Hi all, I'm new to the site but while I've found post on cats biting none of them seem to match my cat's behaviour.
We have two 3 year old male cats, both neutered, and both have recently been checked over by our local vet and been pronounced healthy.
Our first one, Snow we got at 6 weeks old, and our second Tico, we got when he was a year old, his owner had to move and was unable to take him with her. Both have gotten on great with each other from the time they were introduced and seem to get along with the other local cats, to the point that we often see a group of them in a kitty pile asleep in the garden.
Unfortunately Tico over the last few months has started nipping, I can't really say biting as he comes up gives one sharp nip then sits and looks at you or just walks away. He used to nip at toes that were outside of bed-covers when we first got him, if a meow was ignored, but soon stopped after hubby accidentally kicked him across the room (he was asleep and woke up with a jump when his toes got a nibble). Tico has never done this while we were out of bed before though, and hasn't done it while we are in bed for over a year. The first time we shrugged it off and ignored it as it was one nip and he walked away after and carried on as normal. After he'd done it a few times we took him to the vets in case it was a medical issue, perhaps he was in pain or something. There were no medical issues and the vet basically shrugged over his behaviour and said it might be a way to get attention.
We have since tried Feliway, time outs, sharp hand clapping or a sharp NO!, but they don't seem to be working. He has recently started nipping Snow now, it usually happens when Snow is hiding under a cover. Tico stalks up to the cover, gives one sharp nip then either walks away or waits for Snow to come out and they start playing as normal. The last few days Snow has started avoiding Tico for a few hours after he's nipped him and now seems reluctant to play with him indoors or share sleeping areas. Both cats seem to be fine outside and happily play and sleep together in the garden, and there doesn't seem to be fights or upsets with other local cats. Talking to the other cat owners in the area they say they haven't noticed a difference in either him or snow when he wanders over to their homes.
Does anyone have any idea what we can do to stop it or why it happens?
Thanks for any insights, Calispo
We have two 3 year old male cats, both neutered, and both have recently been checked over by our local vet and been pronounced healthy.
Our first one, Snow we got at 6 weeks old, and our second Tico, we got when he was a year old, his owner had to move and was unable to take him with her. Both have gotten on great with each other from the time they were introduced and seem to get along with the other local cats, to the point that we often see a group of them in a kitty pile asleep in the garden.
Unfortunately Tico over the last few months has started nipping, I can't really say biting as he comes up gives one sharp nip then sits and looks at you or just walks away. He used to nip at toes that were outside of bed-covers when we first got him, if a meow was ignored, but soon stopped after hubby accidentally kicked him across the room (he was asleep and woke up with a jump when his toes got a nibble). Tico has never done this while we were out of bed before though, and hasn't done it while we are in bed for over a year. The first time we shrugged it off and ignored it as it was one nip and he walked away after and carried on as normal. After he'd done it a few times we took him to the vets in case it was a medical issue, perhaps he was in pain or something. There were no medical issues and the vet basically shrugged over his behaviour and said it might be a way to get attention.
We have since tried Feliway, time outs, sharp hand clapping or a sharp NO!, but they don't seem to be working. He has recently started nipping Snow now, it usually happens when Snow is hiding under a cover. Tico stalks up to the cover, gives one sharp nip then either walks away or waits for Snow to come out and they start playing as normal. The last few days Snow has started avoiding Tico for a few hours after he's nipped him and now seems reluctant to play with him indoors or share sleeping areas. Both cats seem to be fine outside and happily play and sleep together in the garden, and there doesn't seem to be fights or upsets with other local cats. Talking to the other cat owners in the area they say they haven't noticed a difference in either him or snow when he wanders over to their homes.
Does anyone have any idea what we can do to stop it or why it happens?
Thanks for any insights, Calispo
