Non agressive Biting- what does it mean?

[rotobay]

I took in a stray cat several months ago, and she does something that I've never seen a cat do before: she bites. Not aggressively at all. Here are a few examples:

-I'll let her inside and she'll bite my ankle. Not hard and she doesn't break the skin, but she does it gently and leaves little teeth marks. It's almost like a greeting.

-I'll be holding her and petting her, then she'll lean over and bite my arm.

-I'll be standing in the kitchen, cooking or something, and she'll come over and bite my leg.

-Right after I got her spayed, she was recuperating on her little bed and I was petting her....she grabbed my hand with her paw and bit my wrist.

I've had cats before and none of them have ever done this. Does anyone know what it means? I am not looking for ways to stop the behavior...I think it's cute. But I'm very curious....what is she saying to me?

She does occasionally bite other family members, but mostly she bites me. I am her primary caretaker (I am usually the one who feeds her, brushes her, takes her to the vet, etc). SO does anyone know what this means?

 

[taterbug]

It means she loves you!!!

She's giving you love bites like she would her kittens.

 

[rotobay]

Originally Posted by taterbug

It means she loves you!!!

She's giving you love bites like she would her kittens.

Oooohhhhhh, I am so flattered!!

Is this more common with strays....or is it more common with mama cats? All my previous cats were fixed and never reproduced. They were also indoor cats. This one was a stray and also had kittens before she was spayed.

I hope her biting doesn't stop, now that she is fixed. I find it very endearing, especially now that I know it's done out of love.

 

[wendyr]

This is one way cats communicate. I have only come across it with strays/ferals, so I am not sure if other cats do it as well (my husband claims that our cats were never taught proper manners...). Our kittens were feral ones we took in off the street, and as soon as they let us touch them, they were doing this! Sometimes it is a bit more like 'stop it -you're bothering me!' but most of the time it is just a little love bite.

Our kittens definitely do it less now than they used to - they were all fixed in the past two months, so maybe that has something to do with it - but they still do it occasionally!

 

[frootloop]

Sass is a few years old and was spayed when she was young, I do believe. I don't think she ever had kittens... but I'm not sure (she's my roommate's cat). She gives me love bites every now and then too

 

[zoethor2]

Yup -- I think this is a stray/feral/rescue thing -- I'd never seen it before in my life but Ms Friskers does it all the time. I've mostly tried to dissuade her from doing it, since it freaks out my roomie and guests, but yeah -- she just means it as a little love snuggle... with teeth.

 

[missymotus]

My 3 all give love bites, they were not strays and all fixed before I got them.

 

[cc12]

Mary gives me love bites. She bites my chin, my nose, my ear. We have long cuddle sessions and she was a stray before being rescued at 10 months old. I think she may have had a litter before being rescued. The last three cats I have had have all come in as kittens and she grooms them and treats them like a mother would.
I am the most bonded to her so she does it only to me.

 

[callista]

Tiny does that to me too. However, he can also bite while playing... so I do try to discourage or deflect the biting to a toy.

 

[rebochan]

Both of my cats give love bites. Then they give "ATTACK THE HAND!" bites

That's when I tell no, and ignore them. It's easy to tell the difference though because the "attack" bites are always accompanied by the dreaded rabbit kicking.

For what it's worth, Carter is a bottle baby and we don't know about Lorelei's history. Lorelei's very maternal anyway.

 

[emmylou]

In those circumstances when you were petting her and she bit, she was either overstimulated/overexcited by petting or didn't want to be petted at that moment. Fortunately, she's biting gently, because she's just trying to get a message across and is relatively docile and well-mannered.

But I'd keep an eye out and try not to pet her to that point. When you see a cat's tail start swishing back and forth rapidly, she's had enough and it's time to stop.

If you don't pay attention to the early, gentle bites, there's a chance that she may escalate to harder biting. If you respect the gentle warnings, you should both get along fine.

 

[az<3me]

mine likes biting too

 

[maddox's mom]

Maddox will occasionally grab my hand and softly bite it, but it kinda hurts. I'm confused on what this means

. He loves his mommy, though

 

[lprdgrl]

I've had a few cats in my life give these love bites - both former ferals, strays, and one that was born tame in our backyard. My two former feral neutered males (Sandy and Winky) give love nips - one softer than the other. A neighborhood stray (Brillo) is a big love nipper - but he's so BIG that he often breaks skin! My neutered male that was born tame in our backyard (Squeeky - my childhood cat) would only give me nips - bite down and slowly let go, all while maintaining eye contact. Hmmmm, I just noticed all my love nippers have been male, and did the behavior both pre and post neuter. Like the others have said, your baby just loves you!!!

 

[laureen227]

my Chip is a 'love nipper'. he'll be lying in my lap, all contented & purring... then reach up & bite [or try to bite] my jaw! if i move my head away, he tries to follow, too.

 

[strange_wings]

My Tomas is a biter too. I found him in the backyard at 10 weeks old, he was not feral - far from it, he was a snuggly needy baby.

I don't need to pet him, I don't even need to be awake... He'll come up to me in bed and bite my arm, hand, chin,...elbow. He knows better, I tell him no, I blow in his face, I pry his mouth off me, and have even bit him back before. It's actually more of a sharp pinch then it is a bite - I hate it..
This morning he jumped up beside me in bed and licked my elbow, I told him "You better not bite my elbow". Ears went back, eyes closed, and he chomped down - I pushed him off the bed.

He'll bite DH's fingers and toes (

), too.
Oh, and he's still a needy snuggly baby - I thought they were supposed to outgrow this?

 

[kat89447]

Congrats, you are his official human. That is cat love in the highest order. I have only ever seen it in feral/rescue cats. If you notice, kittens and their mamas will do this for play and cuddle. Very hard habit to break. I have a 10 month old male feral/rescue I have had since he was about 6 wks old, and he started this behavior about 3 mos. ago. For medical reasons I have had to put off his getting fixed and it seems (in his case) that it may be part of his hormones reacting a little. He will sit and chew on my fingers when he's in my lap. I usually stick my finger down his throat to make him gag a little and he will stop for a day or two. Dramatic yes, but have cured cats before this way. Don't ever let a cat get away with it, always reprimand them, it can get out of control quickly.

 

[kit e cat]

I have a few cats who do this. Olivia will lay on the couch beside me and bite my arm. Captain will follow me around the kitchen and lick my feet, then bite, then lick some more, then bite. None are aggressive and I don't reprimand them for it.

 

[dusty's mom]

Dusty does this only when she is hungry and wants her Fancy Feast NOW! She was also a stray. She's very affectionate, and gives me kitty kisses all the time by rubbing her forehead against my lips. It is sooooo sweet!

 

[wendyr]

Both Paddington and Conor are love-biters - and yes, they are former ferals (one male, one female). I have been watching them for the past few days as far as the biting goes, and it is interesting. Conor (our girl) is definitely the dominant cat in the house and she has taken on a very maternal role around her brothers (we also have Steve). She uses the bites on them to show affection and to exert control over them. Paddington has a tendency to get a bit too excited when dinner time is approaching, and if he is getting out-of-control, Conor will take him by the neck and give him a nip on the ear, followed by some grooming - to tell him to stop, but to show she loves him. It is adorable.

She bites me in a few circumstances - we try not to endorse it, but I understand that this is how she communicates with us on certain instances. She bites to show affection - usually on my nose and this usually happens right before feeding. She bits to tell us to stop petting her - just a gentle little nip. Finally, she bits us when she wants a bit of a play - again, this is how she communicates such things to her brothers so obviously she is doing the same thing to us. It is interesting. I have never had cats before (only dogs), so I am fascinated by the ways they communicate!