My loving cat has started to bite?
By moonshadow68
@moonshadow68 (723)
United States
February 23, 2007 5:48pm CST
Okay all you cat lovers and cat owners, I have a weird one....at least it's weird to me.
I have a very affectionate kitten (We think she's about nine months, but she was a stray so there's no way to know for sure).
Anyway, she's always been very loving and affectionate, but this week she started soemthing different. When I'm at the computer, she will jump up on my desk and rub her nose against my cheek. This I am used to. It's her version of kisses.
But now, usually once or twice a day, after rubbing on face, she'll draw back and bite my cheek. It's not hard or breaking the skin, though it is uncomfortable.
It doesn't matter if I've been playing with her or not (she usually only bites as part of play time and then usually you can just tell her "gently" and she eases up).
She also nibbles at us when she is grooming us, but this is the first time she's gone for my face.
Could it be that she's lonely? My husband is her primary playmate and he's out of town. I play with her too, but now she's only getting half as much playtime.
1 person likes this
4 responses
@moonshadow68 (723)
• United States
24 Feb 07
That's okay...I'm leaning toward them being love/pay attention to me bites too. Still, it's a bit unnerving when she bites my cheek :)
I think it's her way of saying, "Mom, you've been at the computer too long!"
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
23 Feb 07
It can be a few things. It can be attention or teathing now. You must stop this behavior now, or she will continue it forever. Hold a spray bottle of water next to you. When she bites, spray her imm. and say no. It will put a stop to it, before it becomes a habit. Good luck dear. It should work.
1 person likes this
@moonshadow68 (723)
• United States
24 Feb 07
Thanks for the good advice Margie. We have never had to use a spray bottle on her, as just telling her no usually works, but if this continues, I may have to resort to a spray bottle.
Are all cats more affectionate after they're spayed? She was fixed two weeks ago and has become much more cuddly since then, but she's still never been a lap cat until this last three days (since her playtoy--my husband--left).
@margieanneart (26423)
• United States
29 Mar 07
I don't know if that is true. They say it is, but I don't know if I agree. She may just hurt and want some extra loving.
1 person likes this
@sedel1027 (17846)
• Cupertino, California
23 Feb 07
That could be a piece of it. Our male cta has always bitten as part of play time, but our female recently started doing the same. She bites when she grooms us, he doesn't. He does however nibble at my husband when he wants attention (anywhere he can reach) this sounds like what your little one is doing.
1 person likes this
@moonshadow68 (723)
• United States
24 Feb 07
I think that may be the problem. She's spoiled to having both of us to pay attention to her all the time and now that he's gone, she wants more of my attention. Since he's been gone, she's also taken to sleeping in our bed...something she would not do before.
@emeraldisle (13139)
• United States
24 Feb 07
I've had a few cats do this. Usually with them if I tap their nose and tell them no they get the message. It could be they are showing attention to you. Cats with cats will nip so they are doing the same to you. I found it happens when they are in a very affectionate mood more then any other time.
If your kitten is not fixed and it's a recent problem it could be your kitty is growing up, in other words she's probably coming up to her first heat. She's getting ready to interact with other cats. In which case getting her fixed might help solve the problem. If she is already fixed then it could be just instinct to interact that way with those she cares about.
@moonshadow68 (723)
• United States
24 Feb 07
We had her fixed two weeks ago and this problem really does coincide with my husband's trip, so I think she may be expressing her affection and her worry that I'm going to leave one afternoon and not come back too.
Today, I went out to do so shopping and when I got back, she refused to play or let me do anything. She suddenly became a lap cat and stayed that way for half an hour (way longer than her usual attention span).
So far, as soon as I tell her no or even "ow!", she stops, but I was wondering more about her motivation than making her quit. She's immednsely trainable (she actually will come when you call her! My husband trained her to come up from the basement when he calls her and she comes the first time you yell for her.) and she's learning to play fetch, so I'm not worried about the bad behavior, just keeping her happy.
