Need advice (biting)

[NoahsMommy]

Noah was like that as was Basie when they were younger. (Now Noah just bites my guests if they touch him. )

I would do what Bastets Mum would do in the low voice, shove (gently) a toy in their mouth and walk away. They quickly learned that I was not for biting...toys were.

I hope that can work in your case too. I do that a lot with the shelter cats and over time, it seems to work. With them, a lot sooner cause they crave love.

[Pounders Person]

my Pounder is 12 wks old and he is into biting....it's play biting but it hurts....My vet (who i respect greatly) said since he was hand raised he is thinking of me as being a cat.......and that to change his behavior i have to be alpha cat. She said that i should initiate contact between me and Pounder(like when he's having a sedate moment)....and to stop the contact BEFORE Pounder starts biting...i can pretty much count on him to start attacking my hand after i've petted him three times.....She says if Pounder initiates contact and then starts biting.......i should stand up and let him sort of slough off my lap.....pushing him off or picking him up and placing him on the floor gives him a chance to bite my hands.....she says don't give him that chance.......

So i'm trying to do all her suggestions.....hope they work.......Pam,Pounders Person

[moosmom]

Jen,

I've had biters too, but only love bites and nothing serious. Sometimes when cats are petted, they get what you call "over stimulated". Usually you can tell when they are going to bite by their body language. Their ears will go flat and their pupils will dilate. There's a cat at the shelter called Lane who has gotten a bad rap for biting. He only likes his head petted. And if you do it too much, he will bite. That's why he's been there a long time. I've tried working with him and I think it has something to do with him being abused in her former home.

Anyway, what I did was yell "NO!!!" very loud and walk away from the cat. Eventually my cats got the idea. Haven't had a problem since.

Another thing you can do is get a can and put a couple of pennies in it. Everytime he bites, shake the can. It's a great training tool that my boss has used on his cat and Jack Russell.

Good luck.

[jenluckenbach]

Bonnie's biting is definitely the type from over stimulation, love biting. But she is geting MUCH better. (Of course, it could be that I am the one learning when to stop).

[nodgeness]

This may sound crazy but I have a cat that bites when she wants us to know that she's had enough pet time. When she bites it's a soft little tug that just tells us thank you but please no more. After she does that she'll normally just lay down by us & go to sleep. For my Squeak it's a temperament/tolerate thing. I know it's not advice but you may want to check to see if your cat is just trying to say no more please or oooooo I'm going to get you If it's the I'm going to get you I have no idea

[IttyBittyKitty]

Welcome to Pet Talk!!!!

Wow, your kitty sounds very clever! We'd love to see some pics!