My cat is my baby. We got her over a year ago at the local shelter, and she was not a kitten, but not yet fully grown. She was always so sweet and loving, and still is most of the time. However, she has always had issues with attacking my feet while I sleep, usually around 5 AM. It has turned into her holding my legs and feet with her claws and biting me if I barely move. This hurts! What can I do to stop this? We have no way of locking her out of the room, but even when we did, she would cry all night because up until 5 AM, she will sleep very sweetly next to me. What is up with her?
Also, since er got a dog, she has been biting my fiance and I alot more. It used to be only when she played, but now we can pet her and she will bite us, almost like she thinks its a nice thing to do.
I have tried telling her no and putting her down, she just gets right back up. I have tried lightly spanking her, but it never works and later read it usually doesn't.
2006-08-16 15:11:06 · 10 answers · asked by pixie_vixen117 4 in Pets ➔ Cats
Something other then a spray bottle.
Oh and if you know why she does these things, that may help even more!
2006-08-16 15:11:41 · update #1
It's important to remember not to strike a cat as a form of discipline. Aside from being ineffective, it's abusive and your cat will interpret it as such.
Your cat is attacking your feet for a number of reasons. First, cats are nocturnal creatures --they are most energetic at night. When your cat sees movement from your feet (especially if it is hidden under the sheet) its natural hunting instincts are in effect and it has an overwhelming urge to pounce and bite the source of the movement.
To curb this behavior, you must discipline the cat DURING the attack, NOT afterward. The cat must learn to associate the discipline (i.e. bad experience) to the act of attacking your feet so it learns not to do it again. Discipline takes time and must be done repeatedly until eventually the behavior will change.
While you may be averse to the idea of a squirt gun, it really is effective at curbing this kind of behavior. Another option is to suddenly introduce an unpleasant noise (like clapping or noises emitted from handheld devices). The important thing to keep in mind is that the cat should not know that it is YOU who is causing the unpleasant elements. If it does, the behavior will likely continue. Your cat instead needs to associate the water or noise itself with the act of attacking your feet, thus curbing the behavior.
2006-08-16 16:55:54 · answer #1 · answered by JordanP 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A lot of cats give "love bites" when you've been petting them for a while. Sometimes it means they don't want to be petted any more. My cat does this from time to time, so long as I don't pull away or react badly, he stops. I think this is what your cat is doing. Just stop entirely and calmly disengage your hand from her mouth.
As for playing with your feet at night, she might grow out of it. My cat did that when he was young, but he would get kicked (not on purpose, of course, it's just a natural reflex when my foot is being attacked in the middle of the night). The kicking did make him stop. Not that I'm recommending this, mind you. In the mean time, maybe put another blanket by your feet so it doesn't hurt.
Do you feed her in the morning? She might be trying to tell you it's time for breakfast. If so, you could try leaving out dry food at night.
2006-08-16 22:40:24 · answer #2 · answered by kris 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
OK, I had a problem with my cat waking me too early (not biting my legs, but running over me - across the room, passing across the bed) - I got rid of that behaviour by making him play with me for a while (up to an hour) when he falls asleep earlier than me - cats love to play, and when I get him tired in the evening (he plays fetch, that way he gets tired and I don't) he sleeps soundly. The thing is, night time is the cat's hunting time, so unless you do something about it, they are wake up in the middle of the night and become active.
What I have found very successful in dealing with my cat (like when I try to pet him and he tries to playfully bite me) is hissing at him. You know, like when a cat is hissing at an enemy. Just be consistent. Also, a spraying bottle is waaaaay better than slapping your cat - more effective both in terms of being unpleasant without being painful, and in terms of learning behaviour that must be consistent with and without your presence. I strongly recommend using a spraying bottle instead of slapping, in case of consistent misbehaviour. Also, loud noises (like clapping your hands loudly) may startle you cat away from what you don't want her to do.
2006-08-17 01:48:57 · answer #3 · answered by AlphaOne_ 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We have a kitten that does this too, I think she just wants to play and doesn't realize why we don't too. Last night I kept a soft little ball (I got it from Petsmart, its like a foam type material, makes no noise) and when she started playing with me I showed it to her and it distracted her and she played with it instead. You just have to remember to grab it and put it near the bed before you go to sleep and hopefully it will work. If not try feeding her, maybe that will work, but the other way you don't have to get up so I like it better.
2006-08-16 22:21:30 · answer #4 · answered by Allison R 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I gave a thumbs up to Alison's post. In my experience with cats balls roll too much and soon are out of the cat's reach or stop moving against a wall.
At least try to get a "ball" that doesn't roll so much. A fabric one wouldn't be so mobile.
2006-08-16 22:33:08 · answer #5 · answered by old cat lady 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have 2 cat's. Both are neutered. My youngest does the same to me regarding your feet. What is happening is the cat is humping you. My answer for all of your question's is this: take her by the back of the neck, tap her nose several times while you are repeating "NO, BAD". Do this every time your cat does something bad and eventually she will stop. Trust me please it works like a charm.
2006-08-17 00:52:23 · answer #6 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Spray bottle is the best suggestion. She's playing with you...you just need to break her habit for a couple of mornings and she'll stop it.
2006-08-16 22:16:35 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
well she attacks ur feet cuz she wanna play just deal with it my cat did this til' he was 2years old
2006-08-16 22:26:54 · answer #8 · answered by tavomanomusu 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe this will help with some info
http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/kitten-play.pdf
2006-08-16 22:21:59 · answer #9 · answered by trusport 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
hey that reminds me of my cat. but i forgot why he did that. she might want to play with you.
2006-08-16 22:30:47 · answer #10 · answered by Female 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋