love bites?

Kitty occasionally gives me little love bites on my hands when we are cuddling. He's always purring when he does it, and he never does it that hard, so I'm sure he means it as love.....right? Is this typical cat behavior??

Not terribly common, but it is typical.
Spaz likes giving surprise love bites.
She'll cuddle up to the back of someone's neck purring, and headbutting then CHOMP! right on the skull.

I have found "love" bites to be pretty common. My take on it is that they Luuuuuurve you soooo much they don't know WHAT to do with that feeling! So they.... chomp!!!!

It's usually more of a "pinch" with the rescues. Often followed with kisses.

Originally Posted by AddieBee

I have found "love" bites to be pretty common. My take on it is that they Luuuuuurve you soooo much they don't know WHAT to do with that feeling! So they.... chomp!!!!

It's usually more of a "pinch" with the rescues. Often followed with kisses.

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My former feral, Ferris, gives me the most love bites. They used to hurt until he learned not to bite me so hard. Now he gently bites my hand or arm and then lick, lick, licks.

Baby Bonnie, a stray kitten that was rescued in Nov at about 7 weeks old gives me the "grooming" kind of kitten bites, especially on my fingers. I'll wake up late at night sometimes to feel her gently biting my fingertips in between licks.

Firmly discourage this. Zane used to do this all the time. I'd push him off my lap or bed the moment teeth touched flesh. He learned, in time, that biting me resulted in something unpleasant happening.

It's really not a problem...he only does it when we're actively cuddling each other (not when i'm trying to sleep or anything)...and it usually starts as or is followed by licking...and he usually just nips with his front teeth, and like I said, it's never hard. I don't mind it, it doesn't hurt, but I was just wondering if many cats do it....mine was also feral until I took him in at about 10 weeks...i wonder if there's any correlation between ferals and love bites...lol

Originally Posted by mycherona

It's really not a problem...he only does it when we're actively cuddling each other (not when i'm trying to sleep or anything)...and it usually starts as or is followed by licking...and he usually just nips with his front teeth, and like I said, it's never hard. I don't mind it, it doesn't hurt, but I was just wondering if many cats do it....mine was also feral until I took him in at about 10 weeks...i wonder if there's any correlation between ferals and love bites...lol

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There's no reason to discourage this at all - it simply sounds like love to me. He's telling you much he cares.

My Rossi does this, but he's a bit of an odd duck. He'll follow me around, obviously wanting my attention, then hop up on to a table to get a bit closer; when I finally give him some love, he nuzzles my hand and seems to be loving every minute of it, but out of nowhere he gets the ticked-off look and starts biting.

He's a skittish sort and has always been prone to cower when raising your hand to pet him, so methinks he has some emotional issues. But he's 100x better than he used to be, so I'll take what I can get. Including the occasional chomping of the hand.

Obie does that to me a lot. Last time was just a few minutes ago when I come home I'll usually lie in bed for a while and check my email or surf the web on my iPhone. He'll come up to me, give me head bonks for a bit, then fall on his back for some tummy rubs. While I'm scratching his belly he'll kiss my hand then give it a little nibble... He doesn't bite hard at all. It's just enough that I can just barely feel it. It tickles more than anything else.

Girlie used to nibble on our hands but she stopped doing it on her own a while ago.

Mr Jinx used to do that

Simon likes to do this. I'll lean in to nuzzle him, he'll lick my nose, then suddenly give me a gentle bite. It's weird but it's cute, and doesn't hurt...so it must be love.

I know a lot of people disagree with letting your cat nibble on you in play and such, but Bella does this to me. I think it might have to do with "claiming" me or whatever. But I'll be petting her and she'll be licking my hand one minute and then nibbling it the next.

I think there is a difference between love bites and biting. Biting is usually done when upset or angry and it hurts! Love bites are soft, gentle and just part of the loving.

The tail will let you know what kind is coming

My Smoke has started biting my hand when she is playing. She will stretch out for me to rub her belly, then she will bring in her back legs, grab me with her front paws, and start to bite. I just stop moving my hand and she keeps my hand in her mouth without any pressure. Is she just love bitting or is this something I need to put a stop to?

Mary

All good if its a gentle bite, but if its drawing blood how to stop that?

Grandmas cat was feral beforehand and she keeps showing me bite marks itself.

It doesnt bite me because it happened to do it at a time I was swinging my hand around to get something so it got smacked off the couch and never wanted to try it.

The cat just bites too hard can it be lessened to proper love bites?

Originally Posted by Sephora

All good if its a gentle bite, but if its drawing blood how to stop that?

Grandmas cat was feral beforehand and she keeps showing me bite marks itself.

It doesnt bite me because it happened to do it at a time I was swinging my hand around to get something so it got smacked off the couch and never wanted to try it.

The cat just bites too hard can it be lessened to proper love bites?

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If the cat is drawing blood it's probably not exactly a love bite. Being a former feral some things may make this cat more jumpy or over stimulate it and the response is to bite. Telling the cat no, firmly (no yelling), and putting it down on the floor may help. But ultimately if the cat does this often, it may just be one of those cats that one needs to handle a little less.

Agreed. Some cats are overstimulated easily. Sebastian loves me to pieces but I can only stroke him for a short while before he just cannot take any more. When his tail starts thrashing around, I know it is time to stop. If I don't, he bites and runs away. He doesn't want to hurt me, he just has to find a way to make it stop.

Daphne will let me stroke her back forever. Galahad loves being held and having his tummy rubbed (so far).

It really depends on the cat and what their tolerances are.