I know he means no harm but the biting (love bites, play bites, 'hurry up with the food I'm hungry' bites) are becoming increasingly hard and painful....cats' teeth are so sharp they don't need to bite very hard to cause pain. Tiggy's not my first cat, Geisha and Sasha grew out of the hard biting, so I'm hopeful Tiggy grows out of that habit soon...
He's 1 year and 8 months old, a big muscular cat (part Maine Coon) so when he gets into an uncontrollable play mood and he grabs your wrist with his paws and chomps on you...ouch. He just drew blood (a few drops, no big drama) as I was brushing him and he went into play mode...in the past I'd leave my hand limp and he'd quit the biting, but this time he just kept chomping down harder until I had to forcefully open his mouth with my left hand and (I regret doing this) giving him a stiff slap on the rump to let him know I was mad at him...
Then, a few moments later, I finished brushing him, he was purring and I was saying in a low voice "I love you Tiggy, I hate spanking you, don't bit me like that it hurts..."
I hate "corporal punishment". I feel guilty when I do it, and if one does it too often, the cat thinks it's part of the playing...I'd really hate him biting a guest or my parents (who have seen him twice so far and love him)because he's playing. I never rough-housed with him, I was gentle with him from kitten hood and swore to myself the "corporal punishment methods" would never be used.
Now I'm no longer sure what to do to train him not to bite like that...any tips?
