Stop biting me please

j_f_a

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
140
Purraise
1
Location
England, Sheffield
So my kitty has discovered an excellent way to make his meowmy stop sleeping and pay attention to him. What he does it gets onto my pillow and starts padding it. Only in such a way that as well as padding the pillow he's pulling my hair. Boy does that hurt! So I wake up and if I don't fuss him he somehow knows I'm awake and stops padding my hair only to hit me in the face with his paw and then continue padding :p

So I thought this was him beating me up on purpose but it turns out all he wants is attention. So I stroke him and he stops, but now I have another problem. When I'm stroking him he suddenly turns around and...bites me? Not hard but enough to hurt and scratch me and give me a bloody great shock. Which my reaction send him off the bed and I refuse to stroke him again, but then he just starts pulling my hair again. Why is my cat biting me? Do you know?
 

rosiemac

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Messages
54,358
Purraise
100
Location
ENGLAND... LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY!
Originally Posted by J_F_A

When I'm stroking him he suddenly turns around and...bites me?
Theres your problem.

I can stroke Rosie, but only for a certain length of time, then her tail starts to swish and that's the signal for me to stop, and if not then she lets me know the hard way by giving me a quick bite.

He's not pulling your hair on purpose, it's because it's there. My cats walk across the top of my pillow where my hair gets pulled as they walk across it
 

skippymjp

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
8,049
Purraise
33
Location
Mammoth Cave, KY - USA
Trace is a lot like Rosie in that respect. He has this very stern "take a break" look he gives me when he's been stroked to his satisfaction.
If I keep on, he grabs my hand with his forepaws and gives a little nip. It's more like a "grab" than a bite, but it's delivers the message.
 

zane's pal

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
1,059
Purraise
1
Location
Charleston, WV
Whenever I'm petting Zane and he suddenly bites me I yell BAD CAT and push him off my lap. Then I ignore him for a while.
 

shanynne

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Aug 5, 2006
Messages
580
Purraise
4
Location
Bellingham, WA USA
Cats tend to bite like that sometimes due to over stimulation, but it's also their way of saying "You are mine".

When your cat bites you like that, he probably does not realize he is hurting you. So the best thing to do is to let him know by screaming, yowling, or screeching loudly in pain that he is hurting you.

If you simply say no or bad cat, he won't understand that he is hurting you. By screaming in pain, he will know he is hurting you and will stop or "adjust" the strength of his bites.

For example, Rascal gives me loves bites all the time. As a general rule he is very gentle with me, even with his claws. He has never deliberately hurt me. But, when he does hurt me, he knows by my loud scream of pain that he did and he always bites more gently.

He is so sweet!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

j_f_a

TCS Member
Thread starter
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 19, 2008
Messages
140
Purraise
1
Location
England, Sheffield
He is pulling my hair on purpose. I sleep with my hair tied back so to pull my hair he has to pull at the roots. And he's not telling me to get off because he comes straight back and shoves his head into my hands and demands more attention. I told you why he's pulling my hair. It was the biting I didn'tunderstand, because he's not telling me to get off which was the only think that I knew biting could mean.


All cats do, however, give some body signal prior to striking out. Learn to read cat body language. Ears going back and flat, even if just a little, mean "I'm irritated". Tails swishing back and forth also signals agitation or annoyance. The faster the twitching of the tail, the more agitated the cat is becoming. The body stiffening indicates the cat is no longer relaxed. Of course, a cat crying and squirming to get loose from you is obviously letting you know to stop. Respect these communications and leave the cat alone before the cat feels the need to bite or scratch.
Mitzy doesn't do any of that. He'll be purring and rubbing his head, and I'll move my hand away and he'll shove his head into it and I'll pet him and then as I move my hand away again he'll just bite. Nothing at all to show a change in his temper, and after he's released me if he's not been pushed off the bed he'll jam his head into my hand for more fusses.

I do squeel when I'm bitten, not because it hurts but because it's shock.
 

kkh

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
383
Purraise
12
Location
Hawaii
My baby-cat used to bite my legs whenever she was in a playing mode(or an attacking mode). First she dashed toward me, used her paws to grab either one of my leg or feet, and then chomp... Ouch!! It was not only painful but scared a hell out of me as she usually hid & ran out from no where when she did that


She was feral but I've been keeping her strictly indoor only, so I knew she was frustrated and bored. I started playing with her at least 15 min everyday to aid that but she still did not stop biting. I've read that I should scream LOUD everytime she bit me, so I tried on that. Well, I must have really scared her off, she literally jumped up few feets(lol) when I first did that...but I guess it worked. Eventually, and I mean EVENTUALLY, she stopped biting me while playing.

She still occasionally does the dash & attack thing these days. It really makes me "jump-up" as she does it to me unexpectedly but at least she does it without putting her claws out. All I feel is her fluffy cute little paws
 

rosiemac

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Messages
54,358
Purraise
100
Location
ENGLAND... LAND OF HOPE AND GLORY!
Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

Whenever I'm petting Zane and he suddenly bites me I yell BAD CAT and push him off my lap. Then I ignore him for a while.
It's not the cats fault that you've went too far with the petting. The key is to look for the signals from them, and if they don't give any signals before biting you know not to pet them as long.
 

zane's pal

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Oct 10, 2007
Messages
1,059
Purraise
1
Location
Charleston, WV
Originally Posted by Rosiemac

It's not the cats fault that you've went too far with the petting. The key is to look for the signals from them, and if they don't give any signals before biting you know not to pet them as long.
When I see the signals I back off. Sometimes, though, he'll bite without any warning. That is when I yell and push him off my lap.
 

kristykitty

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jul 29, 2008
Messages
237
Purraise
1
Location
Wisconsin
Cat bites don't always mean "leave me alone", so it could be an invitation to play or that she wants more attention.

My cat will nip at my mom's fingers if my mom doesn't pet her right away.
Then if she stops petting, the cat will give her a few more nips lol until she starts petting again!

I think you can tell if it's a bite that means "stop petting" or one that is an invitation to play and more attention. Like people have said, the body language will tell you if the cat is irritated or not.

I'm not sure what to do about the biting, other than just yelling really loudly so she understands it hurts you. It sounds like from other people's stories, that this will work eventually. Otherwise maybe you'll want to close the door to your bedroom if she's really bothering you in the morning.
 

kkh

TCS Member
Alpha Cat
Joined
Jun 5, 2008
Messages
383
Purraise
12
Location
Hawaii
Originally Posted by KristyKitty

Otherwise maybe you'll want to close the door to your bedroom if she's really bothering you in the morning.


I forgot about that option. Yes, that's probably the best bet if your cat bites you while you're sleeping AND, you also have a lock on your bedroom door.

My bedroom door does not have a lock, and my baby-cat has learned how to open the door. Since she is my alarm clock in the morning, I decided not to place any lock
 
Top