My cat occasionally runs up to me, gently bites my leg, and meows urgently

[Maisie]

When he does this, it feels like he's trying to tell me something is wrong, but I am not sure. If I say "what's wrong bud?" he just sits there. If I try to walk away, he runs up to me and bites me again and meows. His meow is longer and sounds like he's frustrated or upset. I can tell he's not trying to hurt me, but if he keeps doing this I say "No." gently but firmly. He seems to get even more upset if I say no. I don't want to condone him going around biting people, but I don't want to ignore him if he's trying to tell me something.

He's normally the sweetest cat. I'm concerned because I'm not getting his message. Anyone ever have a similar experience?

 

[Caspers Human]

You're right. I don't think he's trying to hurt you, either. I also think he wants to get your attention for something.

Cats don't have hands so they can't grab you by the shirt sleeve and take you some place where they want you to see something.

Have you tried following him? Our cat, Casper, sometimes comes to me to get my attention then he'll sit and look at me like he wants something. If I follow him, he'll lead me where he wants me to go. Usually, it's to his play area or the food cupboard.

Lately, Casper has started leading me to the bedroom when it's late at night and he thinks it's time for me to go to bed. When I follow him, he'll jump up on the bed and look like he's saying, "Human! It's bedtime!"

 

[Maisie]

aww. that is cute, about Casper telling you to go to bed.

I do follow him sometimes when he wants something but in these cases he just stays put. just sits and looks at me.

what I've been wondering (and this may just be me thinking way too much) is if he just wants me to pet him, urgently, right that second!! drop everything and pet me!!

backstory: this guy showed up on my porch one day last October, looking a little skinny and hungry. I fed him and he immediately decided he lived here. I tried looking online to see if I could find anyone looking for him, but I found nothing. He was very tame and affectionate, clearly previously someone's pet. The vet estimated he was 7 or 8 years old.

So obviously I will never know exactly what happened, but it seems likely that he has had trauma being separated from his previous human.

He has a tendency to follow me from room to room in the evening and sometimes seems upset until I can sit down and watch TV, then he jumps up and sits next to me and falls asleep. So this leads me to believe that he just wants to sit and chill near a human and possibly feels anxious until someone will sit with him.

He's been doing the running after me and biting thing a bit more often in recent weeks. If he does that urgent meow I've found that usually if I pet him for a while or give him a belly rub, he seems fine.

So is he really saying "human, you must immediately drop everything and give me a belly rub at once or I will be most distressed!"? Seems extreme but it checks out, with how affectionate and human centered he is. I wonder if this could be tying in with anxiety or psychological issues? or my other guess is maybe there is some other medical issue he's having that isn't obvious to me but is bothering him.

 

[susanm9006]

I think he is saying he wants attention or a pick me up. Sort of harmless so I would probably give in and pick him up for a little walk around but if you want to discourage the behavior then just ignore it. My girl doesn’t let me pick her up but when she wants attention she waits until I am sitting down and then reaches up and softly taps my elbow.

 

[vince]

My bathroom time in the morning is also "me time" for Sir Eats-A-Lot. He rolls in the tub, gets belly rubs, play attacks me from behind the shower curtain and gets a drink from the sink faucet. He love bites my leg when I'm on the 'throne' to get me to take him on my lap and cuddle. I think your cat just loves you and wants attention.

 

[maggie101]

I think he is saying he wants attention or a pick me up. Sort of harmless so I would probably give in and pick him up for a little walk around but if you want to discourage the behavior then just ignore it. My girl doesn’t let me pick her up but when she wants attention she waits until I am sitting down and then reaches up and softly taps my elbow.

That is how my cat gets my attention. Others just meow that they want something

 

[game misconduct]

how much do you play with him? thats one of the ways graycie tells me she wants to play or he could want to be fed or just some good head scratches and belly rubs

 

[Bolts]

He sounds just like my ex street cat len, He had varying degrees of bites, when I 1st got him every bite hurt, but over the year…well hes modified his “ language”.
Gentle bite is cuddle me, sit down and let’s watch tv
Bit firmer is Feed me now !!!!!
Play time is a firm bite …with claws
The there’s the one that hurts, gawd knows what that’s about..though it’s lessened over the year..well I always tell him do that again and I’m sending you back to rescue lol