Cat Bites Me A Bit And Seems Scared After Sitting In My Lap

[Blair18]

So I am aware of "petting aggression" and read about that on multiple forums but wanted to know if my situation is another form of this or something different.

I will be sitting on the couch and my cat will jump up onto my lap. He asks for petting by pushing against my hand so I begin to pet him. Sometimes while I'm petting him (but also sometimes when I've already stopped) he seems to all of the sudden become nervous or freaked out. He starts to look at me funny, his body tenses up, and he'll bite down on my arm and rest his mouth on it hard enough for there to be a teeth indent on my skin after (not breaking the skin though). If I move slightly to begin to get him off he begins to meow this weird meow he doesn't normally do. I don't get why he gets scared all of the sudden and I'm worried he's going to attack me in this state because he seems threatened in some way. All I can think of is that maybe he gets overstimulated just sitting in my lap and bonding that he begins to freak out? It's like he comes over for cuddles but then doesn't trust me anymore after a few minutes.

I should add that he is a 3 year old cat that I adopted at 8 months old. He didn't do this behaviour at first and only started doing it last year.


Thanks for reading.

 

[selfiehabits]

Maybe something scared him or he's stressed? Has there been any major changes to his environment? I know of cats who get mad when you stop petting them and bite when you try to pull your hand away.

 

[keeneland]

I should add that he is a 3 year old cat that I adopted at 8 months old. He didn't do this behaviour at first and only started doing it last year.

Is your cat fixed? Many males are a bit aggressive & harder to figure out than those that have been fixed.

 

[Blair18]

Maybe something scared him or he's stressed? Has there been any major changes to his environment? I know of cats who get mad when you stop petting them and bite when you try to pull your hand away.

There haven't been any major changes to his environment recently and he's been doing it on and off for the past year. I adopted him in the city I was attending university at and we lived there for a year and then I moved back in with my parents and brought my cat with me but we have been living here for two years now. He only seems to do this when he's sitting on my lap and relaxed.

 

[Blair18]

Is your cat fixed? Many males are a bit aggressive & harder to figure out than those that have been fixed.

Yup! He was fixed when I adopted him.

 

[selfiehabits]

There haven't been any major changes to his environment recently and he's been doing it on and off for the past year. I adopted him in the city I was attending university at and we lived there for a year and then I moved back in with my parents and brought my cat with me but we have been living here for two years now. He only seems to do this when he's sitting on my lap and relaxed.

Maybe he just gets overly excited. That's the only thing I can think of. Maybe he has some built up energy try getting him active like with a laser or wand toy.

 

[Columbine]

Hi B Blair18 Welcome to TCS!

It's not exactly petting aggression, at least, not from my experience of it. Normally they'll tense up a little, but the biggest indicator is their tail twitching with increasing intensity. Petting aggression is very likely a factor here, but I don't think its the whole story. There's a chance it may be anxiety related, but that doesn't quite fit either.

My instinct is that there may be something physical going on with him. Does anything similar (glazed look, tension and unusual behavior) ever happen in other situations? I'm just wondering (and this is a longshot) whether this is a very mild type of seizure. It's the confused meowing afterwards that's making me wonder, and I could be totally wrong. It's just an instinct.

 

[Blair18]

Hi B Blair18 Welcome to TCS!

It's not exactly petting aggression, at least, not from my experience of it. Normally they'll tense up a little, but the biggest indicator is their tail twitching with increasing intensity. Petting aggression is very likely a factor here, but I don't think its the whole story. There's a chance it may be anxiety related, but that doesn't quite fit either.

My instinct is that there may be something physical going on with him. Does anything similar (glazed look, tension and unusual behavior) ever happen in other situations? I'm just wondering (and this is a longshot) whether this is a very mild type of seizure. It's the confused meowing afterwards that's making me wonder, and I could be totally wrong. It's just an instinct.

Sorry for the late reply I hadn’t realized you had posted this! That’s a very interesting hypothesis. He doesn’t do this behaviour in any other situation. Will this get worse over time?? I hope it’s not some type of brain issue. He acts like a completely normal calm cat 24/7 (other than the situation I described). I should add, he doesn’t act this way when sitting on other family members’ laps. So weird. What do you think?

 

[Kefa]

What are his ears doing when he bites you? His tail? Are you petting his whole body or just around his head? Are you sure he is scared and not in some other mood? He doesn't sound scared to me, he doesn't run or fluff up or hiss does he? It sounds more to me like his own version of a love bite.

 

[Blair18]

What are his ears doing when he bites you? His tail? Are you petting his whole body or just around his head? Are you sure he is scared and not in some other mood? He doesn't sound scared to me, he doesn't run or fluff up or hiss does he? It sounds more to me like his own version of a love bite.

Well sometimes he’ll do it when I’m not petting him and when he just crawls into my lap. For example, he’ll be sitting beside me as I watch tv for like half N hour and then decide to crawl onto my lap to get cozy and then after a few seconds his ears will go a little back, pupils dilate (maybe I am imagining this though), weird meow and goes for a little bite. He seems nervous when he’s doing this rather than pouncy or hunter-y. It’s never been a hard bite, but that’s probably because I don’t really give him a chance to go for a big bite as I’ll stand up slowly after I see the behaviour... I get nervous and he’ll jump off my lap and then just act normal and either stand there or walk away.

 

[Blair18]

Oh and no hissing. And I haven’t had the chance to see what his tail is doing.

 

[Kefa]

Sounds more and more like a love bite to me, especially since he seems to seek intimacy with you and only you to do this with. He is probably just as confused at your reaction as you are confused about what he is saying. You tense up when he does it, which is exactly the opposite reaction he is expecting. Cats that like each other do this to each other, and it's part of the interplay between courting males and females and communication between mothers and kittens. Instead of you getting tense and moving away, try saying OW! when he bites you and stay in the intimate setting with him. See what he does then. He should let your hand go and will follow it with a head butt or a lick.

How To Deal With Cat "love Bites"?

 

[Blair18]

Sounds more and more like a love bite to me, especially since he seems to seek intimacy with you and only you to do this with. He is probably just as confused at your reaction as you are confused about what he is saying. You tense up when he does it, which is exactly the opposite reaction he is expecting. Cats that like each other do this to each other, and it's part of the interplay between courting males and females and communication between mothers and kittens. Instead of you getting tense and moving away, try saying OW! when he bites you and stay in the intimate setting with him. See what he does then. He should let your hand go and will follow it with a head butt or a lick.

How To Deal With Cat "love Bites"?

I wonder why he meows weirdly and has his ears back as he’s going in for a bite though

 

[Columbine]

Love bites is an interesting idea Things don't seem (to me) to fit the classic pattern of that, though. I would still urge you to consult a vet, just in case it is a physical issue. If you can get one if these episodes on video, so much the better. I really hope I'm wrong, though

 

[Kefa]

I wonder why he meows weirdly and has his ears back as he’s going in for a bite though

I was thinking maybe it was because of your reaction.

It doesn't really fit aggression from petting, because there is no tail action.

It doesn't fit plain aggression, because there is no follow up with claws and it doesn't really sound like an attack.

The weird meow and the fact he only does it for you and and when you two are being intimate for me puts it in the range of some kind of communication attempt.

 

[Mashkasheli]

I think I agree with Kefa . Love bites I think. My cat Sheleg often used to do this when he was lying in bed with me. He would be purring away while I was stroking him and suddenly out of the blue, bite me. I would get a shock and get nervous and he would meow and move away. Sounds a bit similar and I was always sure it was love...

 

[Reba2018]

So I am aware of "petting aggression" and read about that on multiple forums but wanted to know if my situation is another form of this or something different.

I will be sitting on the couch and my cat will jump up onto my lap. He asks for petting by pushing against my hand so I begin to pet him. Sometimes while I'm petting him (but also sometimes when I've already stopped) he seems to all of the sudden become nervous or freaked out. He starts to look at me funny, his body tenses up, and he'll bite down on my arm and rest his mouth on it hard enough for there to be a teeth indent on my skin after (not breaking the skin though). If I move slightly to begin to get him off he begins to meow this weird meow he doesn't normally do. I don't get why he gets scared all of the sudden and I'm worried he's going to attack me in this state because he seems threatened in some way. All I can think of is that maybe he gets overstimulated just sitting in my lap and bonding that he begins to freak out? It's like he comes over for cuddles but then doesn't trust me anymore after a few minutes.

I should add that he is a 3 year old cat that I adopted at 8 months old. He didn't do this behaviour at first and only started doing it last year.


Thanks for reading.

 

[catlover73]

Have you noticed any difference in the movement of his tail before the biting happens? My Casey can get over-stimulated by petting sometimes and will bite. I learned very quickly that his tail movement will very quickly speed up before the biting. If I stop petting him when I notice the tail movement starting to speed up I can avoid getting bitten even if this happens when he is in my lap. If he is in my lap I simply stop petting him once I notice the tail movement speeding up and let him be. I will pet him again once his tail movement slows down a lot. I adopted him as a kitten and gotten bitten quite a bit when he was young because it took me some time to catch the change in his body language.