Biting

So my little 4 year old has a very naughty habit.  She will come up and stand on her haunches and bite my elbow while I am sitting in my office chair.  I think she is doing it to get my attention but it HURTS.  She also will sometimes go crazy and start biting me if I am holding her or petting her.  She was a bottle fed baby so she didn't get the bite inhibition from her mom.  What can I do to curb her naughtiness?  If she bites me when holding, I put her down off my lap and ignore her.    I do yell Ouch when she bites me as well, but not sure if that is the right thing to do.  She is very much a mamas girl and she does not bite my hubby.  I am the one who raised her however.  She is very sweet and loving and loves to knead me and drool (she does that when she's happy) on me. 

My cat does the same. I haven't figured out how to stop him from doing it. He seems to stop and bolts off when I give him a sharp "ouch", but if I continue to sit on my chair, he'll do it again.

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I'm going to try hissing at him or blowing a puff of air. Problem is, he's real quick. I turn my head and he's gone.

Momma cats would slap a bad kitty, and that is what I do...doesn't hurt, but it let's them know that behaviour is not tolerated.  I know that a lot of people don't believe in hitting animals, but I've found it works.  I don't mean hurt them, but hard enough to let them know you are displeased and to get their attention.  I also sometimes hiss at the same time.  In fact, my cat Isis got popped last night just for acting like she was going to bite me!  She bit me very hard a few days ago and then ran (she is a spoiled brat and also bites the other cats and then runs), so I could tell she was gearing up for the same behaviour and I popped her before she bit me.  She sulked for about 10 minutes, then came back with a different attitude.  Now when she starts to growl and act like she is going to bite, I just say,  "I'll spank you!" and she either gets down or settles down.  It's up to her.

Gaia33,

If it works, then why are you still hitting your cats for kitten behaviors?

It sounds like you are anthropomorphising your cats into little children. They are not "spoiled brats" and they are not thinking about their behavior, attitudes and consequences they way you say they do. Your cat was not "sulking." She didn't want to be near you cause you hurt her.

It almost sounds like you've trained her to play a biting game with you! Hence the biting and running! Cats are not humans. They do not get that hitting is punishment.

Mama cats do punish their kittens with teeth and claws and holding them down. They don't "spank" them. And anyway, you aren't a mama cat punishing her kitten!

gaia33 said:

 In fact, my cat Isis got popped last night just for acting  like she was going to bite me...so I could tell she was gearing up for the same behaviour and I popped her before she bit me.  

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I am not sure that physically "disciplining" your cat for something she has not done or you think she will do  is a good idea. You may end up having a cat that believes you are a cruel human and ends up fearing you. Does a momma cat punish her kittens before they misbehave? 

Yikes! I would never "slap" a cat for bad behavior, let alone your idea of impending bad behavior. Cats are not human, they do not understand why you are hitting them. Your cat will grow to hate you and will not stop her biting behavior. Please find other ways to discipline your cat.

molldee said:

Please find other ways to discipline your cat.

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Or rather, use positive reinforcement instead of any kind of discipline.

Positive reinforcement doesn't always work for one of my cats. I mostly use tone of voice. When my tone gets deeper and more stern, they know to stop.

For anyone thinking about how to discipline a cat this article might give some information to think about.  Spending time looking at when your cat does something like biting, what you are doing or where you are, or what has been going on before hand will probably be a lot more help than punishment - and remember that some things you might assume are punishment or escape might be taken as rewards of play invitations by your cat and actually have the oposite effect to what you want.

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix

If your cat bites when you are petting or holding the chances are it is over stimulated or doesn't want held and you need to give him / her a bit of space. Watch body language as you approach, touch or hold your cat and you can probably avoid a lot of negative reactions.

If your cat bites for attention when you are doing something else, if you play and give them attention before you start your task, and  / or take breaks to play and give them positive attention before they get to this stage then hopefully you will again avoid the negative behaviour.  If your cat goes in to some cute but quiet /ignorable behaviours before launching in to bite and bunny kick then respond to the cute behvaviours: those are the ones you want to reinforce and have repeated

If your cat comes in for the bite and bunnykick you say 'No' if it is playful and not sore, then push in slightly with whichever bit of you they have attacked, then freeze and ignore them unless it starts to hurt.  Then and only then do you say 'ouch' or 'ow' or whatever one sylable word you say when they hurt you. They get a chance to learn that that means it is not acceptable and hurts and they should start to respond to that quickly.  If your cat still persists with the biting and bunnykicks you repeat and continue to freeze and ignore unless they are hurting you, don't shout or yell or move in any way.  Movement is taken as a play / attack response and will aggrivate the behaviour. If they hurt you and you say your 'ouch' word more than 3 times or your skin is at risk/is broken then you lift them off you as gently but firmly as you can and one or other of you goes in to a different space until they calm down, try 30 seconds and extend slighly until it takes effect and your cat has gone off somewhere or is calm and doesn't look like they will repeat the behaviour.  If you are consistent they get the message.  If you know your cat goes for a particular bit of you like your arm then you can wear clothing that gives you a bit of protection to help you when you are going through the ignore training phase.