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Juniors Mom
01-11-2005, 04:57 PM
I am hoping do draw on the experience and expertise of the people that populate this board.

Here is the situation:
Junior is a biter. He is a young male cat, close to 10 months old now. He is declawed ( a medical issue) but was a biter long before being declawed.
He is not just a random biter, here or there, but seems to go out of his way to attack. An exampe being, I can be laying in bed, reading, and low and behold, Junior will leap on the bed, and clamp down on my hand, arm, leg, or what ever he can get ahold of. If he hops on my lap, the first instinct seems to be biting. He attacks feet, to the point of drawing blood.
I have tried several approaches , including a spray bottle, but so far nothing is overly succesful.
I was hoping that it was a kitten thing that he would out grow, but so far that doesnt look too hopeful.
So the question...is there hope?

PayItForward
01-11-2005, 05:26 PM
At 10 months old he still is a kitten and still has a chance of outgrowing some of this behaviour.

Have you or your family played with him using your hand or feet as targets ?

What about playing with fishing rod toys with him to distance him from your hands/feet ?

When he bites I would ignore him completely, lack of attention is a true punishment for kittens. I don't use water sprays myself.

What about adopting a similar aged friend so they could bite each other (joke) but another cat may help your cat behave better.

Good Luck.

Juniors Mom
01-15-2005, 07:51 AM
I have re-introduced fishing rod type toys in our play. He had little interest in the last one, prefering the stuffed Grimace that he stalks, kills and carries around the house.

The biting has lessened ...to a point. He still attempts to bite hands and arms, and always attacks ankles as you walk by.

I would love cat number 2, but I had a hard enough time convincing my significant other that we wanted a cat. I doubt I would be sucessful convincing him that we want 2.

I will continue with the evening ritual of "fishing for Junior", and hopefully he will learn new behavior or at the very least, grow out of the need to bite.

PayItForward
01-15-2005, 08:23 AM
Sounds promising, most cats calm down between 1 and 2 years old (depending on breed) so you should see a change in the next few months to a calmer cat.