My spoiled cat bites me only!

[taty caty]

Hello,

I have a cat (male, neutered, 1+ year).

he was the sweetest thing, but when he was once admitted to hospital and cannulaized, he started biting. This was further enhanced when he he had his neutering surgery, and his dental.

I'm taking good care of him to the point of spoiling him, I admit.

He is a biter, he does not want to be picked up.

The strange thing that I noticed the he tries to bite me only!

My relative picks him up and carries him and he does not try to bite her. When I take him to the groomer to get his nails clipped, he does not even think of trying to bite. He only does that with me!

My relative told me that I'm too tender with him! So I  should be more rough with him instead of treating him like a little fragile doll.

Don't tell me that I'm picking him up the wrong way, because he bites me on other occasions, and sometimes for no good reasons.

Have I been over-pampering him to the point that I made him take me lightly and disrespect me?!

What should I do to gain predominance and stop this biting behaviour.

What I tried was spraying him with cat perfume. This works is a dual thing I perfume him, and I punish him, because he hates to be sprayed.

But still, the biting goes on.

 

[catspaw66]

 
What I tried was spraying him with cat perfume. This works is a dual thing I perfume him, and I punish him, because he hates to be sprayed.

But still, the biting goes on.

The first thing I would suggest is Stop Spraying Him. Punishing cats will make them more likely to bite and claw.

The "cat perfume" is probably irritating him with alcohol and heavy scent. Imagine being sprayed by a skunk.

 

[rlavach]

This may seem like a silly question, but do you have to pick him up? (i.e. to administer medication or something?) I have an old cat that is at least 15y old and she had never liked anyone to touch her. She only tolerates my dad & can't stand the rest of us. We just leave her be & only handle her to go to the vet. She's perfectly happy sitting wherever she wants, as long as we bring the food. 

 

[silmarien]

Give him a toy every time he bites. Or, push into his jaw when he bites, it will confuse him.

Yes, you have probably pampered him too much to the point he feels safe biting you.  Is he drawing blood? Or just playful nips? If blood, you really need to reinforce that not biting is positive, and ignore him when he tries biting you. 

 

[taty caty]

 
The first thing I would suggest is Stop Spraying Him. Punishing cats will make them more likely to bite and claw.

The "cat perfume" is probably irritating him with alcohol and heavy scent. Imagine being sprayed by a skunk.

 
This may seem like a silly question, but do you have to pick him up? (i.e. to administer medication or something?) I have an old cat that is at least 15y old and she had never liked anyone to touch her. She only tolerates my dad & can't stand the rest of us. We just leave her be & only handle her to go to the vet. She's perfectly happy sitting wherever she wants, as long as we bring the food. 

 
Give him a toy every time he bites. Or, push into his jaw when he bites, it will confuse him.

Yes, you have probably pampered him too much to the point he feels safe biting you.  Is he drawing blood? Or just playful nips? If blood, you really need to reinforce that not biting is positive, and ignore him when he tries biting you. 

Thank you all for your input.

He somtimes does draw some blood, which is not good at all.

The thing is that I want to be able to pick him up, he accepts this from strangers, he is just bullying with me.

I guess I need to be less lax, and set rules.

Regards,

 

[rlavach]

Maybe he accepts being picked up by strangers because he's terrified? My meanie cat suddenly behaves at the vet's office, but that's because she's so terrified that she almost turns into stone! She doesn't even like it if my dad picks her up, but she will go sit on his lap. So, she likes it on her terms, which is cool. 

 

[taty caty]

 
Maybe he accepts being picked up by strangers because he's terrified? My meanie cat suddenly behaves at the vet's office, but that's because she's so terrified that she almost turns into stone! She doesn't even like it if my dad picks her up, but she will go sit on his lap. So, she likes it on her terms, which is cool. 

I seeeee! Well, I noticed that my cat bites me why I try to clip his nails, but when I take him to the groomer, he simply just sits and behaves and lets the groomer do his work.

So the poor kitty is scared? I always thought that when cats are scared they will try to run and hide.

I was taking it so personally, I though that my cat is not respecting me, and respecting others. :/

 

[taty caty]

 
In my opinion, you should pick him up to the doctor to check the reason why. maybe due to you keep spraying him to punish him, it makes him hate you and goes on bitting you

Mine at home is good coz I understand which she hates, which she loves.

Good luck to you!

He used to bite long before that. I only started doing this (perfume spraying)  recently when all other measured failed. I know cats hate water being sprinked on then, and he seems to hate the sound of the sprayer, let alone being covered with it. He simply ruuuuuuns away.

 

[annie marie]

 
I seeeee! Well, I noticed that my cat bites me why I try to clip his nails, but when I take him to the groomer, he simply just sits and behaves and lets the groomer do his work.

So the poor kitty is scared? I always thought that when cats are scared they will try to run and hide.

I was taking it so personally, I though that my cat is not respecting me, and respecting others. :/

With cats, you can't take it personally. Not unless you are abusing them. Sounds like the only thing you are doing wrong is spraying him with scent. If you need him to be cleaned up, or if your allergies or something are the problem, use cat wipes. I buy the kind that are formulated for sensitive skin and scent-free, and I have severe allergies and they help very much and the cat will seem nice and clean. Never use things that you need to do regularly as punishment, so, when he needs to be wiped, do that, but not as punishment.. otherwise he'll hate being wiped, groomed, etc! Also, as far as clipping nails on a cat, some cats this just simply cannot be a 1-person job. One of my cats allows me to clip all nails, the other my BF has to hold while I clip. Don't get down on yourself if your cat isn't a 1-person cat. Maybe for people who have had years and years of expierence, it would be a 1-person job, but for us, it sometimes simply doesn't work.

Someone has already explained the behavior at the vet, so I will skip that. As far as having a cat that bites you, and only you, at home... I can 100% relate!! We took in a cat, Lucky, just over a year ago. For the first week in the house, we had her in a separate room due to the fact that we didn't want to agitate our other cat, so I slept in the spare room with the new cat for a week off and on while my BF slept in our room with our other cat. Lucky slept in my arms every night. We took her in from the street, so she was very scared at first, but she adjusted and I became her sole care-giver for a week. I would say that I spoiled her, because I could have slept in my own bed with my BF, but I didn't want her to be alone, and that's pretty much how spoiled she is with everything I do. As we gradually started to let her get a feel for the house, she would come to realize that it is me who feeds the cats wet and dry food (I also scoop the litter, take the outside in our fenced-in yard for short periods of time, etc., but who knows if the cats notice that!) And yet.. a year later, I am the *only* human that she "gets" on a regular basis. She will hide in corners and jump onto my legs, she will "boop" me in the arm or leg when I'm not expecting it - sometimes with claws in but SOMETIMES with them out - and if I am petting her and try to pull away, she will grab my arms and begin biting and clawing. 

What do I do about it? Sometimes I get sad, honestly, because she does this to no one else and I am the one who put hours and hours into spoiling her and making her happy and comfortable. But, I remind myself that she's a cat, not a dog, I can't order her to sit and stay and fetch, etc. I got a cat because I love their independent spirit, I love their unique ways of showing loyalty and love. Did you know that if you catch your cat looking at you sometimes, it could mean they are trying to tell you they love you? I don't think it's about being more "strict" or "friendly" with a cat. Cats aren't as evolved as children, they can't understand a rule, they just learn behaviors. Best way to stop a behavior in someone who doesn't understand rules? Re-direct.

Over the year, Lucky has gone from "getting" me 3x's a week or more to maybe once a week, and rarely with the power to draw blood. The way I have done this is to simply redirect... if she is wiggling her butt and ready to pounce me, I grab a toy. If she HAS gotten me, I freeze and try to slow down time to think a moment. You can't hit cats, it makes it worse (and is mean), you can't scream "NO!" because they don't understand.. sometimes I push her face away, sometimes I grab the scrunch of skin behind her neck which makes her freeze just long enough for me to remove her from my legs, it's just something you have to take as it comes. Like I mentioned before, cats are very different from humans and dogs. Think of ways that Jasper shows his love to you. For me, Lucky follows me to bed every single night, and I take that as something positive. If she's very tired she will let me hold her for about an hour or so and sleep lightly (but only if she's very tired!), and if she is laying down and I come sit next to her, she will relax and fall asleep, which I take as her form of cuddling. Out other cat, Trouble, will walk on my belly, rub my chin, put her head under my hands to pet her, sleep on my pillow or on my hip, between my BF and I.. she loves cuddling, petting, and giving love. But I don't think that means she loves me any more than Lucky does. Cats are just very unique with different ways of showing love. 

To sum it up: Don't beat yourself up for not being perfect when it comes to grooming, etc. Remember to re-direct and deal with situations as they come up, cats don't understand "rules" the same way we do. Lastly, try to always keep in mind different ways that your cat might be showing you love, it will make you feel more connected to him as a cat and give you insight into the kind of cat he is.

 

[catspaw66]

The other members have given you better advice than I could. Sorry I didn't get back in the thread sooner. My Firefox is experiencing bovine parturition. (Having a cow)