Pumpkin is biting me!

[gomavs123]

Hello, my pumpkin has been with me for a couple weeks now since my wife and I adopted him from a foster home- he has been nothing but the sweetest cat (5 years old).  I have had a recent issue with him in his stools, but after a visit with the vet I think he is getting better (refer to my first post).

One repeating issue that I start to find with him is that he is starting to bite me- The first time I saw him biting was when he was in his side.   He usually does this when I pet him when he is laying front- then he goes on his side. I pet him in the side, but after a couple petting strokes, (and/or if I pet the stomach side), he grabs my hand and bites me.  It isn't like a hard bite, but it definitely hurts and leaves marks.   This keeps me always worried-

I do not want to have to deal with every time I try to pet him.

therefore, from that time on, I just avoided petting him when he was on the sides.  However, another definite behavior happened today was when I had him on my lap-I was petting him and he was enjoying it, giving me purrs, etc. 

Then he bent down and bit my thigh.  

Interstingly, he didn't bite me so hard that it hurts, but it was a definite bite.

What is a little unnverving for me was the fact that he knows I don't like this- after he bites me he runs away, and I yell at him.  after that, every time I come up to him, he gets into a pouncing stance and runs away in fear.  I have even tried educating him by spraying him with water so he stops.  But this keeps on happening- 

The fact that he might be playful did enter my mind- but I do want to let him know that although I like playing with him, I don't want him to bite me- and I want to do it without making him think I am his enemy.  

Any advice will be appreciated.   Thanks in advance for the help!

 

[Ms. Freya]

It could be a few things:

1. It could be play biting and he's just never learned that that's inappropriate behavior. If you think this is the case, try making a sharp hissing noise at him if the does it, then ignore him for awhile. That's what another cat would do to tell him the interaction isn't comfortable.

2. He could be getting overstimulated. I have one cat who ill purr right up to the moment hey freak out. Does he flick his tail around or put his ears back just before biting you? If so, that could be him telling you he's had enough. Some cats give you plenty of warning, some not so much.

You can take a look at this article as well: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people it talks a bit about warning signs that a cat is overstimuated as well as has some ideas how to minimize the behavior.

Good Luck! I'm sure some of our other members will be along soon with more advice.
 

 

[gomavs123]

Thank you for the advice!  I will try the advice given, and also read up on the article.  He keeps on moving his tail around- I heard from some that the speed at which he flicks the tail around is an indicator, but I couldn't tell the difference between the normal tail flicking and fast wagging.  I will check out the ear shape though.

Also, I do have this ball and feather toy similar to the picture attached and I play with him a lot.  The thing is, he goes and attacks that thing and bites it like its his punching bag and food at the same time.  Maybe he is thinking my hand is similar?

Anyways I will read and see what is going on.  thanks again.

14_4_orig.jpg

• gomavs123
• Dec 1, 2012

 

[three cat night]

He needs ALOT of playtime , I mean until he is worn out ! Do you have bouncy balls? I have had luck with a stuffed animal for my crazy kitty that is about the same size as he is and I perch it on the top of the scratch post. He wrestles with it ,gives it rabbit kicking and attacks, and carries it all over the house

 

[callista]

He's not biting down, so it's not aggressive biting; he's not trying to hurt you (and, trust me, if a cat wants to hurt you, he can). He could be trying to start a play session. He could also be telling you, "Hey, quit petting me! I've had enough!"

Keep an eye on his body language. See if you can gauge his mood. For a cat, the way they move and the way they hold their bodies is like their language. The more you learn about that language (most cat owners are at least passable at it, and quite a few are fluent), the better you can understand what your kitty is thinking. The "I'm restless and I want to play" posture is somewhat different from the "I'm uncomfortable and I want to be alone now" posture. Sometimes, a cat who's a little tense will start wanting to play once you pet him, and will roll over, grab and bite your hand, and go for the usual wrestle-and-tumble thing that kittens do. Of course he doesn't realize that your hand hasn't got fur to protect it, and might occasionally leave marks. Try to detect when the cat is in a playful mood, and engage him in the sort of play that doesn't leave your hand feeling like a used chew toy! At the same time, make sure your hand isn't an attractive play target; take it away and ignore the cat so he knows you're not interested in rough-and-tumble play.

Yes, indeed. The tail flicking is a good barometer of how tense the cat is feeling. The quicker it is, the more alert and revved up he is. It can be a good kind of alert, like the way his tail twitches when he watches a bird out the window. Or it can be frustrated, overwhelmed, or annoyed. A calm, confident cat will hold their tail steady, either out behind them (calm) or straight up with the tip curled (sociable). A cat with a lashing tail is very tense indeed. As the cat gets more and more tense, the tail starts to move more quickly and less smoothly. The most high-energy posture is probably curled downward and puffed up--that's the fear/aggressive tail you might see when your cat is confronting a strange cat out the window. Some cats, when they are in particularly high-energy states, can "flip" from positive to negative--from, say, playful to aggressive--if something scares them or threatens them. I think that accounts for some of the "I was petting her and then she flipped out and bit me!" incidents from cats that are particularly sensitive: She was feeling sociable, but the socializing stimulated her and made her much more alert, and then once she started feeling overwhelmed, that "alert" flipped to "fearful" and she felt she had to "escape". I don't know if that's the case for you, but I would guess not, because the biting your cat is doing doesn't sound like he's in a state of panic. It might be going from sociable to playful, though.

An overstimulated cat usually gets more tense. You can feel the muscles bunching up. When that happens, just remove your hand and leave him alone. The cat should learn that you respect his desire not to be petted when he doesn't want to be. Eventually he won't go straight to biting, if he knows that just getting tense is enough to tell you to quit it with the snuggling now.