Bitey Cat

Allyskits

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I have 3 cats, all very sweet and well behaved but I have one they likes to bite, though maybe bite is a strong word, maybe more like nibble.
It’s not in aggression or playfulness, if I had to guess I’d say it’s impatience, jealousy or boredom. For example when I come home, or out of my room in the morning he twists and turns around my ankles, but if I don’t bend down and give him some pets or if I’m focused on the other kitties, he’ll nib my leg. Same when I’m preparing food, when I prepare food for them he tries to jump up on the counter and after putting him back down on the floor he’ll sit by my ankles and if he thinks I’m not paying enough attention to him or not fast enough he nib at my legs.
And he does it to his siblings too, at least his sister. When I came home after a five day trip the other day, I was giving on of the others some snuggles. (I already snuggled him) he walked up and bit her leg no provocation or anything, she hadn’t seen him coming and out of shock tried to jump away, head butting me resulting in me having a bloody nose!
And sometimes he’ll bite them when they walk past him for no apparent reason other than he’s just bored or something.
They’ve got plenty of toys and I try to spend some time with them every day, on top of that they play with each other all the time, so if it is boredom why is he still bored?
Why is he doing this? And is there some way to make him stop? He’s not biting hard it never even leaves so much as a scratch, so I’m not too worried about it, but it is a bit annoying...
 

rubysmama

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I'm looking at your avatar pic trying to guess which one is the bite-y one. Is it the tuxedo? :catman:

About his biting, how old is he. How long have you had him. How do the other cats react when he bites them?

Sometimes if kittens are taken from their mom and sibling too young (before 12 weeks) they won't learn kitty manners, and can be too bite-y or scratchy. But since he has other cats in the home, I'm surprised they haven't hissed or growled to let him know he's being too rough.

Since it doesn't break the skin, it might be love bites. Here's a TCS article with more info: How To Deal With Cat "love Bites"? | TheCatSite

One thing you can try, is saying "owwww" in a high pitched tone when he bites you, to let him know it hurts.

It doesn't actually sound terribly aggressive, so these might not apply, but here's a couple more TCS articles:

Cat Aggression Toward People | TheCatSite
Why Do Cats Attack? | TheCatSite
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats | TheCatSite
 

di and bob

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It's his way of getting attention. I have had MANY cats and there are always a few that bite like that. They usually are talkative too and may have some Siamese background. As long as it doesn't get worse and more aggressive I wouldn't worry about it. Say OWW, or NOOO! really loud next time and see if that helps.
 
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Allyskits

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I'm looking at your avatar pic trying to guess which one is the bite-y one. Is it the tuxedo? :catman:

About his biting, how old is he. How long have you had him. How do the other cats react when he bites them?

Sometimes if kittens are taken from their mom and sibling too young (before 12 weeks) they won't learn kitty manners, and can be too bite-y or scratchy. But since he has other cats in the home, I'm surprised they haven't hissed or growled to let him know he's being too rough.

Since it doesn't break the skin, it might be love bites. Here's a TCS article with more info: How To Deal With Cat "love Bites"? | TheCatSite

One thing you can try, is saying "owwww" in a high pitched tone when he bites you, to let him know it hurts.

It doesn't actually sound terribly aggressive, so these might not apply, but here's a couple more TCS articles:

Cat Aggression Toward People | TheCatSite
Why Do Cats Attack? | TheCatSite
How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats | TheCatSite
It is the tuxedo, his name is Dobby, and they are from the same litter, born in my bedroom, their mom stayed with them till they were about 12 weeks I think, pretty long anyway, and he’s not being rough really.
It’s just always a little shock when you suddenly feel teeth on your leg but he never chomps down. Anyway they are 1 year and 2 months now and still in that hyped up teen age. They might be love bites, but he definitely seems to be trying to get my attention or that of his siblings. It is a fairly recent development, like maybe 3 months since he started, not sure exactly.
 
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Allyskits

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It's his way of getting attention. I have had MANY cats and there are always a few that bite like that. They usually are talkative too and may have some Siamese background. As long as it doesn't get worse and more aggressive I wouldn't worry about it. Say OWW, or NOOO! really loud next time and see if that helps.
These are my first cats (yup dove right in with three ) so I don’t really have any others to compare them to, they meow when they want my attention, they’re pretty funny, every now and then they knock something down when I’m in a different room, I’ll hear the crash and then kitties running up the stairs and then meowing outside the door where I’m at just to tell me something scary happened .
Siamese background is definitely there, you can see it clearly in his sister (she’s the white and beige one in my avatar) plus we live in Thailand so most cats, especially street cats (their mom was rescued of the street when she was a couple weeks old, and dad is an unknown street cat that she met on a two day adventure when she escaped from my friends house and came back pregnant )
I do try to respond in that fashion but he doesn’t seem fazed...
 

Kitty-Kat Boi

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Well, that could be for a variety of reasons. 1, he is agitated and senses something we don't. Or, on the sister matter, kitty intelligence could be acting out revenge for something you don't know of. Try grouping practices at home, and be careful to give the prince his last so he can learn not to bite, as he gets used to it.
 
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Allyskits

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I knew it! He just had that extra bit of "badness" in his expression. :catlove:



All 3 are spayed/neutered, right?
Yes, the girl (brown one) was neutered first at around 6 months old. because I couldn’t afford to do them all at the same time. The boys were done a few months ago. For Dobby it didn’t really make much of a difference, but it made a huge difference in the black ones behavior. He was howling almost non stop, on top op having mega colon, and his first blood test for spaying came back with some elevated kidney levels, so the vet suggested giving him different food, a month later he was tested again and was approved for the surgery, and ever since he’s been a different kitty, much happier and more playful, and no more howling which means I get good sleep now as well :D
 
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