Biting - Chomps on my Wrist

[dianamc]

Dandy, who is now 7 mos. old, has always been "mouthy."  I've gotten wary of her licking around my face because you never know when she's going to nip me on the chin.  Now when she starts that, I move her away. 

I thought the biting was a little better but I'm about at my wit's end.  Last night she'd been fed (so she wasn't hungry) and she jumped up in my lap and had been purring and suddenly just chomped down on my left wrist.  This has become something of a pattern.  I've begun to say "No" and pull her back by her scruff.  Sometimes it works but she attacked again last night and I just dumped her on the floor.  Afterward I wished I'd put her in "timeout." It was late and I was tired. 

She's still shaking and scratching her ears although the vet (we didn't like her) looked in them with the otoscope and said there were no mites. 

Any more guidance on the biting would be appreciated.  Needless to say, this was not the kitten I had in mind.

 

[di and bob]

Are you petting her when it happens? Some cats have a low stimulation threshold and you should watch for a whipping tail or dilated pupils, and then stop all contact. She's still a kitten and it may be that she is playing with you (believe me, if she's not ripping out chunks of your arm she's not serious) and was not properly socialized by her mom. Grabbing her by the ruff and telling her 'no' is the right thing to do, as is totally ignoring her until she behaves.  I've found that just saying 'NO' very loudly and leaving seems to work well, she has to know what she is doing is wrong. You could try 'hissing' at her loudly like her mom would do, (probably not in front of any company 

  ) But you have to do it EVERY time for it to be effective, no more allowing her to bite 'in fun' while she is playing. I feel that she will eventually outgrow it, if she is not a low stimulation threshold cat, in that case you will learn how much petting she can take before she doesn't like to be touched anymore. Good luck and keep us posted! PS, as for the ears, she could have an inner ear infection and may be in pain, that could be another explanation for her not wanting to be touched, keep an eye on her and call your vet for signs and symptoms of that too.

 

[nocturnal]

I have the  same problem with a kitty that is around that age, she will be turning 6 months soon and boy, does she bite! She was always into biting but it is getting out of hand. Not only does she chomp on my hands/wrists as she keeps at it and has to be literally dragged away. It is partially my fault, at times I just endure the pain because I do not want to be mean to her and can't of course hit her. I've tried hissing, it gives her pause for a couple of seconds, then she is back to biting crazily.

I now grab her by the scruff as soon as she starts biting but at times she will keep on trying to bite regardless.

 

[oneandahalfcats]

Cats can bite when they are feeling over-stimulated through play as Di and Bob suggested, or to get your attention if the biting is happening when you haven't initiated play. If this happens a lot then it may be a sign that Dandy needs to have more outlets for exhausting her energy, such as playing with toys which she can safely nibble on, rather than you. She is still young and her teeth may be bothering her which might explain the mouthy-ness.

In the early morning before being fed, Max will sometimes try and nibble my toes if I have no slippers on. He is hungry in the morning and this is his way of letting me know to get a move on with the food

My tuxedo Thomas will sometimes bite me lightly as a defense mechanism when we play, or when I go to touch his belly. Not always but sometimes if he is really engaged in the play. This is completely normal. We have a thing where he sticks his paw through the open space in the stairway, while I drum my fingers along the wooden panel below. He loves this, but sometimes can get a little carried away in trying to 'catch' my fingers as I move back and forth. Nothing wrong here as I initiated, but it is important to be mindful and not punish cats as biting is an instinctual response when challenged, and play is a form of challenge to them.

Just my two cents here, but I think 'scruffing' should really only be used when the cat has done something really extreme, like is being overly aggressive or involved in a situation of redirected aggression, and you need to diffuse the situation and bring the cat back to a state of calm. Scruffing is something the mother cat does with her kittens and the effect it has should be calming. For biting associated with over-stimulation, the best thing to do is slow down on the play, or redirect their energy to some other stimuli such as a toy.

 

[dianamc]

Thanks for the comments.  I really need to use my living room so I don't want to have to leave .  She is a very "twitchy tail" cat so it's kind of hard to tell by that.  It's not always when I'm petting her either.  Last night just seemed out of the blue but maybe it is some kind of lack of attention thing.  She has toys but it's hard to keep her occupied.

She is also a foot biter.  Yesterday I howled bloody murder when she tried that and she eventually quit. Okay, this is weird but for awhile I was basting my feet with lime and lemon juice and she left them alone.  I got tired of doing that every day and she started up again.  Shoes would be an option, of course. When she's latched onto my wrist, I do consider it serious enough to detach her even if she isn't drawing blood.  She sometimes does gentler nips but this is much more aggressive.  (The hiss never worked.) Occasionally she is very sweet.

(If I have a toy handy, that sometimes works but so often they are across the room and I have a cat stuck on my wrist.)

I think we've asked this vet about the ears at least 3x. I'm thinking maybe it's time to ask somebody else.