My Cat has started Biting!

[meow meow]

I love my cat to death but lately he has been acting very sassy. We recently went on vacation and attacked (bit and latched on) to my niece who was house-sitting two times.

Yesterday, she was at the computer typing, he was sitting on the desk, and out of the blue he bit and latched on to her again. She was dragging him across the desk because he wouldn't let go.

He hangs out in our bed in the morning but begins biting my husband when he is petting him. I do notice you can't pet him from straight on in his face -- you have to go from behind.

I did have a bad habit of feeding him treats many times a day since I got him two years ago. I stopped cold turkey a week ago because if you ignored him when he was begging by the cupboard he would wrap his arms and claws around your leg. I think the treat habit was making him crazy!

Regardless, this biting has to stop.

 

[zane's pal]

This sort of thing is not to be tolerated. You feed him, vet him, clean his litter box, and do everything for him, and you have, at the very least, the right not to be attacked. To be afraid of an animal attack in your own home is intolerable. Cat bites can be dangerous. Bad enough when he attacks the family, but if he attacks an outsider, especially a child, you may end up having your cat adjudged as a dangerous animal and have a court order to have him put down.

There are many theories of how to break a cat of that bad habit, but they mostly boil down to making the consequences unpleasant enough for the cat that he make the connection in the feline equivalent of a brain of biting [humans=not good].

One idea is to pick him up and put him in the bathroom, laundry, or other confined space. Another is to blow in his face. Another is to squirt him with water (which many people do not recommend for various reasons.) Almost everyone agrees that hitting is not a good idea.

 

[meow meow]

I am not opposed to the squirt bottle. It is just having it near me and ready to fire may be difficult.

I stopped feeding him treats one week ago. Tonight I was making me some food and he was begging (rubbing my leg, scratching the cupboard) for treats. I ignored him and he finally "grabbed" my leg. So I flinged a few drops of water at him. He acts like it is acid!

I wonder how long it will take for him to forget his treat habit.

 

[fastnoc]

Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

This sort of thing is not to be tolerated. You feed him, vet him, clean his litter box, and do everything for him, and you have, at the very least, the right not to be attacked. To be afraid of an animal attack in your own home is intolerable. Cat bites can be dangerous. Bad enough when he attacks the family, but if he attacks an outsider, especially a child, you may end up having your cat adjudged as a dangerous animal and have a court order to have him put down.

There are many theories of how to break a cat of that bad habit, but they mostly boil down to making the consequences unpleasant enough for the cat that he make the connection in the feline equivalent of a brain of biting [humans=not good].

One idea is to pick him up and put him in the bathroom, laundry, or other confined space. Another is to blow in his face. Another is to squirt him with water (which many people do not recommend for various reasons.) Almost everyone agrees that hitting is not a good idea.

To me there is nothing between a relationship in a person and a cat that has to do with rights. People vet, feed etc etc pets because they want them. The return is companionship.

It's not the cat's fault that he bites. They don't consciously think the same way we do. it could just be that there's something else bothering him. There is definitely a problem, but it looks like in your post you're thinking the cat is intentionally doing something mean. I don't think that's the case. We're dealing with a learned behavior from an animal that, by nature, kills. Although of course the vast majority of that is domesticated but there is still instinct in there

I'm also not trying to sound all mighty by saying that so I hope it didn't come across that way. Just sounds like a different philosophy

 

[momofmany]

I suggest that you read this thread.

http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=20837

 

[zane's pal]

Originally Posted by fastnoc

To me there is nothing between a relationship in a person and a cat that has to do with rights. People vet, feed etc etc pets because they want them. The return is companionship.

There are all sorts of individuals and organizations that argue that animals have rights. It is basic political theory that rights are reciprocal.

It's not the cat's fault that he bites. They don't consciously think the same way we do.

No, they don't think the way that we do. Obviously, in the cat's mind, he has a perfectly logical reason for biting. It is our job to teach him that it is in his best interests not to do so.

you're thinking the cat is intentionally doing something mean.

Some cats are just plain mean.

We're dealing with a learned behavior

Behavior that is learned can be unlearned.

One has a basic right to be safe and secure in one's own home. I will not tolerate unprovoked attacks from any sentient being, of whatever species, nor should anyone.

That being said, there are ways of responding to such attacks. The way I will respond to a human attacking me is not the way I would respond to a feline. If a human attacks me, I will counterattack with sufficient force to make him regret that he ever set eyes on me.

A human will understand if you hit back. A feline will not, but the same basic principal applies--he must be made to understand that any advantages he gains by attacking are outweighed by the negative consequences. Zane, for example, has learned that if he bites me, he'll get shut in the bathroom. He doesn't like to be shut in the bathroom, therefore he avoids behavior that will result in such confinement.

Basic psychology. Any organism will seek out pleasant experiences and avoid unpleasant ones. Zane has learned that biting will bring on an unpleasant experience, so he refrains from biting.