Sudden Biting Issue

[Kentucky Kitty]

Our male cat is 6 years old and a handsome muscular cat. Lacy is 2 years old. tiny and feminine. We adopted them 2 months apart about 1 1/2 years ago. They took to one another immediately. Play time with toys and chasing each other, playing hide and seek. They have their bathing times with each other around the the ears and face. And love to sit together looking out the window. Lots of times they will just sit near each other on the floor, in what ever room we are in. But recently, for no apparent reason, Lacy, the 2 year old, has suddenly begun lunging over and biting our male cat in his side for no reason. The bite is hard enough to make Freddy yelp loudly. No blood though. Freddy is a muscular cat and could easily retaliate. But he doesn't. He does nothing to cause her sudden attack. This isn't a way of her saying come on lets play is it? She is a very loving cat. Until this biting started she never showed any signs of being aggressive. Does anyone have an answer as to why she might be doing it after being with her brother peacefully for over a year?

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! Everything else is as usual between them, just this new behavior in addition?

Can you try some cat music? There's Spotify, Youtube, RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats as sources. My thinking is that there's something going on outside of your home that's bothering her, and he's nearest when she's particularly frustrated by it. Having music can be surprisingly calming.

 

[ArtNJ]

I'm guessing she is trying to initiate play, but its hard to say without seeing them together including the biting. A few questions to help: does she try to initiate play in more obvious ways? Does she seem to want to play when she bites? Is she acting bothered by him in any way?

If she is trying to initiate play, you can just ignore it. If its not bothering Freddy for more than a split second, its no great problem. A little yip from one cat to another is not usually a big deal and here likely means something like "ah you little scamp, that stings a bit!" For example, its very common for the smaller cat to yip now and then when playing with a bigger cat -- you may not have that because it sounds like Freddy is particularly careful to adjust his play for the size of his friend. Your little gal is not being similarly considerate and overdoing it a bit, but if Freddy isn't truly bothered, its not an issue in the scheme of things.

 

[flybear]

I had a boy who chewed off the whiskers of his girlfriend but ... she did not seem to mind ... they loved each other ... I would leave them be and add a multi cat pheromone diffusor. Are they both altered/ fixed? I would add more playtime to get rid of the wiggles ... Da-bird chasing or laser pointers makes my girls tired. They are young and have tons of energy to burn if they are indoors only ... If they have plenty of room to get out of each others way they should be fine ... at some point he will no doubt let her know in no uncertain terms that he doesn't like bites but it doesn't;t sound like he is even bothered .. I have found that cats are good communicating with each other and long term friends ...will usually figure out their differences.