How can I get my deaf cat to stop biting?

[dbeckmann]

A few months back, I adopted a deaf kitty, Sandor. He's very smart and the most loving cat I've ever seen, but sometimes he gets a little too excited and starts nipping on my hands. I honestly wouldn't mind if his teeth weren't so sharp, but I figured it's better to nip it in the bud than to let the habit grow.

I use a spray bottle on my other cats in the event that they do do something bad, but I feel terrible thinking about using it on him. I've been giving him a little tap on the head and our "no-no" signal, but it doesn't seem to be working.

Any suggestions?

 

[wilburph]

Having the same problem, but with a blind kitten (14 weeks old) and he prefers the legs/feet, though hands will do. There are periods every few hours where he just gets into a biting mood.

The vet checked and he's not ready to be spayed yet, but I don't know if that would fix this anyway, since it's child behaviour rather than teenage hormones. I've had limited success with:

• Blowing air on his face, but that only makes him pause, not stop. At least gives me a couple of seconds to grab a toy or quickly move away.
• Saying "NO!"  Maybe the equivalent of your tap on he head. If I keep insisting it fast in succession, close to his face, it makes him agitated/frustrated and he sinks down and meows before jumping, which gives a few more seconds to get out of the way or grab a toy.
• Leaving him alone. I've read that you're supposed to leave the cat in a room alone to calm down and (hopefully) learn that the fun stops. Difficult for me in an open plan house, but if I make it to the other side he'll usually just go crazy over there rather than follow. Or I put him high up on a work bench that he likes to climb up but always needs help getting down from. Still a few bites and scratches in the process though.
• Transferring to a toy. For this, he likes his cuddly toy, a dangling drawstring from shorts or crinkly paper/plastic balls, if any of these is close by. This distracts him only until I start moving away, but sometimes he'll happily keep fighting the cuddly toy.
• Not stroking him!  It's counterintuitive and I've had to train myself, but I just leave him to himself even when he jumps on the sofa to clean himself leaning against me. Just to avoid the temptation to bite. I only stroke him when he's settling down to sleep or very relaxed.

I really want to fix this behaviour as soon as possible, been trying for weeks already with no success. I'd put up with it if it's just me, because I have patience for his disability. But my wife's afraid and has to wear rubber wellies when she walks around, and we're planning on having a child in the not too distant future.