adult cat agression (biting)

ceasar's mum

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Hi, i have just bought a three year old male oriental x cat from the RSPCA. He is a lovely natured boy, but he bites for no apparent reason(very hard). I have been grabbing him by the scruff of his neck when he does this and he then sulks. Does anyone have any other options for stopping this behaviour or does anyone know if this will stop once he realises that he will be disiplined after biting? Please help! Also, he is very active at night (goes psycho!) and won't sleep at all in the night. He keeps me up all night, and will then sleep all of the next day! Little bugger. Any suggestions to make his sleep at night? Thank you very much.

Steph.
 

dragonlady

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You don't mention if the kitty has been declawed. Many times a cat that has been declawed will bite.

Grabbing him by the scruff will not alter his behavior. I would have a stuffed animal on hand to distract him from biting you. Allow him to bite the stuffed toy instead.

The kitty will calm down at night if you feed right before bed time and play with your kitty. Get one of those fishing pole toys and really give the kitty a work out.

Please let us know how this workd for you!
 

lotsocats

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If he is not neutered this could be part of the problem.

We will need more information to help you end the biting.

What are you doing before he bites? Petting him? Ignoring him? Playing with him? What???????

What is happening around him when he bites? Are their loud sounds? Children running about? What???????

Once you give us details about what is happening when he bites, we can help.
 
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ceasar's mum

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continued from last message... (adult three year old biting male cat)

He has been desexed and is vacinated. He has not be de-clawed (i have never heard of that before). When he bites i am usualy asleep in bed or half asleep, as his presence has awoken me. He just bites, i'm not sure if i've peted him or not, he just bites very hard then either runs off or keeps biting. He has aslo bitten me a few times in the day when he's been in an excited mood. In response i grab him by the scuff of his neck and he stops (sometimes goes sulky, mostly acts as if nothing has happened). Lastnight I found that by leaving the heater on (it's winter over here)he didn't go psycho all night (only two hours or so of play). Is this a normal cat behaviour (when warm wanting to sleep not play)?

Thanks very much,

steph.
 

dragonlady

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I know if one of my kitties bites too hard when playing I will squeek at him like a kitten. It usually makes them lick the spot they bit. If he is biting you in your sleep, I would close him out of your room at night. When you are awake and playing with him and he bites, stop all play and walk away. This is what cats do when another cat has overstepped the boundries. It will make sense to the cat whereas scruffing him will not get the message across.
Good luck with your kitty and keep us posted.
 

hissy

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Hi, I merged your threads together for you.


To help him sleep through the night, right before bedtime engage him in about 10-15 minutes of interactive play- pull a toy on a string around the house, tie a toy to a fishing pole, make him really work, engage his prey instinct. Then give him a nice bowl of warm canned cat food. This should help him sleep through the night.
 
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