Cat bites hard when I stop petting

[Scratchy22]

Hello guys I yet again have a problem with my kitty. He comes on my bed to wake me up at 6.30 in the morning and purrs. Rubs his face on my head etc and then If i put my hand down in his viccinity and dont pet him he bites quite hard and draws blood ( like today morning) what am I supposed to do? He is going to go live at my parents for 1 year soon and I cant have him biting my mother or father.

 

[ArtNJ]

Aggression biting is one thing, but other types of biting seem to be learned. A cat learns that it is fun to bite, or in your case learns that biting can communicate its wishes. The good news is that cats generally seem to learn to bite a particular person, not to bite generally, so it is far from certain that he will bite your parents.

As far as stopping it, you need to teach him that it is not effective. For starters, don't pet him if he bites. Unfortunately, this alone is unlikely to be enough. Most of us like to make a loud noise -- I use a loud "no!" to discourage biting. That could be a problem at 6:30 am, so you might have to find another way to communicate the message.

For your parents, as I mentioned, he might not do the biting. However, I would probably recommend that they not allow the cat in the bedroom at night at all. Just an easy way to avoid the whole issue. If they allow him in there for a bit and then change their minds because he bites, he will protest which could be annoying for days or weeks. If he is never allowed in there in the first place, he won't protest his exclusion.

 

[Scratchy22]

Thanks for the answer. I read a similar post through looking and I found a similarity. I found my cat as a kitten 4 weeks old out in a field. He was malnourished had worms and an eye infection. He is doing perfectly now ( his butt sometimes smells of a very foul strong odor but he doesnt scoot, i will go have him checked at the vet soon) but I digress, it may be that his biting is due to the fact that his mother didn't teach him kitty manners because she wasn't around.

 

[Xraystyle]

My cat does something similar. It's especially bad if I am looking at my phone! I think that he wasn't properly socialized as a kitten and so doesn't know that he's biting too hard. This is what you have to teach him. My cat still bites, but these days he doesn't break the skin. I followed the advice I found here about crying out when he bites. Make it sound like you're a cat who is hurt. (Which means it doesn't necessary have to be loud) That's how he can learn he's biting too hard. He's not trying to hurt you, just to get your attention. I then hide my hands (under the covers, behind my back, under the pillow) and ignore him and he usually comes to his senses. Any sudden movements or pushing him away will only make him think you are also playing. You could also maybe keep a toy that he can bite near your bed and give that to him before you put your hands down. I do that when my cat grabs onto my feet and he will grab on to that instead, allowing me to walk away (though maybe that wouldn't work in this case since you are in bed! lol)

 

[fionasmom]

Jamie was rescued by me at 4 weeks and had no clue how to play. He was a real biter, ripper, shredder and what I did consistently was to immediately remove myself from the environment. Alice and her sister Elise, my avatar, are recently transitioned ferals who are now indoor only. Alice will give "love bites" and Elise, who loves to be brushed, will turn around when I stop and suddenly lash out with her paw to scratch. Same thing....the party is over. Jamie is really over the biting, Alice only tries about once every 2 weeks now, and Elise is understanding.

 

[maggie101]

I have started gently pushing my cat away out of her line of vision so she doesn't see my hand. Certainly not in front of her. One of my cats wants me to follow her to my bedroom and jumps on the tower. I start petting her put my hand down and she bites,doesnt want me to stop. So instead put my arm down where she doesn't see it. You could also throw something in your other arm that will make her stop and observe this interesting sound/object

 

[maggie101]

Hello guys I yet again have a problem with my kitty. He comes on my bed to wake me up at 6.30 in the morning and purrs. Rubs his face on my head etc and then If i put my hand down in his viccinity and dont pet him he bites quite hard and draws blood ( like today morning) what am I supposed to do? He is going to go live at my parents for 1 year soon and I cant have him biting my mother or father.

How old is your kitten now? Age makes a difference,usually

 

[Scratchy22]

This happens quite often. I will be laying down on my bed. My cat comes on to me rubbing his head on my hands and demanding to be pet. If i dont pet him, he sometimes bites my hand and he does it hard. Today he comes and lays next to me on my arm and I move my arm abit and he once again bites my arm enough to break skin. How can I stop this behavior for good? I dont want to be afraid of my cat.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Keep soft toys close by wherever you are, and give him those to bite on. Also if necessary, hiss loud and hard at him--thats what his feline mama would do for over-the-top unacceptable behavior

 

[susanm9006]

When he does it you pick him up, set him outside your room and shut your door until morning or until you are ready to leave your room. Do it every time and he will stop.

 

[Scratchy22]

MOD NOTE: merged threads.

I dont understand my cat in all honesty. I play with him every day after work, give him the best food, have cat trees for him, cat grass he is vaccinated etc. But when he comes on the bed in the morning if my arm is in the wrong location he grabs it and bites down very hard. Today he broke skin and scratched me multiple times for literally nothing. I know you are supposed to remove yourself from the room if something like this happens to not reinforce the behavior but it has been going on for years since I made this account in the first place to seek help regarding his behavior. Once again he was a stray with no mother that I saved from the street. This time I smacked him 10 times on the head and shouted at him. Ive had enough. I am not going to be in fear in my own house because of where my hand is on the bed in the morning. He meows for attention after already having eaten and if I dont give it to him once again to not reinforce the negative behavior he jumps on the bed and if he doesnt like something he literally breaks skin. Picture attached..... Ive had enough

 

[ArtNJ]

From what you've described, my first thoughts are (1) make sure the cat isn't doing it because its hungry; and (2) exclude the cat from the bedroom at night.

You know hitting your cat isn't the answer. If you hope to get approval for that, you will only be dissappointed.

I do understand that regularly getting bit like that can drive one to desperation. But there is always an answer, even if sometimes its a difficult one, like rehoming the cat.

 

[Scratchy22]

I will take him to the vet next month to check for hyperthyroidism and hypertension. I had done blood tests but they were for other things ( I called the vet today and asked them to confirm the results). Now hes fine I gave him lots of treats, appologized multiple times in a slow low tone voice, played with him and now we're sitting on the bed.The wounds are swollen because all 4 of his canines pierced the skin but luckily I had antisceptic that I applied on the wound. I really love him and hate when we dont get along and will try to be a more understanding and also check for any health tests I havent done.