Cat bit me

[explodom]

My kitten loves to sit on my lap and sleep but today, it bit me.

It was calmly rubbing its head on my hand when all of a sudden it bit me. My hand was just lying on my lap beside my kitten and for no reason at all ,it bit me. It shows no aggression to me otherwise. Any idea why my kitten bites me?

 

[hellomisslady]

My kitten did this to me primarily when he wasn't done being pet and he wanted more. Or he was being territorial and didn't like things near his face. But you just have to pay attention to body language. For me just getting him neutered and watching for signs he may bite has helped with that.

 

[the3rdname]

If his teeth didn't break the skin, he wasn't trying to hurt you.  Kitties nip us for myriad reasons, and some, like Hellomisslady's kitty, are communicating different things on different occasions.  Sometimes it's "I love you" (my littermates bite each other on the neck to say "I love you" as a preamble to grooming...it's adorbs 

), or it could mean "That's a sensitive spot, please don't touch me there", or "I'm getting overstimulated, so no more grooming right now, 'kay?", or "Keep doing that!", or "Let's play!", or "Yum, your fingers taste like chicken!"   You have to factor in other body language cues to decode what he's trying to say.  

I have a hand licker that will transition to gnawing, at which point I slowly remove my hands and let him calm down.  I have another one that will nip if she's feeling particularly frustrated and wants to let me know my behavior isn't living up to expectations (the diva of the family).  Another will nip if he's in a playful mood and is trying to solicit my participation (I gently remove my hand and give him a toy to bite and wrestle with, then make sure he gets some interactive play in the near future, if not at that moment).  

Pay close attention to his mood when he nips and before long you'll see a pattern.  Then you'll know how to respond 

 

 

[themelyssak]

He may have just been wanting to play. Keep an eye on when he does it again, if he does. If there's a pattern, look more into it. if it's random, he may just be telling you he wants attention.

 

[slykat12]

My kitty bites me all the time during love, or play. It is normal as long as not too rough.

 

[yoohoora]

In time you'll get to know your kitten's body language.  Cats nip sometimes when they're overstimulated, which prolonged petting can do.  Pay attention to his/her tail.  If it's flicking, I'd stop petting and allow for the kitty to relax again.  I'm sure you know not to pet your kitty's tummy.  They often will nip when you touch there.  (It's a vulnerability thing.) Also, some cats don't like certain areas pet.  (ie...the tail) It's an individual thing.  My guess is that he or she was probably just overstimulated.

I have a kitten that nips occasionally.  I will stop petting him if he nips.  I usually will set him down and ignore him for a bit, or put him in his crate for five or ten minutes.  I also will distract him with a toy. (He's deaf, so, I don't say NO, which I usually would.) 

Whatever you do, don't hit your kitten.  That will just make him or her afraid of you. It's best to ignore or crate them for a short time.  Don't be punitive. 

Sometimes they'll nip if they don't feel well.  I'd pay attention and see if he or she's acting a bit off.

 

[explodom]

Its a fast learner. I said "no" to it whenever it tried to bite me (starting yesterday night). If it did, I would put on top of a high shed in our lawn. If it didn't I would pet it. Now it won't bite me if I say no.

Also, I think I might have a medical emergency on my hands. I put the kitten on the shed today (its punishment) and I saw it eating something. I climbed onto it and apparently, some idiot threw some bread on the shed. It was covered in some sort of green fungus and my kitten was eating it. No matter where I put my kitten, it kept going back up to eat it. Should I be worried? 

 

[the3rdname]

 
Its a fast learner. I said "no" to it whenever it tried to bite me (starting yesterday night). If it did, I would put on top of a high shed in our lawn. If it didn't I would pet it. Now it won't bite me if I say no.

Also, I think I might have a medical emergency on my hands. I put the kitten on the shed today (its punishment) and I saw it eating something. I climbed onto it and apparently, some idiot threw some bread on the shed. It was covered in some sort of green fungus and my kitten was eating it. No matter where I put my kitten, it kept going back up to eat it. Should I be worried? 

All you had to do was walk away from the cat and briefly ignore it...there's no need to go to extremes.  In fact, cats *love* lofty places, so I can't see how the cat could possibly connect "fun new hang-out" with behavioral modification.  Time-outs are supposed to transpire in a small, quiet room for a few minutes max.  It allows an overly excited cat to relax and get a grip- it isn't punishment.  And it isn't supposed to be used frequently, since there are times when you will need to confine your cat and you don't want her to associate confinement with something negative.  

Yes, you do need to be concerned about your kitten ingesting moldy bread.  Mold contains neurotoxins that can cause a host of severe, possibly life-threatening symptoms.  Read more here and observe her carefully for signs of poisoning: http://www.petmd.com/cat/conditions/neurological/c_ct_fungi_poisoning

And, remember, slow and steady wins the race, preserves your relationship with your cat, and keeps her happy and her personality intact.  Punishment can lead to stress, personality alterations, and illness (resulting from chronic anxiety caused by punitive methods of behavioral modification).  Relax and enjoy your kitty 

There's no award conferred to the owner who changes their cat's behavior the fastest.  

 

[explodom]

Kitten is so far not experiencing any symptoms on the above site. I used the same tactic on another cat several years ago. Took it ages learn.

Also, the punishment was not being left on a high shed but being left alone. It hates it. I put it on a high shed so that it could not follow me.

 

[the3rdname]

 
Kitten is so far not experiencing any symptoms on the above site. I used the same tactic on another cat several years ago. Took it ages learn.

Also, the punishment was not being left on a high shed but being left alone. It hates it. I put it on a high shed so that it could not follow me.

Thank goodness kitty's okay!  Rumi recently chewed the antenna off the cordless phone and ate a small piece of the internal wire...I kept thinking, Emergency vet, here come!  Thankfully he didn't get sick.  I'd take baby-proofing a home over kitten-proofing one anyday 

I understand what you were trying to accomplish, but, as I said above, it isn't necessary to go such great lengths.  It really, really isn't.  The harder you try to control their behavior with punitive measures, the more stressed they become, the more they'll act out.  It's a vicious cycle.  And even if those measures seem successful, that doesn't mean you aren't facilitating future behavioral problems by stressing out the cat, or harming your relationship by eroding her trust.  

A good cat guardian will attempt to understand what her motivation for biting is, then respond appropriately.  If she's saying, "I love you", you're responding with "I'm going to punish you for being affectionate."  If she's saying, "I'm getting overstimulated", you're saying, "I don't care what your boundaries are; you aren't allowed to even have boundaries."  If she's saying, "I want to play with you", you're saying, "You're going to be punished for normal kitten behavior."  As you can probably see, every single message you might be telegraphing to your kitten is overwhelmingly negative.  There's no way that can't have a detrimental effect on your relationship and/or the cat herself.

With kittens/cats, you always want to think proactively and strategically.  You can minimize play aggression by giving her plenty of opportunities to stalk/chase/catch prey via wand toys, you can give her things to climb, make sure she's got good window views, make sure she gets plenty of exercise through interactive play every day.  If she directs her play aggression at you, have stuffed toys handy that you can substitute for your hand/foot/etc.  She's still learning how to get her needs met while coexisting peacefully with people.  What she needs is a compassionate teacher, not one of those nasty old school marms with a stern face and switch in hand.  Which kind of teacher would you prefer?

 

[explodom]

While biting, its mood was not playful. It was meowing at me like adult cats do in fights.

 

[the3rdname]

 
While biting, its mood was not playful. It was meowing at me like adult cats do in fights.

With some more details I think we can get this issue resolved for you.  What is happening right before the biting occurs?  What are you doing, what is happening in the environment, where is kitty situated...anything you can tell us about those times when she feels inclined to bite will be tremendously helpful.  Also extremely important is her appearance: what do her ears, eyes, tail and body posture look like?  

Unprovoked aggression in adult cats is rare, let alone in kittens.  Defensive aggression is the only type of aggression (aside from play aggression) you should see in a kitten, and that means something is happening that frightens her and is causing her to view you as a threat.  But this could be a simple miscommunication, which is a why a detailed account of what's happening and what kitty is doing will help us solve the mystery.

Let's figure this out, okay?

 

[explodom]

I think its trying to find out what's food. It eats (tries) anything it can fit in its mouth. Threads, mouldy bread. Also, it only bites my left hand, not my right. Could also mean that it wants my left hand to pet it more.