Love bite or 'get away from me' bite?

[natascha]

We got our Bailey only a few days ago from a home were he was seriously neglected.

He's very scared of humans, but we found out that he does like a good, firm rub on the head or neck. When petting him he's purring like crazy, pressing himself against you for an even harder rub and will even fall onto his side, which comes across as if he trusts me (at least at that particular moment).

And then he'll suddenly bite. He'll bite hard and pulls my finger towards him too. I have no idea why he does this.
Is it his way of telling me 'that's enough'? He's continues purring while and after biting me.
He did the same when I was feeding him by hand just now. Happily nomming away, and suddenly he takes a bite at my finger.
It's hard to make him understand that this hurts by yelling 'no' at him, since he's stone deaf.

Is this an affectionate bite or aggressive bite, and what is the best way to let a deaf cat know that this is not appropriate behavior?

 

[ldg]

Thank you for rescuing a kitty in need!

During petting, it's almost always an "I've had enough" bite. The signs that he's had enough can be hard to read, but a twitching tail can be one of them. And the flopping on the side is not always an invitation to rub tummies, so I don't know if that might be part of the mistake. None of our kitties like having their tummies rubbed. Maybe the best thing is to try to stop petting before he bites - but like I said, it can be hard to read the signs. So maybe just after a minute or two of petting.

And the best way to say "no" to any cat - especially a deaf one (we have one) is a short, sharp puff of air directly in the face - maybe a couple of times quickly repeated. It will startle him - but it's the equivalent of mom hissing at him (even though he wouldn't hear that), and he'll know what it means. So when he bites, puff in his face and stop petting and walk away. He'll learn that biting is not OK, and that it gets him ignored. Maybe he'll learn to put his paw on your hand - that's how our kitties now tell us they've had enough.

But bear in mind what he is doing is not a "bad" behavior - it's just the only way he knows right at the moment to say "that's enough," and there's nothing wrong with him communicating that. You just have to work with him to let him know you'd rather he expressed that in a different way.

Also, I don't know how old he is, but if he's teething (anywhere from 3 months - 7-8 months old, though usually at 4 - 5 months), he needs to bite and chew on things. Bendy straws work great for this. We went through boxes of them with our kitties.

And until he learns that biting people isn't OK, I wouldn't feed him from your fingers. And never, ever use feet or hands (or arms) as play things. Always use toys for play - it's too confusing for cats.

Laurie

 

[tamgirl99]

It's funny you brought this up because my cat has recently started nibbling my hands when I stop petting her. I assume that it's because she's wanting me to continue though, since it is very gentle and only when I stop petting her.

 

[ldg]

Our kitties do give us "love bites" when we're petting - the difference is it's nibbling vs. biting. Gentle bites or nibbles are usually love bites - and a hard bite is usually an "I'm overstimulated" bite. It can take a little while for people and their kitties to figure out when it's been enough. The kitties often enjoy it so much - and then just get overstimulated.

When we first rescued Tuxedo, he could handle exactly one stroke on his cheek. Then it was two. Then a little more. Then a little more. But when we got into that petting him for a couple of minutes - he'd just get overstimuated and that was that - but none of us knew it was coming, and even he didn't know how much - or how little - he could take. So it's just a matter of figuring out when enough's enough, and we learned just not to push it on him.

Laurie

 

[white cat lover]

I

deaf kitties!!!

Now, to the question.....I've got Squihsy, he's around 13 years old. He likes to be petted straight down the back, no place else. I pet him a little bit, then just walk away. He gets overstimulated & bites.

 

[natascha]

Thanks for the advise. I will try the puff of air thing and see if he will slowly get the picture. It's hard not to overstimulate him; since he's so scared of humans, it's great to see him all happy and trusting when he gets petted though. When he's falling over he'll move his paws like he's 'milking' so I assume that he's still happy when he's on his side, lol.

My other cat likes a soft belly rub, but only at night when we're in bed. She'll jump on the bed, lay in my lap (sometimes even meow when I'm turned on my other side, just to let me know that I'd better turn over and made a nice spot for her to sleep) and turn on her back for a belly rub while she falls asleep. If she's had enough she'll just turn her belly away from me.

 

[tamgirl99]

My favorite thing to do to my kitty is roll her over when she's laying on her side. I walk up to her and say "I'm gonna roll you over!" and then gently push her over onto her back and rub her belly slowly back and forth. She used to never let me do it but over time she usually lets me. Of course I can't hold her there very long but I love to give her belly rubs. She has the cutest orange belly!

 

[fifi1puss]

Fiona was the same way when I first got her. But as time goes on and she got affection and touched everyday she was able to tolerate more and more. She now likes to get her belly rubbed which was a no-no when we first got her.

But she still warns us if we are touching her too much....its a cat thing.

You'll learn what your cat likes and doesn't, it takes time. Enjoy creating that special bond with him

 

[cheylink]

Maia is the same way, she actually enjoys mouthing my hand as a game!

She will lie down next to me on the bed and simply mouth and grab my fingers as I play with her. Sometimes I make like a ventriloquist, "Hi, my name is Maia." Shes very gentle, although once in a while she will latch on to my arm/hand way to aggressive. I have to hiss/growl, clap my hands. These methods work with deaf kitties as well. A short, quick hiss, like spitting air, is better then blowing air. This is an instinctual warning that can be felt as well. Clapping your hands creates a sudden vibration, or stomping your foot.

 

[zane's pal]

What about when a cat runs up to you while you're dressing and bites you on a bare ankle and then runs away? Or when you are leaning down to tie your shoes he runs up and bites your hand or wrist and runs away?

 

[veachy]

I realize I am a bit later here...

My dad has a cat that will bite you if you are not petting him hard enough. He loves a good hard petting. (strange cat) if you pet to softly he bites. As soon as you increase the pressure he stops. You need to figure out why your cat is biting. It could be any number of things. 

Mine will bite when playing or sometimes just cause she wants to show me that she loves me (these are very gentle bites). Other times she will do it when bored (usually when I am doing homework and ignoring her) these are the worst. She will run up bite hard and run away, sort of like hey, see what I did, now come get me. She rarely does this anymore, now that she is older she doesn't need the constant play that she did as a kitten. 

Many kittens that are not raised with other cats will bite too firmly. Mine was a rescue and hand fed but allowed to bite and play with hands as well. When I got her at 6 weeks she had little needles for teeth no understanding of how much they hurt. I read many different methods for dealing with this. One suggestion was to bite them back. This seemed to be the only thing that helped me. Sounds strange and awful but it worked. 

When they bite you just bite them back slowly increasing the pressure until they don't like it. I would do it on the scruff of the neck. I would also follow this with a relatively loud "Gently". Now when Betty (thats my cat) starts to play too rough I say "Gently" and she softens up... 

I tried shaking a can of pennies, I tried replacing my hand with a toy, I tried ignoring her, tried the loud OUCH followed by whimpering... Nothing else worked but to bite back show her that it hurts.