My cat bites me very softly for no reason?

koolkatz

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I live in a New York City apartment, with my 2 cats Gandalf and Boogie. I got them recently, only a few weeks ago.

Sometimes, Boogie comes up to me, curls up next to me, then nibbles on my finger or my arm. He lets me pet him,

and he purrs. Are the bites out of affection? The bites don't draw blood, they just leave bite marks that go away after

a few minutes, it's very soft. Why does he do this? 
 

jcat

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I call them "love bites"; they're something some dogs and cats are prone to giving rather than licking you. You can discourage him by saying no or "hissing" and gently moving your arm or hand out of his reach till he gets the idea that you don't consider them appropriate behavior.
 
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koolkatz

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Oh, thanks @jcat  . I don't mind them, I just didn't know why they were happening.
 

angelinacat

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I had one lovely cat that liked to 'groom' my arm.  He would lick, lick, lick, then nibble, nibble, then back to licking.  I thought it was sweet.
 

angelinacat

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HeHe!  My cat liked to sit in my lap while we were watching TV.  He would be busy grooming himself--he was long-haired--and it carried over onto my arm, .which he seemed to like.  As I said, I thought it was sweet.  He was non-plused, however, when he came to my wristwatch.  It was on one of those speidel type expanding bands.  He could not figure out why he couldn't rid himself of this imperfection in his grooming routine, try as he might.  I finally took it off. 
 
 
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gloriajh

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yes, love bites - also, if the cat is over stimulated while petting they will nibble, sometimes a little harder, too

each of my cats have a "sensitive zone" that if I rub too hard I will get a response like a love bite, or a loud meow as if complaining  - mostly that "zone" is on the back right before the tail - some of my cats like it, and some really really don't :)
 
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koolkatz

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@GloriaJH  @AngelinaCat  thanks for the responses! I know that there are some spaces where they don't like to be pet too much. They're kind of cute when they meow 
 

gimli

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First of all, I greatly approve of the name Gandalf. That's so awesome that you named your kitty that, I actually got excited, lol! You can probably guess from my name, but I'm a HUGE LotR fan. You're very awesome. 8]

Anyhow! Enough of my fangirling.

When we got our second kitty, Mimi, we realized she LOVED to bite and nip at you whenever you pet her. At first, it was a bit of a problem -- she'd bite hard, but would still be purring as loud as a freight train and she ESPECIALLY loved to bite our noses. We'd pull away because, obviously it'd hurt and we were worried that was her telling us she had enough, but nope. She'd headbutt our hands until we started petting her and continue with the nipping. Over time, she's learned to be more gentle, but she's never actually dropped the habit and she's almost a year old... But, it's really not a problem, as she nips very gently, as if to say "yay thank you!". I'm still really confused about why she still does it, but whatever lol.

It is most definitely an affection thing if they're giving you gentle bites. Think of it as a love bite! As kittens, biting is one of the first things they learn! They bite when they play, they nip noses to say hello to their brothers and sisters, and the use their teeth when they'd suckle on their mommy for milk. I figured Mimi just never outgrew it.

You can always most definitely tell by your cats tail and body language if it's a warning bite -- and, the bite would be probably be more powerful than the nips it's giving you now. Still, if the nipping persists and starts to hurt, I've learned to just pull away, tap their nose or flick their ear, and say "Ouch!" loudly or something along those lines to show them they're hurting you. It's definitely helped with Mimi. :)

Good luck!
 
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koolkatz

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I didn't name him, but I am also a big LoTR fan and I probably would've named him that anyway 


Boogie purrs very loudly, so we call him Motorhead or The Purr-meister. I think I can try that strategy with him.
 
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