The bitey-nipper

[Lorraine97]

I am back once again seeking advice regarding my problem child, Atlas. Picture of the handsome devil below.

Ever since I got him, he's had a tendency to bite/nip. I know it is possible to change his behaviour, when he was a kitten he would always bite/scratch my head while I was trying to sleep and after a lot of persistence and sleepless nights, he did eventually learn he will only be ignored and never does it anymore. I also ended up getting a second cat, which did solve majority of these issues almost overnight. He had a fellow kitten to burn that playful energy off with.

But I am still having some trouble with his nipping. He isn't doing it particularly hard, but he is a big cat (7kg) and even without full strength, his teeth are sharp and they hurt. I am almost certain it's his was of trying to communicate as he often starts doing it while I'm in the kitchen... Near his kibble The cats have a solid meal routine, so I'm not entirely sure why he thinks nipping the crap out of my legs will make it happen any faster. I know he's being hopeful but I've never given in, they get fed at their usual time and I typically end up with a big fluffy cloud following me around biting/nipping at me for up to an hour before their mealtime. I have tried putting the food away in a cupboard in a completely different room, but Atlas, while not the brightest cat in general, is very motivated when it comes to food and knows exactly where it is, and starts nipping at me in the room where the food is. I'm really struggling with his persistence. I'm at a point where I have to shut myself in my office for a few minutes to get away from him. The nips start gently and can be ignored, but then he just uses more force until I have to physically move away from him. I feel bad essentially taking 'time-out', but I thought if I was persistent with this like I was with the head biting when he was a kitten, he'd learn to stop doing it but that hasn't happened.

The other time he nips me is while I'm at my desk. I think he does it at this time for attention/play. I make a huge fuss over him when he displays more positive behaviours like nudging me with his head or meowing at me, but it doesn't seem to be clicking with him he gets a positive reaction from me when he does that instead of nipping. Like I said, I've been just shutting myself in my office or bedroom for a few minutes in the hope he will realise he lost any attention from me and settle down a bit as well. It doesn't really work, even if I don't open the door for a good 5 minutes he often just marches straight over to me and bites my legs.

Does anyone have any advice for a persistently bitey/nippy cat? It's not all day long, just a few specific times and locations. I haven't taken him to the vet specifically for his nipping, but when he has his checkups everything's been fine and they've only really made note of the fact he has very healthy teeth (I already knew that!) and while he isn't overweight, just to not let him gain any more weight. If anyone has any suggestions to help prevent the nipping, I would really appreciate it

Just for fun, here is my other cat putting him a headlock. I am at least not the only one who is constantly harassed for playtime and attention

 

[Kris107]

Are you doing the blood curdling "Eee!!!"? It should be loud and screechy and unpleasant for them to hear. Mine scares the bejeebus out of everyone in the house. Also, you could try a timed feeder - that way the food doesn't come from you. Just some thoughts!

I love the bottom pic of him in a head lock!

 

[Lorraine97]

Are you doing the blood curdling "Eee!!!"? It should be loud and screechy and unpleasant for them to hear. Mine scares the bejeebus out of everyone in the house. Also, you could try a timed feeder - that way the food doesn't come from you. Just some thoughts!

I love the bottom pic of him in a head lock!

Yes! It doesn't seem to bother him at all. I've tried squealing, I've tried doing my absolute best to freeze and ignore him but he doesn't seem to care. I hadn't considered a timed feeder, that may be something to look into!

 

[Margot Lane]

How old is he? Does he have enough to do? A medley of toys? Is there something he could hunt like crickets? A fish tank to watch? Some cats have pent up hunting energy. Is there the possibility of a catio at yours? Am very, very familiar with the Bitey Nipper. In my experience it doesn’t really go away until the cat gets a bit older. Meantime thick socks, leather gloves and frankly I think your other cat has the right idea. Don’t let him be the boss of you.

 

[Lorraine97]

How old is he? Does he have enough to do? A medley of toys? Is there something he could hunt like crickets? A fish tank to watch? Some cats have pent up hunting energy. Is there the possibility of a catio at yours? Am very, very familiar with the Bitey Nipper. In my experience it doesn’t really go away until the cat gets a bit older. Meantime thick socks, leather gloves and frankly I think your other cat has the right idea. Don’t let him be the boss of you.

Oh yes, I have an abundance of toys available for him which I rotate, we also have cat trees in every room, tunnels and food puzzles. I don't have a fish tank, but I have been wondering about getting an artificial one for him to watch or something. I can't provide him with a catio just yet, but we are hoping to purchase property soon and a catio is definitely on my to-do list. That's definitely given me some more ideas for mental stimulation for him though. Atlas is only 1, he turns 2 in January so he is still very young. I'm not sure what Feyre does to put him in his place so well, she's definitely got that no-nonsense tortitude

 

[Alldara]

I recommend a high pitched "eeep eeep eep!" think the pitch of a small child pretending to be a mouse and aim for that. Or a rat squeak. You want to sound increasingly frantic if he continues biting.

This stopped both Ghost and Cal from ankle biting in a couple of days.

 

[Cat McCannon]

Are you doing the blood curdling "Eee!!!"? It should be loud and screechy and unpleasant for them to hear. Mine scares the bejeebus out of everyone in the house. Also, you could try a timed feeder - that way the food doesn't come from you. Just some thoughts!

I love the bottom pic of him in a head lock!

If Fid doesn’t always come from you (free feeding, using a timed feeder) it makes you less important in your cat’s eyes. When you establish you are The Keeper of the Tinned Mice, boosts your status with your cat.

 

[Lorraine97]

I recommend a high pitched "eeep eeep eep!" think the pitch of a small child pretending to be a mouse and aim for that. Or a rat squeak. You want to sound increasingly frantic if he continues biting.

This stopped both Ghost and Cal from ankle biting in a couple of days.

I will keep trying, but this doesn't seem to be very effective with him Even when he's being rough and my other cat squeals at him, he doesn't always stop. I think he hates losing attention/playtime more than anything so I'm hoping I can somehow use this to redirect his behaviour... It's almost as if squealing encourages him sometimes, like he has a high prey-play drive (if that's a thing)?

If Fid doesn’t always come from you (free feeding, using a timed feeder) it makes you less important in your cat’s eyes. When you establish you are The Keeper of the Tinned Mice, boosts your status with your cat.

That is a good point, I might look into a timed feeder or something to take some of the heat off me

 

[Alldara]

Usually, if you're getting higher-pitched, frantic-sounding and louder with each EEEP! then they stop. I have three cats with pretty high prey drives.

For re-direction, you want to stop the behaviour before it starts. Otherwise, they learn, "This is how I ask for x."

I recommend getting a kicker toy that's big enough to keep your hands mostly out of the way. Cats aren't generally satisfied with just playing with a kicker on their own. So playing with them with that can help to stop the body attacs!

For the toys, if you aren't already rotating the toys (putting only some out at a time and cycling through them), I also recommend this. that will help hold his interest in them. Also putting them in "interesting" places to encourage play and re-exploration.