Cat bites during affection

Hi,

I am new to this forum and I am not sure if these questions have been already answered somewhere ...if so, please apologize.

I have two Devon Rex kittens/young adults (about 8-9 months old). One of them is the sweetest cat in the world and doesn't cause any problems. The other one can be a devil at times (most of the time). He shows - what I believe is - abnormal behavior and I don't know how to deal with it.

I start with the worst thing: he bites. Not during play, not when he is agressive, but when he is affectionate. Mostly during nights and mornings. Whenever I sleep he approaches, purrs very loud, comes very close, licks and then - bang !. He bites, my nose, my ears, my chin, my arms, hands whatever he can get, repeatedly and very hard.

The other issue which is hard to handle is that he is dirty. He always plays with his food before he eats it which means that half of it is typically on the floor. He spends sometimes 20-30 minutes in his litter box and creates a whole mess, inside and out.

Finally, like most devons, he likes to be hold and be on top of things. But this one doesn't know any boundaries. When he sees me (or anyone really) standing somewhere, he jumps, claws himself up the arms and shoulder. And it hurst, no matter whether his nails are clipped or not.

there are many other things but he is is principally unruly to the extent that it is difficult to live with him.

I always thought I knew how to handle animals; I lived with cats and dogs my whole life. I tried so many things. Nothings seems to work. Spraying water, for instance, doesn't even seem to bother him at all.

I am a little desperate and hope someone can help with advise.

I'll let others answer your other questions but for the clawing/climbing up people I would try using Soft Paws, It's a claw cover and it should keep him from being able to climb you or anyone else in your house.

http://www.softpaws.com/

And don't worry! I've had many cats growing up and I've learned so much here in the span of a month. There is always room to learn more. It's great you're researching for help!

Ferris bites to show his affection, but just my hands and fingers, fortunately.

At first, I thought it was aggression, and would jerk away (gut reaction) and yell OW! when he did it.

We taught each other: He learned how to bite more lightly (and gives me a bunch of little licks right afterward to make sure that I know he's being lovey) and I learned not to jump and scare the fluffy britches off of him.

He is now approximately 17 months old, and becomes more and more gentle as he ages. I think it's a kitten thing. If you yell LOUDLY when he bites, it will startle him, and he SHOULd learn that if he wants to give you his love bites, he is going to have to learn to be more gentle with you.

I wish I had a answer for you as smokey does the same thing! He is VERY affectionate but bites me hard as he is lick me or rubbing up on me, and it's my face, hands, etc... Maybe it's a kitten thing?

I think Gingersmom has got some good points. He's probably overstimulated, and that's when the biting starts. He's still pretty young, but as he ages, he will probably a) learn the boundaries better, and b) exhibit some behavior to let you know when it's about to the biting point.

My Patsy bites to show affection. I've tried to break her of the habit but I haven't had any luck. She's almost 12 years old so it's definately not a kitten thing with her. At first I thought it had something to do with her being abused before I adopted her but it just seems like something she does. She has learned to be a lot more gentle.

You may not like my solution but it works.

A long time ago I had a black cat, Spooky, who use to bite during affection.
I tried to disapline him not to do this, nothing bad just a sharp no.
That din't work.
Some one told me to bite him back.

So...
He bit me one day. I bit him back hard getting a mouthfull of fur.
He yelled and I replied "hurts don't it?"
He never bit me or any one again.

I think this is normal for young kittens but they need to be broken of it before the 1st year.
I think he was about 8-9 mounts old.

It works!!

Winchester does that biting thing, too. He's not doing it to be mean, he just gets carried away when he's being affectionate. I used to lightly tap him on the nose whenever he bit too hard, and now he rarely bites that hard anymore: he still bites, but very lightly...

~KK~

Makes perfect sense, if you ask me. Most cats learn how to play from their littermates, and when they bite or get too rough, the other kitten will happily bite them back, showing that it hurts.

It's one of the reasons that most breeders don't place kittens until they're at least 12 weeks old -- that extra playtime with littermates and other cats is crucial for a well-adjusted kitten. They learn *so much* during their early life.

My little guy sometimes gets excited when being snuggled and will place his teeth on you, but I just hold still and say "AH" and he stops. He learned pretty quick that a nibble stops the petting, with no real response. We tried a few different things but just stopping completely (not pulling away or trying to bap him gently on the head) and making a "no no" noise seems to work very well. Thankfully we haven't had to bite back

Originally Posted by laserray

You may not like my solution but it works.

A long time ago I had a black cat, Spooky, who use to bite during affection.
I tried to disapline him not to do this, nothing bad just a sharp no.
That din't work.
Some one told me to bite him back.

So...
He bit me one day. I bit him back hard getting a mouthfull of fur.
He yelled and I replied "hurts don't it?"
He never bit me or any one again.

I think this is normal for young kittens but they need to be broken of it before the 1st year.
I think he was about 8-9 mounts old.

It works!!

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Originally Posted by KittKatt

That's rather funny...

It may be a rather strange way to go about teaching a cat not to bite, but it makes sense. My son was going thru that biting stage when he was about 2, and I had to use that method to teach him to stop biting.

It does work: after biting him back 2 or 3 times, he never bit me again, either!

Sometime ya gotta use strange methods to do the trick...

~KK~

Click to expand...

This method, while successful, should really be used as a VERY last resort.

But I admit that this is how I taught my skin daughter to NOT bite her preschool classmates. Had to - she was about to get tossed out of preschool! I only bit her once, never had that issue again.

I have seen this used with puppies - one good bite, one big YELP! and they remember not to do that because it hurts.

But again, I strongly urge that this be a LAST RESORT method.

Hi, I hate to tell you this, but your kitty's behavior is not abnormal at all - he's just a very active kitten with a bit of an ALPHA personality! We have a little male devon (6 months old) named Ares, and he is super active, fearless and can bite when excited. He typically doesn't bite DH, but will bite my hands and feet when he's excited and occasionally will give us a nip on the face when acting lovey, like you described.
I got a great tip from GoldenKitty to put bitter apple spray on my feet (and I've also put some on my hands). When Ares took a bite - he realized the taste was quite unpleasant and stopped biting. You might try dabbing a bit on your face and see if it gets the message across. Also, you could try hissing at him or calmly placing him in another room.
I must also ask if you work at home? I do, and I think Ares thinks of me almost as a littermate, which is why he bites me. And yes, we have been "scaled" before as well, but he has pretty much grown out of this.
I would definetely be sure you play with your kitty enough - that might wear him down a bit more. (We play with Ares about an hour a day.) But do NOT play ANY games with him where you use your body parts as a toy! It will send a mixed message.
You also didn't mention if he was neutered? I have heard that neutering can have a calming effect on hyper cats. I would say that it is kitty behavior and he'll probably grow out of these habits. Ares can be a pest at times, but we wouldn't trade him for the world - despite some biting, I love his sass and cheekiness!!

Good luck!

Oh, Ares would dig to China if given the chance - I am not a believer in covered litterboxes, so I got a rubbermaid high-sided litterbox along with a large ribbed littermat and that has essentially taken care of litter being spread everywhere

Thank you for all the respones.

He (Strom) certainly has a alpha personality.

I play a lot with him (never with my hands or feet), and don't work from home. It's also not overstimulation because he bites even if I don't pet him. It's always the same pattern: he approaches when I sleep, places himself close to my head, often sits on my face, licks, nips and BITES. Mostly my face, or my arms and hands if he can't get to the face. He never bites in other situations. And it is defintely "love" not agressive biting.

I sometimes get up and throw him out of the bed room but both cats are very attached and cry a lot if they are not in the same room than me (they also have their "beds" there).

I tried biting him back. So far it didn't help but last night i bit much harder and he stopped right after. This morning he seemed to have made an effort not to bite, he started lightly but then couldn't control himself. I will try again. It's tough though because his pain tolerance seems very high.

Volta, my other cat, is also holding him on distance since he started biting. She used to sleep next to him but is now placing herself farer away.

I wonder whether it might be hormonel. He is not yet neutered (but due next month). Could this perhaps explain his behavior?

Originally Posted by Devon Rex

I wonder whether it might be hormonel. He is not yet spayed (but due next month). Could this perhaps explain his behavior?

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That ought to definitely make a positive difference. He loves you, quite obviously - he'll learn, but I think he'll ALWAYS give you love bites, just more gently as he ages.

My cat is 6 years old and he just starting biting during affection time about 2 years ago. It started out soft, but now he bites really hard. And he DOES NOT LET GO. It's stressful, because he is so stubborn, refuses to stop. I've yelled out in pain, and while my yelling startled him, he still latched on while looking right at me. Like, "yeah I know it hurts, but I don't care." I've sprayed him with the water bottle, and I've kicked him off the couch when he does it. I've grabbed him by the scruff, which he hates. He still does it though. He likes to be held, and he will pester me to pick him up, so i pick him up and put him on my shoulder, petting him, then he turns and bites my cheek. I really, don't know what to do because it makes me not want him to sit and relax with me. Which means, he doesn't get his one on one time he waits all day for. I don't know what to do. Maybe I should bite him back? lol I'd rather not get hair in my mouth... 

Some cats have certain spots on their body that when you touch them there it sets them off.   For instance with my cat Max, I know he likes just the top of his head to be rubbed especially around his ears.     Anywhere else is asking for trouble.    So you maybe need to be careful of how you hold him or where you pet him.