biting

kittykratz

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Jack is my 4 year old tuxedo cat. He sleeps by my head on my pillow. During the night, he will wake me up with little whimpers. When I wake up and hear him, I automatically pet him, so as not to wake my husband. He has trained me well. He will start purring very loudly and then all of a sudden clamp onto my hand as hard as he can (all the while purring like he is having the best time). I actually have scratches that bleed because I try to pull my hand away and he just catches it with his teeth. I thought this was a sign that he wanted me to stop petting him, but when I do, he starts crying for more pets. Can someone please tell me why he is doing this and how I can prevent this behavior?
 

hell603

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He is playing!!!! You will have to teach him to be gentler or not do it at all.... He sounds just like my little one. I tought him with startling ouch sounds - he then realized that that was not wanted behavior and he is now very gentle.
 
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kittykratz

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Thanks for the information. It sheds a little more light on the subject. I'm still confused why he purrs so much while he is biting me. Does anyone think he wants to be fed? He has dry cereal available all the time.
 

sandie

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Not usually the case. If they are on a feeding routine then they wont expect it in the middle of the night. Cats purr for 2 reasons usually. Either they are content or they are trying to soothe themselves. It sounds to me like he is trying to initiate playtime. Some cats or more night owl's than others. You might want to try getting a real good play session going before bed to tire him out. If he keeps it up during the night, just pick him up and put him on the floor. Eventually he might get the idea that playtime is not in the middle of the night.
 

rene

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Some cats get overstimulated when they are being pet and loved - it is actually an obsessive/compulsive syndrome that you can read about in the book "The Cat who Cried for Help." Try petting him for a limited time and then putting him on the floor - it is hard at night because you cannot see his face to figure out when he is going to bite. There are many ways to work on this as your get really does love you. He may not be able to help himself.
 

deb25

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My Squirt does this same thing, but only when he is petted on his belly. The more I read of this thread, the more sense it makes. He could very well be overstimulated, because it takes a lot of guts to expose the underside to begin with. You guys are a wealth of information.
 

sunrise

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My Zoe had the "pet and bite" type of aggression. We discovered (the hard way) that she didn't like to be stroked gently. We tried so many times to cuddle with her on the couch, pet her and rub her belly, thinking that was what cats liked, but she'd always bite.

One night we discovered that she LOVES to be scratched roughly on her back and head. My cousin had her in his lap and was massaging her quite hard. Her eyes literally rolled back in head!

Now she actually lies on her belly with her legs spread out, meowing loudly when I get home in anticpation of a good, rough scratch. It's so funny.

She still hasn't completely stopped her biting, but I've realized that she usually only does it now when she wants to play. I just grab her favourite toy (a shoelace) and tire her out. She can't bite if she's sleeping!
 
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kittykratz

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My cat, Smitty, really goes for the rough pets as well. It's amazing how they can somehow communicate exactly what they want. If only people were the same
 
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