Cat toys that really resemble prey to redirect a biter

[jimmylegs]

One of my fosters, Jake, often bites people. His favorite thing to do is pounce on a wrist and dig his teeth in. If you resist he just bites harder and hangs on.

While it is aggressive, none of his behavior is malicious. He purrs the whole time and clearly thinks it's all in good fun. I'm pretty sure his original owners played with him as a kitten with their hands and never taught him not to bite (then it seems they dumped him a local park, thanks a lot).

In the past when I've had a biter, I found redirection to be the best way to teach them to stop. If they start biting you give them a toy to grab and chew on instead. I have tried this with Jake but he seems to 'know' the toy isn't real, and won't go for it.

I suspect he goes for hands, wrists and ankles because they resemble prey to him (it's often noted that a wrist or ankle looks like the narrow neck of a rodent). Are there cat toys that really resemble 'the real thing' in appearance and weight? I feel like that would really get his attention instead of the large plush pumpkin I've been trying to use of late

Most cat toys are feathery, multi-colored, plastic doo-dads, but has anyone ever found any that closely resemble, say, a big rat? Something made out of heavy rubber that would 'feel' like flesh to him. Maybe what I need is some kind of dog chew toy? I'm going to the pet store later today to check out what they have.

If anybody has any other tips for getting an adult cat to not bite, I'm all ears.

 

[ritz]

I haven't found a toy with a toy that resembles a rat, but have found one with a mouse that Ritz loves, doesn't grow tired of:


Ritz use to like DaBird  but I think she's a little afraid of the bird hitting her.

Both toys appeal to the hunt prey/pounce, and DaMouse is especially durable--no amount of pressure Ritz uses has broken the mouse.

There are similar toys with a bug or butterfly at the end, some use a string, some a wire.  I prefer the wire, I seem have more control over it.

I have found DaBird and DaMouse in Petco, but not PetSmart.

 

[sivyaleah]

We found a very large rat, but it's furry, at PetSmart.  Casper has serious hate for that thing.  He doesn't play with it often but when he does he really goes at it like it's real.  For some reason, he likes gnawing at it's tail - maybe he instinctively knows the hindquarters are a rats soft spot?  Am I making that up? I have no idea lol.  Sounds plausible.

Let me tell you it's so real looking I had people come to clean my house and one of the girls screamed when she came into my living room and saw it.  I had to calm her down and explain quickly it was a cat toy 

  I'm usually good about picking those things up when I know people are coming over but I forgot that time 

 

[jimmylegs]

He definitely loves the 'Da Bird' type toys, and the Cat Dancer but none of these standard cat toys are preferable to gnawing on a human extremity

The rat toy sounds like a good idea. I read that cats naturally go for the neck of a small animal, if they know what they're doing they can deliver a 'killing bite' there. But I think most housecats don't know what to do when they actually catch something

I hit up the pet store and got a few things, including a Kong toy meant for cats (I didn't know they made that!) It's heavy rubber, it may do the trick as it has the feeling of something fleshy. I also got a couple of dog toys, one is a small furry rabbit (sounds similar to the rat) and some rubber squeaky toys (the one shaped like a chicken leg might be good). I'll report back once I've had some time to work with him.

I wonder if they make a toy that looks like a severed human arm, that's what he really wants!

 

[redvelvetone]

there is a toy made by kong that is essentially a long rectangular tube with a furry tail at the end. I think it's called a thumper. It's supposed to resemble, say, a squirrel torso and tail and they can wrap their arms around it and kick at it with their back claws or cuddle it like a body pillow. 

Here is one on Amazon to show you what I mean. THey come in a smaller size and a larger size. Larger size is about the size of a rat

 

[txcatmom]

there is a toy made by kong that is essentially a long rectangular tube with a furry tail at the end

This is what I thought of when I read the thread title.  My cats loved it when they were teenage kittens...bit, scratched and bunny kicked it to death.  We called it their wrestling toy because it was a lot like wrestling a litter mate.  Not sure if it would hold the same attraction for an adult cat though. 

 

[redvelvetone]

Also, one thing that I find that helps if a cat is play biting, and you want them to stop, is blowing on their face. It startles them and they stop what they are doing.