I saw an earlier thread about affection or agression...

[libby'smom]

My Libby insists on going up to my leg looks up at me and takes her paw and touches my leg (no sharp claws) and then will crook her head to the side and bite my leg, it's not hard, but she still bites. I will say ouch and she'll look at me and do it again. I then walk away if she does it again. She just follows me around after that.

My question is: Is this agression or affection? If it's affection I'm happy, but I don't want to keep biting, she's still a kitten (even though she looks like an adult to me) I don't want to reinforce this habit.

This morning she actually jumped on the bed, went up to my face, got within an inch of my face, and walked away a little bit. When I had my hands lifted she kind of put her cheek on my hand, but then when I went to stroke her in the same spot she did that same biting. I really want to show her attention, but like I said I don't want her to get the impression that the biting is okay. I also don't want to reject her if this is normal kitten to kitten behavior.

 

[coaster]

Yes, it's affection, and yes, you don't want to reinforce it. You're doing the right things so far -- just be patient -- she'll learn that you don't like her doing that. It takes a cat a while to unlearn what's a normal behavior for them.

And don't worry about her feeling rejected -- she's as much into learning about what you want as you are into learning about what she wants.

 

[libby'smom]

She just attacked me.

I told her no and she went to attack anyway. She was on my foot, I moved and she attacked again. I'm going to wait it out still. I'm really sad about it. I had to move her off of me because she got a grip.

Ugh. How long is the waiting period before she won't always attack?

 

[coaster]

You have to get over this idea she's attacking you. Believe me, she's just playing with you. She's just doing what cats do. And don't move your foot:

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From 101 Questions Your Cat Would Ask Its Vet If Your Cat Could Talk by Bruce Fogle

Cats who stalk their owners are bored, frustrated felines. They need mental and physical stimulation and are almost always housebound animals. With nothing much to do, they sleep most of the day.

The only other living things that these cats ever see are humans....human movement can be exciting. Human feet move erratically, just the way real prey moves. They start, stop, turn, back up, move forward,...,disappear around corners....They become the most exciting thing in a boring existence.

With little else to do, some cats stalk feet....he slinks low to the ground, unblinkingly staring at his prey. As the feet move through the room, the cat quietly stalks forward. Suddenly he launches his attack....Grabbing with his forepaws and kicking with his hind legs, he grasps the ankle and sinks his teeth into the flesh. In a flash he is gone.

The only way cats can overcome this form of hunting aggression is to develop an alternative release....People who don't enjoy this behavior either should wear high protective leather boots or should play more games with their captive moggies

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Your "no" needs to be more convincing -- she needs to know that biting you hurts. And she needs more interaction with you through cat toys, not with your body.

Keep your cool!! Your and your cat getting to know one another is an ongoing process. You're going to be companions for the next 15 to 20 years. A couple weeks now is a good investment.

 

[libby'smom]

I posted a reply but it didn't post. I'll try to be more firm in my no's, but we do play with her a lot. We play with her definitely twice a day as a minimum. But we play with her whenever we have breaks. I play with her before I go to work after I feed her. Since my husband works at night, when he comes home, he goes to sleep and then when he wakes up he plays with her. Then when I come home and start to cook, he plays with her again. I then feed Libby, and after we finish eating I try to kind of do some of my errands, and have some time for myself, and then before I go to bed I play with her for another half hour.

Believe me we try to burn as much energy as we can with her. She's just a year old, so I'm not sure if we are not playing with her enough.