Biting

[Knieringm]

Hello, I've had my cat Caspy since she was 8 weeks old and she's a year old now. Ever since I adopted her, she's had a very bad biting problem. It's not just little love bites, it's like full on attacking me and leaving punctures in my arms. She got a little better after being spayed but as she's gotten older, the more hard she bites. I've tried everything like hissing when she bites me, directing her to toys or ignoring her (but she will keep biting me regardless of my attention), clapping loudly and either doing a high pitched shout or a firm "no!" but she is relentless. Usually her bites include bruising from how hard bites and lots of scabs and scars. Today she bite both of my arms and left puncture marks on both of them and some scratches. This is my first time raising a kitten but I grew up with cats but they were all very well behaved. I'm stressed and she's caused me to have a mental breakdown. This has been going on for 10 months and everyone says she'll grow out of it but I'm so frustrated. I don't want to use the spray bottle technique because I know it stresses them out and it's just not ideal.

 

[Knieringm]

Her behavior when she will bite is aggressive, her tail is lashing and her pupils are dilated and her ears pinned back but she doesn't growl or hiss. She will also go from aggressive to calm very quickly. When I walk down the hallway she will also grab my legs and bite them too depending on her mood.

 

[Jem]

What is the situation when she decide to bite? Are you petting her, things are cuddly and calm and all of a sudden she freaks? Does she attack out of the blue if you happen to walk by? Does it start if you are playing with her using your hands? Does her skin ripple and twitch when you pet her? Was she raised with other kittens/cats before being adopted? Depending on the situation leading to the first bite could mean so many different things.

 

[Knieringm]

What is the situation when she decide to bite? Are you petting her, things are cuddly and calm and all of a sudden she freaks? Does she attack out of the blue if you happen to walk by? Does it start if you are playing with her using your hands? Does her skin ripple and twitch when you pet her? Was she raised with other kittens/cats before being adopted? Depending on the situation leading to the first bite could mean so many different things.

It is so random, I could be petting her and she'll bite and usually I stop because I figured she's done with being touched. I don't play with my hands with her, she has a feather toy that use to try to stop biting, and she has a stuffed dog that she likes to attack a lot. She's very skiddish, so if I walk down the hall too quickly she will run, and it is random when she decides to bite my legs.

My friend thinks it could be the home she was in before I adopted her. She was raised with her siblings and other cats there, but she is the only cat in my home. The house she lived in before was dirty, and what my friend calls a "crackhouse".

 

[Jem]

If a cat is overstimulated (again depending on the situation) things can quickly turn aggressive.
If a cat has pent up energy, they may find inappropriate ways to "hunt and stalk" (play) like going after your ankles.
If a cat feels threatened (again depending on the situation) they may re direct their aggression to the nearest "prey" (you)
If a cat never learned to play properly (when growing up) they sometimes play too aggressive because they never had their brother or sister "yell" at them if it got too rough.
There are so many other things to list. Try to think of the situation leading up the the bite and not just her temperament in the moment.
Also, and hopefully this is not the case, but sometimes aggression could be because of a medical problem, she may be in pain (they hide it VERY well). Has she been to a vet recently?

 

[Roguexx]

this may sound odd, but cats can have metal health issues oo, perhaps she needs mood stabilisers, maybe something to ask your vet about?

 

[Jem]

Sorry seems like we are writing at the same time.

 

[Roguexx]

lol, great minds think alike lol

 

[Knieringm]

If a cat is overstimulated (again depending on the situation) things can quickly turn aggressive.
If a cat has pent up energy, they may find inappropriate ways to "hunt and stalk" (play) like going after your ankles.
If a cat feels threatened (again depending on the situation) they may re direct their aggression to the nearest "prey" (you)
If a cat never learned to play properly (when growing up) they sometimes play too aggressive because they never had their brother or sister "yell" at them if it got too rough.
There are so many other things to list. Try to think of the situation leading up the the bite and not just her temperament in the moment.
Also, and hopefully this is not the case, but sometimes aggression could be because of a medical problem, she may be in pain (they hide it VERY well). Has she been to a vet recently?

I figured it was due to her not knowing the proper way to play but all of her signs of aggression made me think otherwise.

She has not been recently, I was saving up money over the summer to take her but I was going to take her soon. She has a cloudy eye that she was born with but the vet said it was a corneal infection and the cloudiness was due to scarring. This was back in January but she's been doing good. I'll make an appointment and have the vet check her out.

 

[Knieringm]

this may sound odd, but cats can have metal health issues oo, perhaps she needs mood stabilisers, maybe something to ask your vet about?

I didn't know cats could have mood stabilizers, I'll definitely ask me vet about it

 

[Jem]

I have a cat with anxiety who also displays aggressive behavior. I will try to come back later this afternoon, but I need to start getting ready to bring said cat to the vet! Please think of all the details of your baby and in the mean time, I would also look up, play aggression, petting induced aggression and redirected aggression to see if you can find some similarities.

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

If all physical problems have been ruled out its always good to get an animal behaviorist or ask a vet to prescribe kitty prozac if they think it's mental distress. Just a few tips that may or may not help from a behavioral standpoint
1. Vertical space
2. Plenty of places to hide
3. Ruling out other sources of stress e.g. do you handle other animals? Loud noises etc? Strays around your home? Etc
4. What kind of toys do you use? The few things that work with my cat are
a)cardboard boxes where she can hide in. I'll close the box leaving a tiny slit and slowly lower a stick in there. But be careful not to poke her.
b)DA BIRD. The only thing that has consistently worked. I cannot recommend this enough.
c)Throwing weird mouselike things like wet toilet paper wads that have most of the water squeezed out of them across the room.

If you've tried all of these and they don't seem to work then maybe kitty prozac/an animal behaviorist is the way to go. before that, just be sure she has a very secure environment to rule out any factors.

 

[Roguexx]

I didn't know cats could have mood stabilizers, I'll definitely ask me vet about it

I didnt either until i saw it in a documentary, its something to keep in mind if nothing else works than asking a vet who specialises in animal behaviour would be a good bet.

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

By vertical space and hiding places, I mean stuff like cat trees, cat shelves, places where even YOU can't reach her. Most cats feel very safe when they're high up. It's also good to have connected shelves to make sure she can come down too lol. Jackson galaxy talks about this quite a lot

Also check random things that may mean a lot to her, like litterbox cleanliness, whether you have a daily play routine down, etc

I'm sorry you're going through this and hope you can find a way out of it.

 

[Knieringm]

If all physical problems have been ruled out its always good to get an animal behaviorist or ask a vet to prescribe kitty prozac if they think it's mental distress. Just a few tips that may or may not help from a behavioral standpoint
1. Vertical space
2. Plenty of places to hide
3. Ruling out other sources of stress e.g. do you handle other animals? Loud noises etc? Strays around your home? Etc
4. What kind of toys do you use? The few things that work with my cat are
a)cardboard boxes where she can hide in. I'll close the box leaving a tiny slit and slowly lower a stick in there. But be careful not to poke her.
b)DA BIRD. The only thing that has consistently worked. I cannot recommend this enough.
c)Throwing weird mouselike things like wet toilet paper wads that have most of the water squeezed out of them across the room.

If you've tried all of these and they don't seem to work then maybe kitty prozac/an animal behaviorist is the way to go. before that, just be sure she has a very secure environment to rule out any factors.

She loves to hide out under my bed and I have some bins underneath and you can't really see her. She also has a cat tower with a hidey hole she loves laying in. There's a couple other places for her to hide in like under my desk, under a chair, etc. I have a cardboard box I can set out for her to play in. She tends to chew on it though (also loves ripping up paper).
Her favorite toys that she plays with are milk rings, Easter eggs (they're so wobbly and she likes to chase them), a couple jingle balls, her stuffed animal, and a little plastic hair brush from a My Little Pony set when I was a kid. Occasionally I will give her a Q tip to bat around, but only when I can watch her and make sure she doesn't eat it. She has a bunch of other toys too including the feather toy and a chirping mouse on a wand that is set up so she can always play with it without me.

There's not many noises other than the Food Network that I keep on for backround noise. I open the window a lot for her to look out but she's been biting a lot longer than having than the window open.

 

[Knieringm]

By vertical space and hiding places, I mean stuff like cat trees, cat shelves, places where even YOU can't reach her. Most cats feel very safe when they're high up. It's also good to have connected shelves to make sure she can come down too lol. Jackson galaxy talks about this quite a lot

Also check random things that may mean a lot to her, like litterbox cleanliness, whether you have a daily play routine down, etc

I'm sorry you're going through this and hope you can find a way out of it.

My landlord doesn't like holes in the wall so I can't put up shelves. I have her car tree and I can possibly put up a standing shelf for her to get up high. Maybe put her food up there too?

I clean her litter box at least once a day, mostly every time she uses it.

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

She loves to hide out under my bed and I have some bins underneath and you can't really see her. She also has a cat tower with a hidey hole she loves laying in. There's a couple other places for her to hide in like under my desk, under a chair, etc. I have a cardboard box I can set out for her to play in. She tends to chew on it though (also loves ripping up paper).
Her favorite toys that she plays with are milk rings, Easter eggs (they're so wobbly and she likes to chase them), a couple jingle balls, her stuffed animal, and a little plastic hair brush from a My Little Pony set when I was a kid. Occasionally I will give her a Q tip to bat around, but only when I can watch her and make sure she doesn't eat it. She has a bunch of other toys too including the feather toy and a chirping mouse on a wand that is set up so she can always play with it without me.

There's not many noises other than the Food Network that I keep on for backround noise. I open the window a lot for her to look out but she's been biting a lot longer than having than the window open.

Sorry if this is a weird question but how high is the cat tower?

Other than that I really can't help anymore again im sorry this is happening as it can be really distressing for you as well. If all else fails, perhaps use the last resort.

 

[Knieringm]

Sorry if this is a weird question but how high is the cat tower?

Other than that I really can't help anymore again im sorry this is happening as it can be really distressing for you as well. If all else fails, perhaps use the last resort.

It's not very high, only about 4ft tall. It's in a section of the home where I don't go as often so it's slightly secluded for her.

Thank you for all your help!

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

My landlord doesn't like holes in the wall so I can't put up shelves. I have her car tree and I can possibly put up a standing shelf for her to get up high. Maybe put her food up there too?

I clean her litter box at least once a day, mostly every time she uses it.

Ah. That sounds like a good idea, and yes you can do weird/funny things like a crinkle toy (put the treats in them) and put it at the highest place. Or put small bits of kibble everywhere.

Also about treats: every time you pet and she doesn't bite, immediately give her a treat. Reward good behavior, ignore the bad

 

[sdkfjlasdf]

It's not very high, only about 4ft tall. It's in a section of the home where I don't go as often so it's slightly secluded for her.

Thank you for all your help!

I hope all is solved, also the higher the better I suppose! If you can create vertical spaces as high as possible (about 2m/6ft) she may appreciate them more. Sounds funny but I know cats who jump on fridges. My cat personally loves my 2.2m high wardrobe.