My Cat Won't Stop Biting/nibbling/lunging

[shadirohani]

I adopted my cat about 7 months ago, he is neutered is about 1 year and 3 months, and he's always had a biting problem. I didn't notice until a few days after I adopted him, he was obsessed with flopping on my feet, rubbing his face and biting/nipping on my skin. His biting used to scare me to the point of wearing shoes around the house so he couldn't nip at them, but eventually I got used to it. It then progressed to him biting/nibbling on any bare skin he could see while we were cuddling or just laying around. If he was laying on my lap he'd bite me on my leg, same with my arms or any part of my body really. He only bites when he sees bare skin, for example, if I had leggings on he wouldn't bite. After a month he started randomly lunging, it wouldn't be play induced, he doesn't lunge as I'm walking or coming down the stairs, it's just random. He'll have walked into the living room, see me sitting on the couch or something and lunges at me. He'll then run away and act submissive, he does not show aggression. He draws blood, leaves me scratches and bite marks weekly. I never play with my hands, I play with him constantly to drain his energy, I don't have another cat because I can't afford another one (hopefully soon I can so he has a playmate when I am gone) but I'm home the majority of the day because I am a student. I've asked vets/vet techs, they state its a personality trait and that there isn't much I can do. I'm now wondering if something else is wrong, maybe he is in pain or is sick. Another thing I've noticed is his tail is constantly swishing. He seems constantly annoyed, the only time his tail isn't swishing is when he's sleeping or purring/being affectionate. I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this, I try and google his behavior and only find play aggression or petting induced aggression. I just need help I love him so much, he is an absolute cutie with such a personality, I just want to understand what could be inducing this behavior

 

[FeebysOwner]

He'll have walked into the living room, see me sitting on the couch or something and lunges at me. He'll then run away and act submissive, he does not show aggression.

He seems constantly annoyed, the only time his tail isn't swishing is when he's sleeping or purring/being affectionate.

Hi. I really think what you are describing is playfulness - he has just never learned proper boundaries. And, if you didn't start early with a discipline plan, it has gone on long enough that he isn't necessarily aware that all of this behavior is a bad thing.

The running away can be that he wants you to chase him. The submissive appearance could be that he is waiting for you to come get him and play with him.

How do you respond to him when he does this? Have you established a consistent reaction to his lunging, such as either hissing, saying a firm 'no' or 'ow', followed by ignoring him? In those times that he isn't running from you but has bitten you, you need to use the same verbal reaction followed by picking him up and placing him in time-out for a couple of minutes. Then, when you let him out of time-out ignore him for a few minutes more. If it happens immediately again, repeat the process. And, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc.

When you do happen to catch him preparing to lunge or bite, throw a toy away from you and see if he will chase it instead of lunging or biting you.

Tail swishing is not always a sign of annoyance; it too can be related to feeling playful and being excited by it. I would also throw a toy away from you in those cases as well.

I just think he needs to learn 'manners', and that can take some time and consistent discipline before he is going to 'get it'. Also, come cats take longer than others to mature. He will likely settle down some as he ages as well.

 

[shadirohani]

Hi. I really think what you are describing is playfulness - he has just never learned proper boundaries. And, if you didn't start early with a discipline plan, it has gone on long enough that he isn't necessarily aware that all of this behavior is a bad thing.

The running away can be that he wants you to chase him. The submissive appearance could be that he is waiting for you to come get him and play with him.

How do you respond to him when he does this? Have you established a consistent reaction to his lunging, such as either hissing, saying a firm 'no' or 'ow', followed by ignoring him? In those times that he isn't running from you but has bitten you, you need to use the same verbal reaction followed by picking him up and placing him in time-out for a couple of minutes. Then, when you let him out of time-out ignore him for a few minutes more. If it happens immediately again, repeat the process. And, repeat, repeat, repeat, etc.

When you do happen to catch him preparing to lunge or bite, throw a toy away from you and see if he will chase it instead of lunging or biting you.

Tail swishing is not always a sign of annoyance; it too can be related to feeling playful and being excited by it. I would also throw a toy away from you in those cases as well.

I just think he needs to learn 'manners', and that can take some time and consistent discipline before he is going to 'get it'. Also, come cats take longer than others to mature. He will likely settle down some as he ages as well.

Unfortunately I've tried yellowing OW, saying no sternly, booping him on the head, walking away from him, putting him in a separate room, and distracting him with toys. Right after he bites me, he will flatten his ears and back away submissively. I agree the lunging could be playfulness, I will make more attempts to play with him in those moments. Do you have any other recommendations for setting boundaries? :/

 

[FeebysOwner]

Any tactic you use when trying to prevent a certain behavior from happening cannot be the same tactic that is used once the behavior has already happened.
In other words, you can throw a toy to distract him from lunging or biting, but you can't throw a toy once he has already lunged or bitten. To use the same tactic for both is actually sending him mixed messages.

When the behavior has already happened, is when the consistent hiss, NO or OW is needed (pick one and stick with it). And, in your case that is twofold. When he is in reach after your verbal response is when he is picked up removed, briefly isolated, ignored, then released and briefly again ignored. No other verbal remarks really should be made during the process. When he is not within reach, the verbal response is done and then he is either ignored or you leave the area (again, pick one). No bopping on the head, as that means nothing to him other than he sees that as aggression from you.

If you tried all those things above, how long did you stick with one before you moved on to another? The reason I asked is because if you tried one approach and it didn't work after a few times, then you went on to the next approach, etc. you never allowed enough time for him to understand one command and what it meant. Sometimes, doing just one approach can take weeks/months to be effective. It is frustrating, but eventually it does sink in.

That is what I meant by setting boundaries. I hope others will come along and offer you alternatives that you might want to try as well. But, whatever you try, it has to be done each and every time consistently. He will get the message eventually. ​