8 month old cat biting in retaliation - what do I do and how do I stop this?

[Meralake]

My cat has gone from super sweet to super sweet interspersed with instances several times a day when she just has to bite my hands in retaliation for something she's percieved as wrong on my end. Until today she's never broken skin, though there would be indents briefly, and always welts left behind for a day or so. Even though today she broke the skin, it was from one tooth, it didn't draw blood, just leaking a clear liquid and it just stings a bit, so it could be because I pulled my hand away, so even though she's biting, she's still being careful with me. I just need to figure out how to stop this behavior.

For the most part I can figure out what might have sparked it, such as she now hates being picked up, so if I do, she'll bite my hands. It used to be I could pick her up no problem, then gradually it became a problem and I'd read her cues where she'd swish her tail angrily, so I'd immediately put her down. (I do not pick her up all that often, especially anymore, and I hold her properly.) Then it started that after I put her down (again, very quickly but I don't dump her) she'd bite my hands and if I kept moving my hands away or walked away, she'd go after me until she got a few bites in. She'd even keep jumping up to my hands get her bites in. If I pick her up, she now bites with no warnings, no tail twitching, no ears laid back, she just bites sometimes immediately, sometimes after a minute. So, I try not to pick her up, but there are times when I have to, such as she's trying to run out the door (she's strictly indoors and I live in high density area, in a condo, so she absolutely cannot go outside), or when she's in the fridge and I need to close it.

Yesterday, I was sitting on the couch and she came and sat on my lap (which is also very rare, so I try to do exactly only what she wants). I pet her a bit, and she always has liked that, always. But yesterday she suddenly got that look in her eyes, her tail started going from side to side full on, and so I immediately stopped petting her, but she attacked my hands and kept at it in a more intense way than I've seen her.

She'll bite when I brush her and she'll bite when I clip her claws. The brushing I will limit it to once a week or so and only a few strokes at a time and stop as soon as I see any signs. But that's becoming almost immediate now. I need to brush her and I absolutely need to clip her claws, both for her sake (carpet snags when we play) and mine. She still sometimes likes to climb up my leg and she'll also run and jump up my back, so she must have her claws trimmed. She used to tolerate claw trimming, but I'm lucky if I get one clipped before she's biting.

It's gone from no biting, to maybe once a week, to now several times a day. And she goes crazy if she can't get her bites in. If she doesn't get skin and gets my clothes instead, she'll bite that harder and shake it, but still keep going until she gets my skin and gets several bits int. And it also seems like she goes straight into biting now, without giving me any warnings with her tail, ears or eyes.

How do I stop this???

For quite a while I've tried doing high pitched yelps and hissing at her, but those have no affect now, and had very little affect from the beggining.

Today she was really going at my hands when I tried to clip her claws and it seemed a whole new level, so I clapped my hands really loudly and said no sharply. It stopped her but I think it scared her more and that's not super effective, right? I just needed to stop her biting so tried that, but I don't know that was the best way to handle it.

 

[Mr. Meow]

Does she have any toys specifically for chewing?
You can try to find toys that are meant to be chewed and when you feel a bite coming on, redirect that impulse into a proper outlet. Kick sticks are another good option. It might not have been mentioned, buy it almost sounds like she only has 1 outlet for biting, and it's you. Try to have other items (not meant for chewing/biting) nearby as well.
Being 8 months old is just like being in the terrible twos of a toddler. Lots of energy, still pushing the boundaries of "what can I get away with?" and still learning what's appropriate. One other simple thought...the dreaded spray bottle! A mist of water makes a good deterrent for bad behavior, while being completely safe and harmless to the kitty.

 

[ArtNJ]

Loud no and clapping your hands are normal training methods, nothing wrong with that. I'm a bit worried your cat may start ignoring them given the history, but if you make them loud enough to be slightly startling it may get the job done.

I think what is happened is your cat thinks its training you, and has decided it works. So you need to make sure to discourage the behavior quite firmly and not give in. All of that said, you could probably avoid at least some of these battles. Foot stomps and alertness will absolutely gain you the space you need at the door, and your cat should jump off the fridge if you clap your hands loudly or slap the fridge.

 

[Meralake]

I do have plenty of toys she can chew on, and kickers as well. Maybe she's bored with them and I need to get her new ones. I have always redirected her biting/kicking during play, so that's a good option. It's just that this does not seem to be anywhere near play, so I'm viewing it as different, but maybe to her it's not. I will be more on top of that, thank you for your response!!

I've read differing opinions about the water bottle, that it breaks the cat's trust and she'll be more leery around me? She definitely doesn't like water, so I can see it being effective for sure.

 

[Mr. Meow]

Numerous cats here over the years, 5 right now, all trained with the spray bottle and no issues.
IF you decide to go this route, set it to mist, not spray, and don't go for the face. For me, it's reached the point where I only have to shake the spray bottle and have the water make noise and they stop what they're doing

 

[ArtNJ]

Personally, I don't like redirection to a toy, as that could be seen as a reward and reinforce the behavior.

I wouldn't use the water bottle, as it never seems to work if you have to run for it. And if you have it near you when you try to cut nails? That would be a disaster. It could work or the front door I suppose. I see it as something that really only works if you are trying to defend a specific area, like a kitchen counter. You keep the bottle right there, and they will learn quick, if they are cats that dont like water.

 

[Meralake]

Loud no and clapping your hands are normal training methods, nothing wrong with that. I'm a bit worried your cat may start ignoring them given the history, but if you make them loud enough to be slightly startling it may get the job done.

I think what is happened is your cat thinks its training you, and has decided it works. So you need to make sure to discourage the behavior quite firmly and not give in. All of that said, you could probably avoid at least some of these battles. Foot stomps and alertness will absolutely gain you the space you need at the door, and your cat should jump off the fridge if you clap your hands loudly or slap the fridge.

Good to hear clapping is good! But you are possibly right that my cat might start ignoring that. Because at the door I've tried foot stomping, kicking the door, dropping keys loudly, ringing the doorbell like crazy (she hated it at first), distracting her with treats and NONE of them work to get her away from the door when I come in. The only thing that works when I'm leaving is to give her a couple of treats. It doesn't work in reverse. I'm lucky she's not trying super hard to get away right now.

I'm pretty sure you're right about her training me. :/ Just not quite sure how to win a biting battle. I've been insistent that biting won't stop me from trimming her claws, etc, hissing like crazy when she bites at any time, but the pressure of the bites just get worse and she gets more riled up. I'm worried she'll get to the point she thinks she has to really bite me hard and break skin, and then that's her new level of how to deal with me. I will try clapping my hands more and slapping the fridge to get her out of it.

Thank you for your advice!!

 

[Meralake]

Numerous cats here over the years, 5 right now, all trained with the spray bottle and no issues.
IF you decide to go this route, set it to mist, not spray, and don't go for the face. For me, it's reached the point where I only have to shake the spray bottle and have the water make noise and they stop what they're doing

That gives me peace of mind, thank you! Good points about mist and not the face. I'm going to definitely try this. Biting is unacceptable.
But ArtNJ also brings up a point that using water or something like that will definitely make her think that trimming claws is a bad bad bad thing, and what I'm trying to avoid.

Ugh I don't know what to do.

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

Some where while growing up, your cat picked up this bad behavior and now thinks it is okay to act this way towards you . If this were hard "love bites" the exaggerate cries you make would have gotten her to stop. You indicated that she does this in retaliation. However, you need to rule out first, if there is any possibility that your kitty might have a health issue. Sometimes this aggressive behavior stems from an underlying health issues. So that is why I mentioned it.

If a health issue is absolutely not the cause than you need to start dealing with her behavior. Was you kitty rescued from the streets? Maybe she wasn't fully socialized and that is why this wild kitty behavior manifests. What you perceive as a retaliation, maybe it is her seeing your interaction with her as a threat. You need to respect her terms right now until you can work on reforming her bad behavior. I will attach some articles below to help you.

Perhaps to calm her down, you can use some pheromone spray and give her her space. Be more intune to what is it she may need. Maybe she is not a cat who likes to be handled much. Maybe she likes her space and doesn't like too much intrusion. I adopted a rescue kitty who was like that and if I didn't respect his boundaries he would bite me and use his back paws to scratch me up. There are behaviors we can work to improve in our cats and then there is the personality of the cat. We can't force them to be something they are not (e.g become a lap kitty when they are not cuddlers). I had to accept my kitty for who he is, while work on some of his bad behaviors. In the end, I came to understand my kitty better and know what triggered him. Some of his behavior did improve thankfully.

Here are some of the articles as mentioned.

Why Does My Cat Bite Me for No Reason? - Senior Cat Wellness

Cats never bite without reason. Sometimes their reason is a misunderstanding, anxiety, or an instinct they can’t ignore. However, it’s never ‘just because,’ even if you’re dealing with a kitten. By paying attention to the ... Read more

www.seniorcatwellness.com

Cat Discipline - How Do You Stop Your Cat's Bad Behavior?

Cat discipline tips and advice that your cat will understand without violence. Find out how to stop bad cat behavior.

www.our-happy-cat.com

I hope it helps you out.

 

[game misconduct]

is she getting enough play time?kinda seems like she is trying to play rough with you. it took me years to teach graycie thats unacceptable behavior.could also be she thinks your scared of her now and can be bullied by her (your lower on the pecking order)sorry i know my post is not to helpful when graycie used to act out that way my solution was to just pin her to against the ground or my body while telling her no biting until she mews she still bites but its not hard i tell her not so hard and she lets go its a work in progress always but she is the perfect companion while reading online or being a couch potatoe

 

[Meralake]

game misconduct I feel like I play with her a lot, but maybe it isn't. It's not as much as I used to when I first got her, partly because she doesn't seem to want to play as much (though still a lot). Used to be I could tell what was her rough housing and but I'm not so sure about this. Once she gets a few bites in on my skin, she stops and goes away. Usually when she was rough housing she'd kick, too. She doesn't with this.
I will try to play with her more and see what that does. Won't hurt to try this! Any other ideas on how to change her view about the pecking order? Since this started that was kind of my take on it, but I know there's no way to tell for sure, right?

 

[Meralake]

Whenallhellbreakslose

Grr, the internet ate my original reply it looks like, so apologies if this shows up twice. I clicked post and it asked me to log back in, so it must have ate it then.

I will talk to my vet about this and see what tests they can do, etc, thanks for that idea! She acts normal otherwise, so not sure, but would help rule things out.

She is a rescue, I got her from the Humane Society when she was 9 weeks old. She was fostered at least by week 5. The Humane Society told me they didn't know much about her history, though I know she was fostered with her siblings at least. So yes, there could be something there because of that, and also I agree it's probably something I'm doing. Though, in my brain (and I know she might see things differently) I'm not doing anything different from since when I got her. I've clipped her claws and brushed her pretty much from the beginning. Only now it's becoming a problem for her, so that's confusing me.

When she was a younger kitten, she loved being held and being on my lap. She hasn't liked that since about the first month, so I usually let her come to me on her own terms. She sleeps almost every night on my legs, for most of the entire night, and almost every morning I wake up to her sleeping on my chest (including last night and this morning). I never try to have her sit on my lap, only if she wants, and almost never hold her. So I feel like the only thing I'm really bucking when it comes to what she wants, is the brushing and the clipping. Clipping has to happen. Just trying to figure out how to have her let me clip her claws without biting, but also not make this an even worse experience for her that she'll never let me clip her claws. I can sometimes not rile her too much by waiting until she's asleep, petting her gently until she starts to purr and move her head so I scratch the places she wants, then I'll clip as many claws as I can until I get a sign she's irritated. I managed two claws just now until she twitched her tail as a warning and I immediately stopped, went back to petting and gave her a treat (I only ever try once a day, so it stopped there). Sometimes I can manage one whole paw before she gets upset. It's when she goes straight to biting it's an issue.

I do work from home, have since I got her, and I live in a smallish condo, so maybe I'm home too much.

Thanks for your response and the tips. I will try to watch my behavior more and see what else might be triggering her.

 

[Meralake]

Whenallhellbreakslose

Forgot to mention, thank you for linking those articles, I am reading them now!! (is there no way to edit a post?)

 

[Whenallhellbreakslose]

Whenallhellbreakslose

Forgot to mention, thank you for linking those articles, I am reading them now!! (is there no way to edit a post?)

I think because you are very new to this site, you don't have much access to the edit button, otherwise members are given up to 120 minutes from time of post to edit. The edit button is those three dots between the Flag and Purraise button, you need to click on it then select edit and then you can go into your post/reply and edit. Just hit Post Reply once you are done.

 

[game misconduct]

game misconduct I feel like I play with her a lot, but maybe it isn't. It's not as much as I used to when I first got her, partly because she doesn't seem to want to play as much (though still a lot). Used to be I could tell what was her rough housing and but I'm not so sure about this. Once she gets a few bites in on my skin, she stops and goes away. Usually when she was rough housing she'd kick, too. She doesn't with this.
I will try to play with her more and see what that does. Won't hurt to try this! Any other ideas on how to change her view about the pecking order? Since this started that was kind of my take on it, but I know there's no way to tell for sure, right?

hopefully others with better knowledge experience reply soon i am fairly certain the way i did things wasnt the best way .i basicly never showed fear of her from day one and she wasnt friendly at all the day i met and adopted her .she did bring a toy up to the window right up to me in the cages pet smart keeps their cats in but first thing she did was growl at me when i held her our first meeting. the ignore get up and walk away can work also just remember patience is key dont give up it could just be she is trying to tell you somthing. could be a health issue cats are crazy how they try to communicate with us

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

I have an 8-month old who's also gotten a little more "bitey" recently. My kitty has been sick recently, so I think that's maybe part of it. Sometimes it does seem retaliatory, for example when I don't give her food she wants or I take away something she's gotten into (e.g., plastic bag). Mostly I respond by hissing and then walking away, including into my bedroom where she's not allowed. She's pretty attached to me, so that might be working.

That technique wouldn't work for nail clipping, I suppose, because it would give her what she wants. I admit though, I could never clip kitty's paws unless she was sleepy or asleep. She would bite me, and not in retaliation but just to make it stop; she is very squirmy, as confirmed by multiple vets. I clip a nail here or there every couple days while she's napping or nearly napping, and she barely notices. I did, though, start touching her paws during nap time early on, so she would get used to it.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

My first thought was to wonder if she may be in pain. That can certainly cause a normally loving cat to bite, when you hit a tender spot, or the stroking gets more and more uncomfortable due to tender spots. I'd have a vet check her, and do warn them of her behavior, just to make sure that this isn't an issue, then go on to the very good advice you have been given.

This is what I do know...when a normally loving, sweet cat starts biting, there is always a reason. Finding that reason can be an issue, but it is there.

 

[Tagrendy]

Obviously she has gotten the idea that your hands are really fun! What you do is buy gloves that vets have, wear them, and let her bite you. And as she is biting you react in 0 way - no movement, no sound. Slowly you'll feel very shitty as you see how your excited cat gets sad. You've taken her favorite toy away. And you gotta do it over and over again for many days. But don't sweat! Where universe takes, universe gives back! Buy her a feathery shiny chase toy and use that to distract and play with her. She will learn that hand equals boredom, toy equals joy. Interactivity is the key.

Sorry for the dramatic post. I am sleepy.