cat goes from purring to biting in a milisecond

rainah

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Today I adopted a cat that was being rehomed who is very, very affectionate. She asks for belly rubs and loves being pet and she purrs very loudly. However sometimes when I'm petting her and she is really into it, she will randomly grab my hand with her two front paws and try to bite me? And it is random, her body language is completely positive before she goes in to bite. I yank away and she uses her claws to try to grab my hand back, then hisses.

I'm not sure what to do because my other cat has never had any behavior like this before. After it happens she goes right back to headbutting and asking for belly rubs like she didn't just try to hurt me.

It has happened four times and I've responded in four different ways. This is why I am asking for advice because I'm lost as to how to handle this.

The first time I ignored it and petted her head where she couldn't bite me again.
Second time I made a loud noise to scare her and left the room.
Third time I pulled away and just stayed in the same room.
Fourth time I immediately withdrew affection and left the room.

Why is she doing this and how do I train her to stop. Please help.
 

di and bob

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She has 'Overstimulation Syndrome', common in female cats. My soulmate Chrissy was like this and went from friendly to aggressive in 1 second after her limit was reached. She would allow exactly 3 strokes and then would bite hard, and if you continued, hard enough to draw blood. The people that didn't believe me went away bloody!
You will have to learn your little girl's limit. Stroke her once and wait' After a minute or two, stroke her twice. Continue doing this until she strikes out. she can't help it, it is something that is just there and she really can't control it. I have found in my many years males seldom have it, so if you want a lap buddy get a male. It doesn't mean she is vicious or trying to hurt you. She loves you with all her little heart for adopting her, it is just part of her personality. Warn children or company and tell them what her limit is. Most cats do not tolerate loud, always moving children anyway so really it is better to have her in another room if they visit, all cats need space. I know how suddenly this can happen, sudden enough to scare and startle you, but as you learn her ways you will adjust. You are doing exactly right. Tell her firmly NO, and leave or ignore her, physical punishment or continuing to try to stroke her will result in escalated behavior. since you have only had her a day or two, her senses and fear are definitely raised, so she may improve significantly in the future when she gets to know you and her surroundings. She has to be trying not to show fear right now and is super scared.
After my Chrissy died, I truly miss her sassy, diva attitude, and would welcome a nip from her......
 

catlover73

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I agree completelty with di and bob's advice. I have a cat too that gets over-stimulated easily. My cat takes longer to get over-stimulated though. Have you tried watching the cat's tail while petting her? I noticed with my Casey that his tail movements become very fast when he is going to bite me. I stop petting him once his tail movement starts to pick-up speed. If he is sitting on me I still let him sit there but I stop petting him until his tail movement slows back down. I adopted Casey as a kitten and he is now 6 years old. I noticed that over time the length of time I could pet him without him biting me gradually increased. I hope this information will help you.
 

pmv

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I have a little kitten who tends to get overstimulated too - for him, he's insanely cuddly, and it's enough for him to just lay across my chest (with me using one arm to help support him) and talk to him, and he purrs insanely loud just from listening to my voice and laying on me. I give him a little bit of scratching behind the ears, but not a whole lot of petting, just a lot of soft talking and him rubbing his face on me.

Also, with cats, showing their tummy isn't really asking for petting like it would be for a dog. It's definitely a sign of comfort and trust in you, because their stomach is such a vulnerable area, but petting a cat's stomach will push many (most?) cats to the point of overstimulation pretty quickly.

In general, scratching or petting around the head and ears is very pleasurable to cats, and increases their stimulation level by a little. A full head-to-tail pet is much more stimulating, and a tummy pet is the most stimulating of all. To make your cuddle sessions last longer, I would reduce how much you do the higher stimulating kinds of pets, and space them out with less stimulating head scratching and petting in between. With my older cat, I might do one or two full-body pets and then focus on scratching his ears or chin for a bit to give him time to settle down - although he won't bite, he'll just move away if he's getting too much stimulation.

Also, you can let the cat choose how much petting he or she wants! I often just hold my hand (with fingers loosely curled) in the vicinity of their face, and if they rub their head into it, I'll use my fingers to give them some petting and scratching of their head, or the cat can move forward if they want a full-body pet. My older cat in particular loves being in control of our cuddle time, and our cutest cuddle sessions are driven by him, not me, deciding how much petting he gets and when.
 

Dimie

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Like the others stated scratch around the head good, belly is mostly a tockelish thing and all cats will bite at some point same as scratching the basis of their tail os a sexual stimulation. It will make them pure but they might not like it so bite. It is your cat saying stop now I can not take it any more, it is not being mean just saying it is to much.
 

pearl99

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I have one that is an overstim cat (Ziggy) and I limit petting to head, chin, cheeks and always let her initiate it. I limit it the amount of pets even if she is purring and head butting. I do find she tolerates brushing for longer, she absolutely loves it, so I brush her more than petting her.
All of the above is spot on!
 

MoriartyX

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Thanks a lot for all the advice here! We recently adopted a pair of siblings, and he lets us pet him and scratch him all that we want, including his belly, but the girl randomly bites when being pet; sometimes with a warning of her tail, but sometimes without it.

I guess we'll have to accept she just wants very few pets.
 

dragonlady2

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We have a similar cat. We found her across the road. She had been declawed and spayed, yet no one claimed her. We find she is overstimulated very easily and hyper vigilant. She bites, but we get that she can’t help it. She puts herself in time out when it happens. Signs for her are eyes are bigger, tail is fluffed, ridge of fur down her back and excessive purring. We touch her on her terms. I suspect her biting is why no one claimed and it’s the reason why we kept her. Most people don’t want a biting cat. If you can accept the limitations that your cat puts on the relationship, you will be rewarded with a cat who appreciates it and will be very loyal. Best Wishes in your relationship with this kitty.
 
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