUCK"
snicker, snicker

[sasvermont]

Although I don't have any biters right now, I have in the past. I was never able to stop them, just make the event a bit less painful for me. I would yell ouch in a very high pitched voice, something like a kitten does when it is in trouble. It seemed to make my cats let go. I am not sure WHY they did it, but they did. One would actually hop on the back of the toilet (ahemmmm) and bite my head/hair while I was a captive audience.

"No bites" is what I say to Miley when she gives it to me, usually during play. I also put my entire hand over her head and hold her still for a few seconds to get control over her. She really isn't bad with it.

Juni is biting now but just in play and not hard at all. She likes toes and fingers. Right now I look like I tame lions for a living! Scratches everywhere on my legs. I do love that Juni girl though, so I am hoping when she grows up she will get over the kitten thing....

My advice, start reacting to the biting - and discouraging it with whatever method you feel comfortable with....

Wearing hockey equipment would be an alternative.

[rosethecopycat]

Mr. Jones is an 'older' biter. I use the 'ram the knuckle forward' technique on him. Saying; 'No bite'
His behavior has decreased greatly in the two yeras he's been here.

Now, Bella, the kitten, is biting (teething) and I use the high pitched yelp on her. (something she'd understand)

But, if you don't want your cat to bite, remember, you can't use your hand as a toy.

[Vio&Juni]

My mom's Panterusha got rid of her biting habit just a year or so ago (she's 10). She liked to bite when we were petting her. I learnt (in time) how to avoid it. I knew exactly after how many pets she was supposed to turn her head and mmmmiam take a good bite. It was not painful, but this feeling of "in some seconds I'll have her teeth on my hand" was not helping Yes, we kept telling her "No", or using the "high pitched yelp" (rosethecopycat's term )

Good luck with Bonnie. Let's hope, she's just a kitten yet and she'll grow over it soon.

[Ally Cat's Mommy]

Jen,

Let me know when you find the "cure"......

Ally bites my lower legs or ankles every morning 'cos she is cross with me when I leave for work. Now I REVERSE out the door so I don't get attacked from behind.

Our first cat Sydney did that too! She welcomed everybody by turning around their legs, but as soon as they bent down and petted him, he used to bite! He even did it with us; he let us pet him a while, changed his mind all of a sudden, and gave us a bite or/and a scratch ; he kept doing this, even when he was grown up!

[hootchlid]

Carl was like this when I first got him,What i did was this.I let him bit me on the back of my hand( my hands are very callioused up from working in a hot enviroment and it doesnt draw blood if he bites me there)and as he bite me i went ow ow ow ow ow ow ow until he seen it was hurting me,when he released my hand i went your biteing hurt daddy and pet the top of his head.He continued to bite but each time less and less until now he doesnt bite at all.I dont know if it will work on yours but,It worked on Carl.
Dave

[IttyBittyKitty]

Pixel is just like Bonnie, Jen, she is a BITER! And a chewer, you can't leave cardboard or paper lying around!

She'll bite when she's playing, quite hard sometimes, but she will also bite when she is receiving cuddles, as if to initiate play. We just growl or yell "NO!" ... she's really repentant when Daddy growls or yells at her as she thinks that Daddy is the "Boss."

Little does she know!

I think it will be something that both Pixel (age 6 months) and Bonnie will grow out of.

Jen, I wouldn't worry about Bonnie too much. About a month ago, we had some of Scott's family around. His niece, Chloe (age 5) was VERY taken with Pixel and wanted to take her home. I was so afraid that Pixel would bite Chloe's tiny hand, but Pixel was SO GENTLE with little Chloe, you wouldn't believe it. She made some "tentative" nibbles, but that was it. Most pets know when to be gentle with a midget human!

Kim, that is a good idea

[BigCharles]

My ex house painter had a cat that gave "love bites". That cat loved me a lot. I had to teach him not to bite me. I did that by biting him back and then pushing him out of my lap.

If is saw that he was about to bite me I would go "Aah!" sharply and loudly and as close to his ear as I could (or dared). He realy enjoyed being in my lap and was so surprised that a human knew cat ways that he always came running when ever he saw me. The family told me that I was the only one who visited or lived there that he would SLEEP in the lap for.

[cubby31682]

Cubby is 2 years old, and he still bites as much as he can. If I walk out of the bathroom he is waiting in the hallway and jumps up on the back of my legs and bites as hard as he can. If I sit in my computer chair he thinks my arm is a toy. When he starts to bite I will tell him no or a very stern NO and it just makes him bite harder I have tried to spray him and he doesn't care it just makes him bite even harder. My niece was over one time and I was afraid Cubby would bite her but instead he let her pet him a few times and she wasn't done yet and so she hit him as hard as she could. Needless to say she got yelled at and sat on the couch with no tv until her grandma came to get her. Now when kids come over Cubby keeps his distance, along with growling at them. I guess I had to learn never to go to the bathroom while watching kids. You never know what they can do. Every now and then when Cubby starts to bite me I will tell him not to bite the hand that feeds him and that I wont give him any treats if he keeps it up, but he still bites and he always gets his daily treats, he has me wrapped around his little paws. So I don't know of any advice that will help you. I have tried a few different things and nothing seems to work with him.

Katie