Help my cat bites me! What can I do?

Question

I have a two year old male cat. Got him when he was three months old. At first I thought his biting was play behaviour or because of this teething, but now I am not so sure anymore.
I tried everyhthing: water shock, lemon, shouting, clapping. My cat still bites me. I give him every love, but although he is pourring he bites when he has enough. He also does not show the affections that cats usually do. His playing behaviour is usually aggressive, and it is possible that he needs a garden ( as he is an indoor cat). Do you know any answers.?Thanks

Answer 1

Shouting and clapping and any other aggressive response won't work. He is male; he is dominant; and he is being dominant. Putting him outside won't help because he doesn't have excess energy. This is his personality. He may well have been socialized to behave this way in the short time he was alive before you got him. It is entirely possible that someone played rough with him when he was a kitten or devilled him, and he just tolerates so much affection before he expects it to turn. Or it may be that weird thing I have read about in some cat care manuals (but never actually experienced) that after a certain amount of stroking, he becomes 'overstimulated' and bites to let you know that he's at the end of his comfort zone, that the stroking is become an irritant. But I think he is just a young guy -- fixed is irrelevant here, males still do the dominance thing, some much more than others.

This is his personality, and because you have tolerated it, he is perfectly comfortable with the behavior. In time, if you are consistent and gentle with him, he will stop or at least the behavior will diminish. But I am talking years here.

You can retrain him, but it will take a little time and effort. Keep a toy handy when you are stroking him. Let him see the toy, but don't let him have it. Instead, stroke him. By now you surely can sense about when he has reached his limit, and when he is there, deflect the blow from you to the toy -- something like one of those feathers on a stick. Let him strike that. If he does get you, go "OOOooowww! Oh, you HURT me!" and act hurt, because in fact, you are hurt. That is the whole point. Biting is not a part of his relationship with you. It hurts you, emotionally more than physicially. Just look at him and let the hurt show on your face. Then stand up and walk away and take the toy with you and put it away.

If/when you manage to deflect the blow, give him the toy. When he takes the toy and does not bit you, give him a treat. You will have to work at this. It won't be immediate, but keep the feather handy when you sit down to be affectionate with him. Or if he loves catnip, get him a really good, high-quality catnip toy (here in the U.S., "El Gato Muy Loco" makes catnip cigars that is the best, best, best, but from your spelling of behavior, I think you might be in the UK), and let him have that. And only use it when you are retraining him. Only when he is affectionate with you and aggressive with the toy does he get catnip. No other time.

You really are dealing with a dominant young male, and he has been training you. I assume he is neutered. If he is not neutered, that would be part of your problem. But neutering doesn't make him less of a guy. As he ages, dominance will become less important to him. But the aggression and the need to define his relationships in relation to his needs is just part of the artillery Nature has given him. And by tolerating it, you have unwittingly encouraged it.

You sound like a gentle person, and patience usually accompanies gentleness. Those are the two traits that will ultimately end this behavior.

Good luck to you.

Answer 2

if he is a house cat he will not know what a garden is, so you can dispel that theory....

I used to have a cat that was hand reared from about 2 weeks old (abandoned) and he was similar. He would be playing with you one minute and then literally attack you the next!

The vet said that it could be because he never really had any other cat influence, namely mother to teach him right from wrong etc. The Vet also mentioned that he could have been from a feral litter.

Perhaps your cat has a similar upbringing. The best things to do is to not excite him too much when playing. Cats do play rough especially with each other, if he does not have a friend to play with you might be it!

Also remember cats have personality, he might not be a loving cat - it does happen.

If the biting is very aggressive and he is drawing blood and hurting you badly try flicking him firmly on the nose when he does it and then ignoring him afterwards. It worked for my cat so I hope it does for you.

Answer 3

I have 2 cats, one is gentle & loves dinner, the other one follows me everywhere but scratches & bites. The trick is to learn how to handle your cat so that you don't do anything he doesn't like e.g: I can't stroke my cat facing forwards (towards her face), only from the side or above, I have to pick her up in a special way also otherwise the claws would be flying. I can't stoke her side of her face for more than 3 seconds or she'll bite. The one who loves dinner knows when it's 7pm (dinnertime) even when I feed them at unusual times before she still knows, if the dinner isn't in the tray by 7pm she lets me know, sometimes she tries to eat me! Honestly she tries to bite my wrist. You just need to learn their personalities.

Answer 4

Maybe he doesn't realize he's been "fixed" Male cats will bite females on the back of the neck during the breeding just to hold the female still. The 'bite' does not break the skin.

Answer 5

If your cat is an indoor type, try putting it outside so it can get fresh air and play around. You can bring it with you when you're shopping, walking, etc.. It might be feeling tense in the house and that's probably why it bites you.

Answer 6

ok firts of all whta do u mean with water shock lemon n all that? u cant try to control ur cat with punishsments theyre not the same as a dog, the only thing it works it loud voice commands, du know if it still works couse its an adult cat. but u can try.. if u hit or do anything harmful to ur cat... to the cat, u'll be the enemy..

Answer 7

My cat did this too. She is still a little agressive but only bites when playing. Although it sounds strange, when she bit me, I bit her back on her ear hard enough to make her meow but not enough to inflict any harm to her. I did this a few times and she eventually stopped.

Answer 8

next time he bites flick him in the head. yes it sounds mean but you got a type of mean cat. you could always get him cut. you know fixed. that takes the drive out of them alot. course then again i had a gf that had the same problem with her cat and she ended up flickin it in the male parts and that cat stopped bitting real quick. just depends on the method and if your sick of being bit. i vote for the flickin of the head but thats my personal method for a moody mean cat.

Answer 9

You could go to a local vet to ask your vet what you should do or you can go to a local pet trainer and have your pet trained. It's not fun when your cat bites. Hope this helps!

Answer 10

i have a 6 yr old female cat that bites me when i yell at the dogs. that's the only time she does this. she's telling me that she doesn't like me yelling at her brothers and sisters. she takes her nip on my arm and then walks away.