He Chomps When He Wants To Play

[PrincessLala95]

Hi there! I'm hoping someone can help me out with this as I can't find any similar information online. Everything seems to be about aggressive cats or cats who get overly aggressive when they play, but I have the opposite problem.

My boy Finnegan (almost 2 years old) is super sweet, cuddly, and affectionate. He loves to play, but he only likes interactive play - if my boyfriend or I aren't making the toy move, he has no interest.

When he wants to play, his way of letting us know is a bit unusual. At first he'll come poke and prod at us, which works well in the evening when we're awake. However, Finn is the cat equivalent of a morning person and he always wants a play session between 3-5 in the morning.

In order to get us to play with him, Finn will come up and chomp or pounce us to wake us up. I sometimes like to sleep on the couch and he will regularly pounce on my face or bite my arms and legs. It doesn't hurt much, I think because he's trying not to hurt us, but it's obnoxious and upsetting, especially when I have morning classes and need the sleep. If I wake up to play with him he's perfectly fine, and then if I stop playing with him he goes right back to chomping for attention.

What do I do? I'm tired of having him bite me when he wants to play. Playing with him is the only way to get him to stop, but I hate doing it after a chomp because it feel so like I'm rewarding him for biting and teaching him that biting me for attention is okay. Tonight I had a total sobbing breakdown that woke my boyfriend because he bit me a bit harder than usual and really hurt both my wrist and my feelings. This is literally the only time that he displays any sort of aggression as he's otherwise an extremely affectionate and loving little snugglebug. I don't know what to do.

 

[dragoriana]

Have you told him off or rolled over if he has bitten you to try and give him an idea that what he is doing makes you upset? Perhaps he wants to make up for time when he is left alone? Some cats are happy to sleep during that time, others like to initiate play by themselves and entertain themselves as long as they have their favourite toys out and then you have the stage 3 clingers who meow the house down for a while, settle down but can't wait till you get home. Does he have any toys or items he seems interested in without you having to pick it up? Maybe you could find something that is battery powered that you can join in on, but that also moves to keep him distracted. Are you able to either close your bedroom door to avoid these early morning wakings? Or perhaps play with him and tire him out just before you sleep?

I'm sure some other people have got better ideas than me lol.

 

[PrincessLala95]

I tell him off all the time haha, he just kinda looks at me like "whatever mom". That's the weird thing though, he's almost NEVER left alone. My boyfriend is unemployed and is almost always home with him, except for the odd time we have date night. The only time he's really alone is when we sleep, and he usually sleeps with us until 3-5 AM when he decides he wants to wake up and one of us HAS to get up with him.

The only toys that really interest him that we don't have to pick up are straws. He loves straws, he'll literally remove them from our fast food drink containers so he can play with them lmao. The problem with that is that Finn has a really short attention span! That's part of why I stop playing wth him and get chomped as result - it seems he's lost interest, which he does often, so I go back to sleep only to find him on my arm a minute later.

We have been talking about getting a battery-operated toy for a while, we just need to find one and make sure it's within our budget - the budget of unemployed guy and full-time student girl... James stays up late and plays with him but it doesn't seem to help. No matter how tired he is, he's still ready and rearing to go around 4. And a lot of friends have suggested closing the bedroom door. I've talked to James about that but he doesn't want to do it unless one of us is in the living room (we do close the door if one of us is sleeping on the couch) and besides, if you're gonna sleep with the door shut then why bother having such a cuddly cat in the first place? Haha he's soooo cuddly. I went back to bed after posting the original message and he curled up between my knees and fell asleep as well. I've had cats my whole life and have never had to close the bedroom door, so to shut him out would be heartbreaking for me.

 

[Samantha1242]

Hey! My kitty does the same thing when he wants to play. He doesn't do it at night yet, but if I am trying to do something during the day and he isnt getting his mousey thrown for him.. then he will let me know via a gentle chomp. I havent figured out how to alleviate the issue.. so I am following this thread with you

 

[dragoriana]

We have been talking about getting a battery-operated toy for a while, we just need to find one and make sure it's within our budget

..a lot of friends have suggested closing the bedroom door. I've talked to James about that but he doesn't want to do it unless one of us is in the living room (we do close the door if one of us is sleeping on the couch) and besides, if you're gonna sleep with the door shut then why bother having such a cuddly cat in the first place? I've had cats my whole life and have never had to close the bedroom door, so to shut him out would be heartbreaking for me.

I'm sure there are affordable battery toys, they don't need to be fancy as kitties are simple creatures of habit. Have a look around on eBay or at Sunday market type places perhaps.

There are many people who sleep with the door shut who own pets. If you are more worried about offending or upsetting kitty and not at least trying it once for your own sanity lol....