Ow Teemo!
Sometimes our cats bite us when we pet them, when they lick us, or bite our ankles for no reason.
Understanding why cats bite and how to change their behavior can save
your hands and face from unnecessary damage. I am the Cat Butler and today we are going to
look into why cats bite and provide some tips on how to stop your cat from biting you.
First we need to understand why cats bite.
This will help us craft the right solution for the problem.
At the end I will share a solution that works in all scenarios.
Sometimes your cat may bite you gently. This is most often a love bite.
A love bite is your cat’s way of showing affection for you and is intended not to hurt you.
Experts believe that this behavior goes back to kittenhood.
Kittens will often play and bite each other as a way of bonding and practicing for adulthood.
Their mother would give the kitten a gentle nibble when grooming them as a sign of affection.
So, how can you tell what is and isn't a love bite?
A love bite generally doesn't break the skin. And when your cat is giving you these gentle
nibbles, there won't be signs of fear or aggression, like hissing, growling, and clawing.
Your cat's body language will also be relaxed and calm.
Both my ragdoll cats Teemo and Arya occasionally like to give me love bites
when they are grooming me. Here is what it looks like.
A love bite is not a bad form of biting.
If you want your cat to stop. You can just hiss and walk away.
Now the most common reason why cats bite us is to tell us to stop doing something they don’t like.
For example you may be petting your cat’s soft fur
while they are sleeping, and they may gently bite you out of nowhere.
Usually there are a few warning signs before that happens.
Small signs such as a gentle swish of the tail or a flattening of the ears may
give you the heads up that they are becoming overstimulated and may react negatively soon.
Your cat wants you to stop petting them.
Learning to read your cat’s body language is really useful here.
Here is an example of Arya not being happy with Teemo.
You can see the twitching tail and the flattening of the ears.
Cats may also bite when in pain and it hurts when you hug or pet them.
For example your cat may have arthritis. So talk to your vet to rule out
any medical issues. In both these instances
if you stop doing the thing that annoys and hurts your cat they will stop biting you.
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This is considered play aggression. Young cats and kittens that were not raised
with littermates or lack opportunities to play commonly show play aggression.
Learning appropriate play is an important part of a cat’s socialization, and this normally
occurs during time spent with littermates. Cats learn that they are biting or scratching
too hard when their littermates stop playing or retaliate.
Cats raised alone during their early lives may not learn this important lesson.
Your cat may start using you, your furniture and your clothing as prey
It is important to understand cats are predators due to their carnivorous diet.
Biting, clawing, and pouncing come naturally to cats.
The easiest way to redirect this aggression is having toys that look, feel,
smell, and move like prey. Your cats are more likely to be interested in
funneling their aggression towards these toys. Make sure you take time for dedicated play
sessions with your cat, but always allow them to win before they get too frustrated.
It is important to let your cat catch and kill the toy.
A wand toy with feathers and toys with catnip
make great toys for your cat to release their pent up energy.
For Teemo and Arya I use a bird and mouse looking catnip toy plus a wand toy.
The catnip toy has been designed with a sewn-in bag for loose catnip and can be
refilled with fresh catnip at any time. Allowing the toy to always be potent.
While the wand toy is a great way to burn their energy.
If you are interested in the cat toys and want to treat your cat,
you can check them out at my cat store, thecatbutler.co.
I will link it in the description below. Lastly, remember not to use your hands
and feet as a toy with your cat. Letting your cat wrestle with your hands
teaches them that biting and scratching is an acceptable behavior.
Soon enough, they will begin to associate your appendages as something to be attacked,
which can then occur more frequently and violently if not curbed.
In addition to playing with your cat, you can also hiss at your cat when they try to aggressively
bite your hand or feet, and then walk away. Walking away and ignoring a cat engaged in play
aggression teaches him that inappropriate aggressive play results in no play at all.
This is how cats tell other cats to stop. In this clip Arya tells Teemo
she doesn’t want to play anymore. By speaking a language that our
cats can understand we can teach our cats that aggressively biting us is not okay.
Like everything with cats, they learn from consistency and patience on our part.
So don’t be discouraged if you don’t see results right away.
When cats feel threatened or cornered they may bite to protect themselves.
Initially the cat tends to show defensive body language.
A crouched position, tense face, arched posture, ears swiveled sideways, and the pupils dilated.
The cat is trying to create distance between themselves and the person.
They will communicate by hissing and growling at us.
Don’t get any closer! You may encounter this due to the
lack of socialization, a history of traumatic abuse, or the cat’s general personality.
This usually happens when you are getting a cat for the first time
or haven’t established trust with your cat yet. When your cat feels threatened try to avoid
them during this time. When your cat is calm you
want to focus on building trust with your cat and food is a great way to do it.
Teemo here is my peace offering. Cats are highly food motivated.
Hand feeding your cat or having scheduled feeding times will let them know that you
are a provider and associate you as a positive thing in their life.
Over time your cat will come to trust you. Dealing with behavior issues in cats
is always a gradual process. Continue to shower your cat with love
and your cat will be less fearful. The best solution I have found at training your
cat to stop biting is to have two cats. Cats that have a playmate
tend to be more socially well adjusted. Another cat is a better teacher than us humans.
A cat can communicate with a fellow cat when it bites too hard
or other unacceptable social behaviors such as scratching, hissing, or predatory aggression.
Destructive behaviors due to boredom and attention seeking are less common when they have a buddy.
This means less scratching on furniture, biting our ankles, or chewing on wires.
There are also other benefits of having two cats like having a
playmate to keep each other active. Getting Teemo and Arya together
really helped me as a cat owner. As a kitten, Teemo had a lot of energy
and would like to pounce and bite my ankles. Arya was able to play and burn Teemo’s energy when
I was busy and also teach him to bite softer. If you want to learn more about the benefits of
getting two cats I will link the video in the description below.
I always try to train cats in a positive way with a lot of love and care.
Never physically punish your cat as this may cause a cat to become fearful of people
and harm your relationship with your cat. You want your cat to trust you.
It would build a more loving environment in your home for your cats and you.
I hope you learned a few things about how to stop your cat from biting you.
Cats are complex creatures and understanding how they think makes us better cat owners.
Comment down below how do you stop your cat from biting?