"Love" bites from a scaredy cat

[Bratcat31]

I took in a pregnant foster on Saturday. She's pretty well freaked out by humans but oddly LOVES to be pet if she can convince herself to leave her box and come over.

Problem is that she "bites". Its a bit too hard to be a nibble, but definitely not a full on bite. Likely cause she's overstimulated. Partially cause she's a brat. (I stayed away from her mouth earlier and I swear she glared at me and swatted me instead. ROFL!) Anyways, i have no idea how to deal with biting when I also don't want to do anything to confim or worsen her fear of humans.

Prevention is key of course but for when she swats or bites me what should I do that wouldn't make her fear of humans worse? I tried a standard ouch and glare but that freaked her out too. I'm trying to get her to warm up a bit before the babies come so I don't lose a hand trying to weigh them, but wonder of instead I should be leaving her mostly alone. Any help or thoughts would be appreciated!

 

[Leomc123]

i would say leave her be, she is pregnant too, so she would be more on the defensive side for a few reasons. 1 . She doesnt know you . 2 . She is in a strange place that she has never been in before and is probably a bit wary of everything surrounding her.

Maybe she isnt ready yet to be touched too much like she sounds like she kinda trusts you. Maybe when you are feeding her, position your self at a meter distance, you will see the distance that she is comfortable around you when she starts to eat her food. Then the next day sit a little closer to her and so on until you are able to get close enough to pet her.

When she is around the house laying about and just hanging around, let her be, she will slowly come up to you but let her be the one to instigate the touching . Dont force the pets or touches on her.

I had a cat that was a close to a feral cat that could slash you in a second out of the blue, one minute he would be walking up to me all cute and they next thing he would try to bit off my ankles or hands . He did have this glare in his eyes which i soon learnt soon as he had this look i would walk or head off in the other direction ASAP or not to get near him or touch him at all. If he chased me or bite me in the ankle i would let him keep doing what he was doing but i would keep walking away till he lets go with him draging behind my ugg boots, and then i would quickly go in the house and come back after 3 hours. And if he did it again, i would do the same thing. With food i would feed him for 3 weeks without touching him and slowly getting closer and closer and then eventually gave him a small rub on the head every now and then.

He learnd with me walking away that i didnt stay around when he was playing rough. And each time i came back i had food for him. Eventually in 6 months he was a lap cat and didnt bite me anymore.

 

[Bratcat31]

Leomc123 - So sorry, in trying to keep it shorter I realize I left out information that was "duh" in my head but y'all would have no idea of since you have no idea who I am. :-) Everything is on her terms. Everything. I do not reach into her box or "chase her round the room". I do not instigate any initial physical contact, and am very careful about instigating any physical contact, even if she is pushing against me. She also is not overtly aggressive. There is no growling or hissing, and she seems to genuinely be a mostly sweet girl, she's just scared to death of humans and I don't think she understands what to do with herself sometimes.

The way it plays out is that I walk in and sit on the floor just a few feet inside the door and a few feet away from her box. It takes anywhere from 30 seconds to a few minutes for her desire to be pet to win out over her fear. She then actively comes over to me and presses against my hand, rubs and leans on my legs and arms, and generally speaking won't be more than a 6-12 inches away from me. If I stop petting her she pushes against my hand for more. She will eat in front of me, and my son without issue. I do legit think she's just go a lot going on in her head and she isn't sure what to do with it all, and that is driving the "biting". I am just at a loss on how to break that thought process without breaking her small desire and love towards humans.

I did get up and walk out last night when she swatted at me, (I swear she was annoyed with me for not letting her bite me LOL. Goofy girl) so maybe I'll do that. It didn't seem to scare her at all, and that's what I am trying really really hard to not do. I am happy to just let her be if needed, but she's confined in a room so natural socialization of her walking up to us can't happen unless I am in the room with her so I am hesitant to do that too too too much. She has potential for sure! She just doesn't really get life yet. LOL. But, if that's what is needed I can give it a shot.