Pet, Pet, Purr, Purr BITE again!

meow meow

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I know this is surely a case of over-stimulation but it still hurts my feelings a bit when he does this. This morning I am laying in bed, he jumps up and lays on me. Purring, purring, petting, etc... He is sprawled out on his side so my hand is coming toward his face to pet his head and cheeks (it did cross my mind that this probably wasn't wise). Anyhow, after about five minutes -- BITE! I immediately fold my hands under my neck and don't look at him. He is still laying on me... reaches over and bites me again! Mind you, these are not hard bites but I still don't like it! So, I still ignore him and he slides off of me and tries again to bite me -- now I blow air at him and he goes away.

It just kills me that a cat can be purring like mad and bite you the next second. I also think it is kind of nervy of him -- get off me if you don't want me touching you then -- but no, he sits there and stares at me.

Anyhow, just a vent -- no one is injured and he has certainly forgotten all about it. This has only happened maybe 3 times since I got him 5 months ago .
 

rosiemac

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Originally Posted by meow meow

(it did cross my mind that this probably wasn't wise) .
There you go, you now know that he's not one for being petted


My Rosie is exactly the same, and last night she was stretched out on me so relaxed when i just started to lightly stroke her back, but then her tail started swishing and i knew then that i had ticked her off so stopped.

Some cats are quite happy being curled up beside you or on you, and i suppose it's like us if were disturbed we can get grumpy
 

persi & alley

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Originally Posted by meow meow

I know this is surely a case of over-stimulation but it still hurts my feelings a bit when he does this. This morning I am laying in bed, he jumps up and lays on me. Purring, purring, petting, etc... He is sprawled out on his side so my hand is coming toward his face to pet his head and cheeks (it did cross my mind that this probably wasn't wise). Anyhow, after about five minutes -- BITE! I immediately fold my hands under my neck and don't look at him. He is still laying on me... reaches over and bites me again!
Mind you, these are not hard bites
but I still don't like it! So, I still ignore him and he slides off of me and tries again to bite me -- now I blow air at him and he goes away.

It just kills me that a cat can be purring like mad and bite you the next second. I also think it is kind of nervy of him -- get off me if you don't want me touching you then -- but no, he sits there and stares at me.

Anyhow, just a vent -- no one is injured and he has certainly forgotten all about it. This has only happened maybe 3 times since I got him 5 months ago .
I think there are different types of bites (with different intentions and objectives). Persi will bite me if I hit a snag when I am combing him in the morning, I treat it as a kind of "be careful, there Dad" kind of thing. Then there are the bites he gives some of the kids when they come over and start messing with him. (The do not mess with him anymore.)
 

jkrodger

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I posted a couple months ago about my cat Phoebe, who will be purring, VERY happy, and then will lick and bite, but only when she's really happy. The purring never ceases and I think the consensus was that she was trying to return the favor. Kinda like how they groom themselves (or if you have cats that like eachother) or other cats with licks and small bites to get our loose hair. Is your cat licking you at all? Are you sure they aren't "love bites"?
 

xxtashaxx

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my mother inlaws cat is simillar , he loves the attition , then all of a sudden , he scratchs ya or bites ya , he turns all of a sudden , looks at ya if to say well pet me again pleaseeee , then when you do he goes mad at ya again lol . i think its just the way some cats are , the stray i have been feeding loves the cuddles , but now and again even when purring he will swipe out at me. another suggestion is maybe he is hurting somewhere?? and when you stroke him you may be petting where it hurts? have you tried a quick trip to the vets?
 

jenny82

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This might help...
I think that sometimes cats get scared when it looks like your hand is coming right at their face (Chessy starts to back away if I start to pet him from this angle).
You may want to try petting his head from the side or the back instead of coming from the front.
 
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meow meow

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Originally Posted by Jenny82

This might help...
I think that sometimes cats get scared when it looks like your hand is coming right at their face (Chessy starts to back away if I start to pet him from this angle).
You may want to try petting his head from the side or the back instead of coming from the front.
I think you hit the nail on the head. I can pretty much do anything to this kitty (belly rub, vigorous back scratch) but he will also back up if he sees a hand coming at his face. The way he was laying on me, I sort of had no choice but to pet him this way but... now I know better.

Like I said, he is his old sweet self now anyway.
 

nekochan

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Sneakers used to be VERY bitey but a few things have curbed that. I think part of the biting was just not knowing how to behave and part was because she was sensitive about being touched in certain areas. When we adopted her she had mats on her back which were painful and so she would hiss or bite if you petted her on her back... With the mats removed she pretty soon realized that the petting would not hurt and she learned to allow petting anywhere (although she still doesn't like tummy rubs!)
The things that I think helped stop her biting were first of all I didn't pull away when she bit, which made her realize that biting without a good reason is NOT going to make her get her way.
The other thing was if she came onto my lap (her favorite spot) and then she bit or hissed/got angry at me for either a) petting her or for b) (most often reason) for daring to move around while she was lying on me, I would immediately stand up so she had to get off my lap. Sounds harsh maybe, but hey it's MY lap, and it made her realize that biting equals no more lap time!
Also I found when I did not pull away that not all of her biting was "angry" biting or hard biting, some of her bites were what I call "love bites" and now this is the only type of bites she gives unless you really get her angry somehow... What I mean by "love bites" is if you don't pull your hand away you will see that it's really more like she is putting her mouth on your hand lightly and not hurting you, and she does this when she isn't annoyed... I don't mind that type!
 

cheylink

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Sometimes they don't realize what a bite feels like, how often does he get bitten? He wants attention but gets overly aggresive after a while. As soon as he shows a sign of or does bite, I would sit up or stand up, just shift your position in a way where he is not comfortable and is moved away from you as in "no petting if you bite"! If he takes an aggresive stance, ears slightly turned, no blinking, stare down, just walk away. Gaurantee if you leave the room and come back a minute later, he will have a completely different attitude.
 

april31

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One of my cats will give a nip if he wants my attention. Not hard he will paw at me first and then if I still dont pet him he will nip me. He only does it to me.
 

kittenkiya

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I have found that Tammy-Timmy does the same thing, but I also notice that because we live in Arizona it is sooooo dry, we have a lot of static electricity.

I'm wondering if that can be part of the irritant too.
 

januaryg31

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My 5 1/2 month old kitten Myles is a biter. He bites down pretty hard to the point where I feel like he's breaking the skin. I've tried all the techniques posted on this site, say NO, give time outs, walk out of the room, don't move your hands and arms and remain still, etc..... nothing stops him and he continues his behavior. I'm not sure what makes cats do that but I think it just depends on the cat. I've had other cats that never bit hard, but just gave little nips. Those I can understand and for the most part they don't bother me at all, but I don't know how to stop Myles from his biting. I can be sitting on the couch watching TV and the next thing I know he's attacking my arm! I'm hoping he grows out of it as he gets a little older.
 

muskrat50

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Inky has been a biter since I got him. I, too, have tried all of the suggestions on this site, but to no avail. This happens once or twice a day: he looks at me and the ears go back. If I don't get out of the way, he will draw blood. If he's worked up, he pants and attacks again. By this time I've stood up and he will even go for my pants leg. My usual behaviour is to give him a time out by putting him in the bathroom and shutting the door, or spraying him with water -- which I don't really like to do and frankly I don't always have a sprayer handy. He is otherwise a wonderful cat -- lets me sleep most nights until 5:50 (that's about the best he can do :-). He and I live in a one room apartment, so there's no escape for either of us. I get discouraged about this, but I love him. It's clear that none of these strategies are working and the fact that he keeps doing them (despite the same outcome) makes me think it's part of our "routine".

Jeff
 
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