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Play biting, do you allow?

post #1 of 31
9/10/10 at 1:33pm
Thread Starter 
Emily will sometimes play bite. I always move my hand away and ignore her, but my husband thinks that she knows that this is just play. What your thoughts on the matter?
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post #2 of 31
9/10/10 at 1:39pm
Cats aren't supposed to be allowed to play bite. If you allow them to, they will think that it's okay to bite you. I will admit, once in a while I let my cat bite me!
Hope this helped,
Eileen

P.S. I advise to move your hand away as you said, and say NO in an authoritative tone.
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post #3 of 31
9/10/10 at 2:29pm
Play bites: - depends on which cat I'm playing with - and if I have a toy they're directing their bites to, but biting me is a big no no

Love bites: - I have two that give love bites

They do know the difference.

That's been my experience so far.
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post #4 of 31
9/10/10 at 2:36pm
A little. I'll let Tanna gnaw on me - she has a tiny kitten sized mouth and isn't actually biting.

But for teaching cats and ones that do not know the difference between acceptable chewing and rough biting, no.
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post #5 of 31
9/10/10 at 5:26pm
Nope! Not at all. I don't play with them with my hands at all.
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post #6 of 31
9/10/10 at 5:35pm
Not usually. With mine, play biting turns into bites that draw blood. Love bites are ok though.
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post #7 of 31
9/10/10 at 7:07pm
I try to discourage the behavior. I would rather not get bitten up if they forget that I am not as strong as they are, lol.
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post #8 of 31
9/10/10 at 8:13pm
It depends on which cat. My elderly cat "nips" for attention. She's done this since the day we adopted her and I don't really mind. Speck rarely play bites and doesn't really sink his teeth in. It's kind of funny and I don't mind that. Daisy can get rough and she likes to bite. I try to keep my hands and feet clear of her mouth.
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post #9 of 31
9/10/10 at 10:05pm
My adult cat likes to chew on people's fingers and ears whenever she can, from when they least expect it to when they are just relaxing together. She never bites down and hurts the skin though. She does the same to the dogs.
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post #10 of 31
9/11/10 at 3:39am
Thread Starter 
I think what Emily does is more chewing. She is obviously in a good mood when she does this, all purring and cuddly. My in-laws cat properly bit me which turned into a fun trip to the emergency room in Germany and that is not what Emily Dickinson is trying to do.
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post #11 of 31
9/11/10 at 4:06am
I don't allow biting in kittens or of course when I am trying to do something, (give pills, trim claws, etc)

Tolly nips sometimes when he's had a bad day and is telling me about it, but it is only for emphasis, he is 11, and is not a biter, and never has been, he's been with me since he was five weeks old.

Mazy was a biter when she came here (unsocialized adult) and sent me to the ER twice. She has been trained out of it, as long as I respect her boundaries. It took a long time for her to learn to stop herself from biting. It's still there, under the surface, she can't help it, but she has it under control.

Jennie was a nipper when she first came (adult stray) but learned in one day that it's not allowed.

Queen Eva is a baby so of course is just learning that we don't bite Mommie in this house. I do not use hands or feet as toys, but sometimes she wraps herself around my hand before I can stop her. I tell her no in disapproving tones, and put her down.

She's recently discovered the Blanket Monsters in bed, but she's also learning that pouncing on my feet in bed gets her picked up and put on the floor. She bounces right back up of course, but she's learning.

So no, I don't allow biting.
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post #12 of 31
9/11/10 at 11:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by otto View Post
She's recently discovered the Blanket Monsters in bed, but she's also learning that pouncing on my feet in bed gets her picked up and put on the floor. She bounces right back up of course, but she's learning.
I have two foot pouncers. Blasa and Siri. Blasa is the very definition of behaved and delicate. She lightly pounces and paws, and never bites. If you move your foot too much it will actually spook her and she'll run away.
Siri goes in for the kill and does try to deliver a killing bite... we just pull our feet back quickly rather than correct her. She doesn't let loose and play enough.
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post #13 of 31
9/11/10 at 1:24pm
I'm in the minority here but for the 3 of my 4 cats that are comfortable playing with my hands I do allow play biting. You have to teach them the boundaries, it takes time and during the learning process I have to be willing to be bitten harder than I want and not be angry with them. I'm glad I've done this. For one thing, 3 of the cats, my husband and I all think it's fun. (It makes the 4th cat uncomfortable so we never do it with her.) I love rubbing their tummies and letting them grab my hand with their paws and put their teeth on me. It's a really unique bond to know that they can do that and be careful about not hurting me. I've also had great results from firmly establishing what's appropriate and what isn't when it comes to vet trips and at home "medical care" like giving them pills or trimming claws. While you could definitely get the same results without allowing play biting I've found that teaching the boundaries in play biting gives me more opportunities to reinforce those boundaries thus excellent results down the road. If you don't want to run the risk of being bitten firmly, I'd avoid it. But if you don't mind an overly playful scratch in the course of learning I find it a lot of fun.
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post #14 of 31
9/11/10 at 1:39pm
I don't condone any type of biting. Mandy, does do a nibble thing when she wants attention. I discourage her. All three will do some paw whacking and batting when teased with a hand under the covers. Dealing with claws is bad enough.
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post #15 of 31
9/11/10 at 3:47pm
We don't play with the boys with hands and feet, only toys. Sometimes Spooky will grab my hand a nibble it but not close down his mouth and this I allow. Mulder sometimes gets a little carried away when he is overstimulated and will go after your hand that has the toy, and he gets a "NO!" and the hand withdrawn which snaps him out of it. They also offer love bites which are accepted. Jinkers has not offered any kind of biting so I don't know how he will react.
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post #16 of 31
9/11/10 at 4:01pm
No, absolutely not. I don't have to worry about it much but if Ginga gets overstimulated, she tends to bite people and Jazzy. Love bites are fine though.

Jackz, Jazzy & Ginga.
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post #17 of 31
9/12/10 at 5:56am
That is what I am going through with Boca at the moment. He likes to lick my fingers and really gets into the petting to the point he drools sometimes, and if I keep humoring him and petting him, he eventually gets overstimulated and will take my fingers in his mouth, barley touching them with teeth (like love bites). Then he's bitten me a couple times. Not drawn blood, but too hard to be OK with me. I pick him up, turn him around so he's facing away from me, set him down, and leave. He stands in that position and won't move for about 2 minutes, like, "Dang. Screwed up again."

Chickster takes it over and beyond play and is like a rattlesnake sometimes, and I've scared the poo outta her by saying NO so loudly that she runs in five directions at a time and knocks into things. I wouldn't condone it, I made the mistake of playing with my hands with Chickster, and now she thinks it's okay to attack them during play time ... She also had to learn that my face was not a big mouse to dig all claws of both paws into. That hurt so bad... ugh.
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post #18 of 31
9/12/10 at 6:51am
Quote:
Originally Posted by emilydickinson View Post
Emily will sometimes play bite. I always move my hand away and ignore her, but my husband thinks that she knows that this is just play. What your thoughts on the matter?
Oh yes. Penny play bites me nearly every day. I like it

Daisy is not into play biting, but if she wanted to play bite, I'd allow it.
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post #19 of 31
9/12/10 at 6:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by GloriaJH View Post
Play bites: - depends on which cat I'm playing with - and if I have a toy they're directing their bites to, but biting me is a big no no

Love bites: - I have two that give love bites

They do know the difference.

That's been my experience so far.
I should clarify. Penny's bites are 80% love bite and 20% play bite -- a "combination bite" I guess you can call it
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post #20 of 31
9/12/10 at 8:33am
Yep, allowed. The key component (to me) is whether the biting is more the exception or the rule. Mine have intense sparring matches that last ten minutes or so, and they move on to something else. It's part of being a cat, IMO.

At the same time, they're allowed to bite me, as well. Doesn't mean I don't recoil and respond with a "@#% it, Alice!", but I don't discourage them.

In the end, they're good cats. They have lots of toys and scratching devices, and don't mess up the walls or furniture. So they get all the leeway in the world. I want their environment to be as naturally cat-like as possible.
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post #21 of 31
9/12/10 at 8:48am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Keycube View Post
Yep, allowed. The key component (to me) is whether the biting is more the exception or the rule. Mine have intense sparring matches that last ten minutes or so, and they move on to something else. It's part of being a cat, IMO.

At the same time, they're allowed to bite me, as well. Doesn't mean I don't recoil and respond with a "@#% it, Alice!", but I don't discourage them.

In the end, they're good cats. They have lots of toys and scratching devices, and don't mess up the walls or furniture. So they get all the leeway in the world. I want their environment to be as naturally cat-like as possible.
Well of course, they are allowed to bite one another in play! I don't mind that in the least. But I am the mother, and mommie does not like to be bit in play.

Love bites, as others have stated, are different. Jennie does a bit of love nibbling when she asks for tummy rubs. But biting mommie in play or aggression or when I am ministering to them (nail trims, meds, etc) is not tolerated and all have been properly trained. .
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post #22 of 31
9/13/10 at 7:12am
Biting has never bothered us. We use our hands all the time when playing with our cats. They may bite us, but it's always merely in play and they end up licking our hands and fingers. They've never actually bitten us to the point where they drew any blood or anything. And we've had cats for well over 20 years. We play "bed mice" with the gang and we'll get down on the floor and play with them on their level all the time. They grab for our hands and give us a quick love bite and then immediately will start to lick. Maybe we've just been lucky.

When we're trying to brush them or when we have to give them meds, they seem to know the difference between play and serious stuff. And they're fine. They don't like getting pills or liquids, but they also seem to know that we have to do what we have to do and they're OK.
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post #23 of 31
9/17/10 at 6:50am
I think it depends on the age and how aggressive they are about play biting. What I do with Mandarin is when he gets in that mood, I wrap a sweatshirt around my arm and ruffle his belly. He only wants to attack a little while and then he's over it. I think it helps him get out some of his aggression. He is almost 7 or 8 though so it's different than a kitten who's learning yeses or nos.
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post #24 of 31
9/17/10 at 7:18am
Quote:
Originally Posted by LadyHitchhiker View Post
I think it depends on the age and how aggressive they are about play biting. What I do with Mandarin is when he gets in that mood, I wrap a sweatshirt around my arm and ruffle his belly. He only wants to attack a little while and then he's over it. I think it helps him get out some of his aggression. He is almost 7 or 8 though so it's different than a kitten who's learning yeses or nos.
That's a good idea, and I'm sure very helpful for Mandarin.

I do something similar with Tolly, but with a rolled up newspaper. He can kick and bite and shred it to his heart's content. He also has a favorite small toy stuffed cat he likes to beat up on.

But for our Baby Queen Eva, just learning about how to behave, biting mommie is not allowed. If she grabs my hand to kick and bite I immediately slip her stuffed bunny or one of the bunny-kick toys between her paws.

I do allow her to taste my fingers when she is cuddling but at the first sign of pressure from those sharp little kitten teeth, I say a gentle no and move away from her.
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post #25 of 31
9/17/10 at 6:28pm
I think it depends on the cat. My husband says that my in-laws' two cats will bite while playing, but it's way too hard and it hurts.

Two of mine play bite, and they definitely have a sense of how hard it's okay to bite; it's never to the point that it actually hurts. Oscar is growing out of his desire to play that way with me (he's exhausted after playing with the kitten all day, lol), but the kitten often does. I don't think it's a problem.
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post #26 of 31
9/18/10 at 3:08pm
I don't mind it, but I have decently thick skin on my arm. They know not to bite hard enough to draw blood. If they did, it would actually be a bit of a big deal due to the bacteria they have in their mouths.
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post #27 of 31
9/18/10 at 4:48pm
Nope, I'd never allow Ku Ku to bite me. She was a biter, a really major one but I trained her that "biting NOT allowed" while playing.

These days, she only bites me when she's extremely offended but that's still very rare.
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post #28 of 31
9/19/10 at 12:43pm
Darko likes to chew on my fingers, but he's not really biting, never closes his mouth. He grabs my hand with his paws and brings it up to his mouth. Have no idea what it means, but I like it!

Stinkpot used to nip at my feet when he first came to us, but I didn't appreciate that and had to constantly tell him "no bite", pretty sternly sometimes. He occasionally tries it even now, and gets that same "no bite" warning and I walk away.

The other two are well behaved
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post #29 of 31
9/19/10 at 12:56pm
As far as my two Isabell was a biter when we got her. She would bite, scratch, hiss, spit... Well she was an unsocalized adult what do you expect? She has been trained not to bite, she will give love bites or warning nips now but that is about all.

EG was never a biter but will give attention nips or warning nips. He wont bite down just put his teeth on your hand or knee.. or whatever is close because he wants attention or you to leave him alone.
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post #30 of 31
9/23/10 at 3:37pm
Sammy has always been a very gentle cat. The most harm she ever caused me was when she would lick one spot on my arm for so long that it became raw to the (tongue)touch. I tried to get her to play rough with me when she was younger but she never saw the sense in it.

Baby Kitty, however, bit me once or twice in anger as a kitten. It didn't take much scolding for him to learn that anger-biting is not allowed. He won't play bite either. Any time I get too rough with him while teasing him, if he does bite me he will do it quickly (nothing harsh), hiss, run a few feet away then swiftly come back to make up after the fight. He absolutely hates feeling like I may be mad at him.
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