Why is my cat viciously biting?

Question

My cat has become very aggressive in the last month. We got him at 3months old. He is now 8months old. We use to be able to touch him, pet him and pick him up. He is fixed and is up-to-date with all his shots. Now we cannot even come near him without him jumping out and attacking. He bites and sinks his teeth in to you and will not let go. We thought that maybe it was the heat, but now that is cooler outside he is still attacking. He does not hiss or make any noises. He does not go outside. He is only home for maybe 8hrs a day. The apartment we live in is a lot bigger than the apartment we had when we first got him. He is allowed to roam around and has access to everyroom.

I just need some advice as to how to rid him from biting or what could be causing his behavior. We have tried time-out, distracting him and we play with him all the time. He randomly attacks us for no reason. He has drawn blood many times with his teeth. He never uses his claws to attack, just teeth!

Answer 1

Sounds like a kitten thing. Even though you say it just started, it is something young cats do. It must go back to their wilder days when they had to play attack to learn how to hunt prey.
You need to stop the behavior. I had a Bengal cat that attached viciously until he was over a year old. After he realized that his actions were unacceptable he became an almost perfect cat.
When your kitten attacks you, whether while you are playing with him or unprovoked, you need to give him a stern NO! There is no need to hit an animal - a simple stern voice lets them know you mean business. You can also offer a toy when he does this - he may be bored.
You say you play with him all the time. You may be inadvertently causing the behavior yourself. Kittens and/or puppies can become over-excited during play. They don't know how to deal with their emotions yet and can end up biting harder than then intended.
You mentioned a new apartment. It ,may be he is afraid in his new and larger surroundings.
If he is attacking with no provocation it may be genetics. Where did you get your kitten? What kind of parents did this kitten have?
I'm sorry to say there is probably no simple fix to your problem. You will have to try to fix it unfortunately through trial and error. I hope you love him enough to work with him to give him a chance to become the loving pet you want.
I just reread your question and something else grabbed my attention. How long after you had your kitten neutered did he start this biting behavior? It very well may be a problem with the surgery and he may be in pain. You may want to have your vet recheck the incision. Stranger things have happened.

Answer 2

I adopted a cat that was a couple years old last year and she was doing the same thing. She is the most affectionate, cuddly cat I've ever had in my life but every once in awhile, she would all of a sudden bite and she'd bite hard enough to draw blood. I have no idea how the people who had her before treated her so I'm just guessing that's where her behavior is coming from...... that someone didn't treat her too well. I've calmed her down a lot and she barely does it anymore. All I do when she bites is just back off for a sec until I know she's done and then just start petting her again and she goes back to purring and being sweet. I don't think that cats are like dogs where what I'm doing and petting her after she bites is reinforcing her behavior. I just don't think cats even think like that. I also kind of figured that maybe if she was mistreated before, she just needed to see a lot of affection and love. Anyway, it's worked with her and she pretty much stopped doing it.

One thing I would definitely do, though, is take him to the vet and make sure there is nothing wrong. His being in pain or sick could be causing your cat to act that way. Good luck!

Answer 3

You mentioned that you moved. He might not be happy about that. Cats are creatures of habit.

There is a plug-in product that you can purchase at pet stores which releases calming pheromones which seems to work well with cats who are unhappy about a new change (a move, a new family member, etc.), so you might try that.

Make sure no one in your household is accidentally reinforcing the biting behavior with rough-hand-play (and those glove/mitten toys are terrible inventions!) Gentle mouths only. If he does bite when playing with you, the fun ends immediately. Rather than getting mad, tell him, with disappointment in your voice, that he really hurt you, pack up his toys and leave the room.

I'd also take him to the vet to rule out an internal medical problem that might be making him grumpy.

Answer 4

This is dangerous for you and your cat. Either he IS aggressive and is stressing out for some reason (though it doesn't sound like it) or he doesn't think it hurts you.

Bitter apple on your hands will discourage this. Or on any part of your skin he decides to grab at. It tastes like the inside of a banana peel (awful) but it's harmless. If you taste bad to him, he won't continue biting. Get some, put it on your hands, then reach for him. You want him to get this in his mouth by his own actions. He'll be less likely to grab a second time, but test him again. Each time he needs to go for the area you've put the Bitter Apple on, to be consistent, which means you're going to have to not flinch and let him give it a try.

Answer 5

i'm sorry appropriate to the relatively immature solutions. I even have grown up with cats yet on no account had this ensue so i've got not got any descent suggestion. My cat has bit and clawed my hand some cases while i'm fidgeting along with her yet not something as extreme as you have defined. It sounds like your cat is having undesirable PMS so perhaps Alyssa E hit it on the nail suggesting she would have a hormone imbalance. wish you get issues labored out.

Answer 6

Unprovoked cat aggression is serious and almost impossible to solve, unfortunately, once it becomes a habit. Once it becomes a habit, it is extremely hard to break. It is important to start trying to break it right away right away - one lady relinquished a cat to our humane society last year for euthansia because it had severely attacked her unprovoked several times. it couldn't be readopted, so there were no choices for that cat. Here are a couple good sites on the subject. I hope they help.

Answer 7

Cats are very territorial,and do not like change.(like two nickels and a dime) just kidding.They have to spend all this time remarking the territory,and if there was a cat living there before him,then it's like treason.Did the cat not want to walk on the carpet when you first moved in?Don't play with him,let him/her come to you,and then let it know your the boss.

Answer 8

He could be mad at you for the move...It might take a while to get him acclimated. More then likely though there is something wrong with him....could be as simple as an ear ache, tooth ache,etc. I would bring him in for a physical and get everything checked. Cats can't speak so they find other way's to inform us of their discomfort...Please keep us updated...Good luck!!

Dahrma

Answer 9

You probably used your hand to play with him when he was young and a kitten nipping on your finger doesn't hurt, but now that he has teeth...this is why you should NEVER use your hand as a toy to a cat or wrestle with a kitten. They will see your hand as a toy.

Answer 10

Maybe he's just playing. They sometimes get aggresive when they play, and they don't look like they're playing, they look serious. And since he is only 8 months old, I wouldn't think he is showing real anger. Good luck.