Biting

So, I have this cat, see, and he likes to bite..lol.

Holden is a young guy, 7 months, and he likes to be held and he loves to sleep on me while I am watching TV. He has recently started adding biting to his repertoire while playing. He will usually bat at my hand then bite me. He does not clamp down or anything, but a few times it has hurt a bit. Is this just normal playful behavior or will he eventually be a terror and randomly chomp off pieces of my arm? I notice he does not respond to the word "no" even when used loudly..lol

Since he doesn't clamp down, it could just be his version of a "love bite," which by definition is relatively harmless.

It sounds like you might be using your fingers/hands as "toys" while playing with him, which really isn't a good idea. If you're concerned that his biting frequency/intensity might escalate, you need to teach him that human body parts are not playthings. When he bites, yell "OW!" and then ignore him, so he begins to understand that biting you hurts you and also leads to him not getting any attention. There are other approaches that tend to work as well; this is just the most basic one.

Good advice. I got to buy him more toys, I guess..lol

Both of mine do the same thing, although the male is playing, the female is giving "love bites". They both don't usually clamp down hard.

I agree though, I wouldn't let your kitty view your fingers as a "toy".

I went out to Pet Smart just now and bought a bunch of new toys for him. I am going to ration them though. Last time, I bought a bunch of stuff and put it all on the floor. he got bored of them quick and lost interest. So, this time he gets a few new toys at a time and when he tires of them I will replace them.

That's a very smart approach. If they go a week or two without a particular toy, they tend to treat it almost as a brand new toy when it is reintroduced.

Originally Posted by Spyral

I went out to Pet Smart just now and bought a bunch of new toys for him. I am going to ration them though. Last time, I bought a bunch of stuff and put it all on the floor. he got bored of them quick and lost interest. So, this time he gets a few new toys at a time and when he tires of them I will replace them.

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This is exactly what you should do. We rotate all the toys, because they DO get bored of them! Also, when he's old enough to respond to catnip, it's a great idea to "marinate" some of the toys in catnip for a week, then put them out for a few days. Watch your kitty bonk out!

(Cats become "immune" to catnip, so never leave an actual catnip toy out for more than a day, and only put them out every two weeks or so - otherwise they just don't enjoy it).

Also - if he doesn't respond to the yelling "OW" and ignoring him, try hissing at him and giving a short, sharp puff of air in his face, saying "no" sharply, and then ignoring him. We've found that talking to kitties in their own language really helps - and they learn the meaning of the word "no" pretty quickly!

Laurie

Good idea, Laurie, I will try that next time he decides to try and eat my hand.