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Hi everyone,
My 10 month old girl Lulu is very sweet, playful, and we have a great relationship and she is very attached to me (and vice versa) . It’s just myself and my boyfriend living in our house, with her being the only pet we have. I got her when she was only 6 weeks old and have rasied her since then. We spayed her a few months ago.
She is a typical kitten with lots of energy and very playful. She gets a lot of attention from us and most days we try to cut out some time to play with her. The only problem we are having with her is something that’s been going on since she was 4-6 months or so…and that is the BITES a LOT!
I think she bites for a variety of reasons. First off, to communicate. I notice that when I (or anyone) pets her, sometimes she all of a sudden will lash out and bite my hand suddenly, which I assume is her way of saying “stop, I’ve had enough, Mom!” She also bites when she is picked up at times. She doesn’t bite hard or anything…its definitely not viscous, but she’s clearly using biting to communicate to us. I have read that cats can easily become ‘over-stimulated’, and this can be their way of saying “hey, ive had enough.” I have learned to read her body language somewhat, and can sometimes stop petting, etc before she bites...but I just wish she wouldn't do the biting to communicate that she's had enough in general....especially when strangers first meet her and are petting her.
I have done a lot of research on this, and although I have tried my best to follow the basic ‘rules’ (no spanking/yelling, just ignore and walk away), I have to admit the consistency hasn’t been 100% at all times, mostly because the biting behavior has been SO constant. My boyfriend used to use his hand sometimes to play with her in the beginning, during her first couple months with us. I have corrected him since then, and he hasn’t used his hands for play whatsoever for the last 4-5 months or so. I also know that yelling, punishing (especially physically) potentially only makes things worse, as it prompts cats’ defense/attack mechanism to kick in. We have done our best to avoid that, however, it’s difficult sometimes. He sometimes slips up and yells at her or pushes her away, which I know isn’t helping.
She is a wonderful cat and we both love her to death and I know she adores us (especially me...her mama), we just both need the biting to stop. Biting to communicate, and also the play-biting. From what I’ve read so far, it seems that the solution to this is that when she bites to simply ignore her and either give her a toy or walk away, or both, depending on the situation. We have tried this and not much has changed so far. My boyfriend does his best to follow these ‘rules' I give him, but I’ll admit he isn’t totally consistent with it….and I notice she definitely will bite him more than me, during play especially. He will sometimes just be sitting on the couch and she will run up and latch onto his arm with her teeth because she wants to play it seems. When this happens, because it’s so extreme and out of the blue, he will often fling her off his arm which she probably sees as an attack and thus it makes things worse.
I know I am kind of rambling here with everything, I am just hoping for some solid advice that is as simple as possible. How can we discourage her biting behavior? And again, she seems to bite to communicate with us, and also when she is playing when she gets too excited. So, I think I need a solution for both situations. If you need anything clarified or have any specific questions, please let me know and I will be happy to give more info.
Thanks in advance
Crystal
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Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif][if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;mso-style-noshow:yes;mso-style-priority:99;mso-style-parent:"";mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;mso-para-margin-top:0in;mso-para-margin-right:0in;mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;mso-para-margin-left:0in;line-height:107%;mso-pagination:widow-orphan;font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}</style><![endif]Hi everyone,
My 10 month old girl Lulu is very sweet, playful, and we have a great relationship and she is very attached to me (and vice versa) . It’s just myself and my boyfriend living in our house, with her being the only pet we have. I got her when she was only 6 weeks old and have rasied her since then. We spayed her a few months ago.
She is a typical kitten with lots of energy and very playful. She gets a lot of attention from us and most days we try to cut out some time to play with her. The only problem we are having with her is something that’s been going on since she was 4-6 months or so…and that is the BITES a LOT!
I think she bites for a variety of reasons. First off, to communicate. I notice that when I (or anyone) pets her, sometimes she all of a sudden will lash out and bite my hand suddenly, which I assume is her way of saying “stop, I’ve had enough, Mom!” She also bites when she is picked up at times. She doesn’t bite hard or anything…its definitely not viscous, but she’s clearly using biting to communicate to us. I have read that cats can easily become ‘over-stimulated’, and this can be their way of saying “hey, ive had enough.” I have learned to read her body language somewhat, and can sometimes stop petting, etc before she bites...but I just wish she wouldn't do the biting to communicate that she's had enough in general....especially when strangers first meet her and are petting her.
I have done a lot of research on this, and although I have tried my best to follow the basic ‘rules’ (no spanking/yelling, just ignore and walk away), I have to admit the consistency hasn’t been 100% at all times, mostly because the biting behavior has been SO constant. My boyfriend used to use his hand sometimes to play with her in the beginning, during her first couple months with us. I have corrected him since then, and he hasn’t used his hands for play whatsoever for the last 4-5 months or so. I also know that yelling, punishing (especially physically) potentially only makes things worse, as it prompts cats’ defense/attack mechanism to kick in. We have done our best to avoid that, however, it’s difficult sometimes. He sometimes slips up and yells at her or pushes her away, which I know isn’t helping.
She is a wonderful cat and we both love her to death and I know she adores us (especially me...her mama), we just both need the biting to stop. Biting to communicate, and also the play-biting. From what I’ve read so far, it seems that the solution to this is that when she bites to simply ignore her and either give her a toy or walk away, or both, depending on the situation. We have tried this and not much has changed so far. My boyfriend does his best to follow these ‘rules' I give him, but I’ll admit he isn’t totally consistent with it….and I notice she definitely will bite him more than me, during play especially. He will sometimes just be sitting on the couch and she will run up and latch onto his arm with her teeth because she wants to play it seems. When this happens, because it’s so extreme and out of the blue, he will often fling her off his arm which she probably sees as an attack and thus it makes things worse.
I know I am kind of rambling here with everything, I am just hoping for some solid advice that is as simple as possible. How can we discourage her biting behavior? And again, she seems to bite to communicate with us, and also when she is playing when she gets too excited. So, I think I need a solution for both situations. If you need anything clarified or have any specific questions, please let me know and I will be happy to give more info.
Thanks in advance
Crystal
