9 Months old cat who still bites.

by Cathy
(Ipswich Uk)


Hi there,


I just wondered if anyone had any information on this, I must admit I stumbled upon this site,I live in England, I come from a home where we always had cats and on moving out decided to have one of my/our own! My cat is 9 months old, regularly played with on a daily basis, regularly fed, watered, biscuited, wormed, de-fleaed, vaccinated and neutered like a responsible pet owner should! He has access outside during the day with his own "door" otherwise known as a cat flap, the only time he gets shut in is at night circa 11pm and has the run of the whole downstairs of our home so he can sleep where he likes and do what he likes, we leave him a litter tray in at night and my other half is up at 4am so he is not really all that long indoors.

My question is this, how can I stop him biting me, my son and my husband?? He seems to suffer from split personality or something, at one moment he will be lovingly cuddling up...the next biting your elbow drawing blood, a prime example of this was this evening, he decided to go to sleep with his head on my foot, perfectly content, for about 1 hour, then ( I didn't move) he woke up and sunk his teeth into my ankle...after getting "no" in a rather loud voice he ran off and disappeared off out, he always does tend to disappear after biting someone but always shows affection before that..any help would be appreciated :)

Reply
Hi
Some cats who may have been taken away from their mother too young or who have been played with in a rough and tumble sort of way when they were very young have not learned that biting is not a game.

Basically he is biting you because he gets a reaction from you and this is fun. Even a loud "No" is a positive reaction and is fun, indicated by the fact that he excitedly runs outside afterwards.

A negative reaction is no reaction at all and this is what you have to do with your cat now to try and break this habit. Its not easy and can take some time but if you stick with it, it will eventually work.

i have outlined this procedure here

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/cat-discipline.html

All the best
Kate

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one thing to try
by: Anonymous

I have one that was a stray/feral and can play a bit rough. When he uses his claws too much or bites, I will growl at him. When I do that, he stops and looks at me and stops. The expression on his face is as though he just realizes that went too far and settles down.
I think nine months is about the same as being a teenager, so they should outgrow it.
My sweet kitty Bites
by: Anonymous

This sounds just like my cat Bootsie! Very playful and affectionate,but will bite for no reason to get a reaction! We are consistent with "NO" and she’ll stop and move to another arm or foot, etc. I also, have a bottle of water to squirt at her, but she loves water and I’m thinking she thinks it’s a game since she then will go and bite the water bottle. I’m in a wheelchair and she will lay and block my way, so trying not to get bit I’ll take her back feet and try to roll her over since she’s laying usually on her back. My husband calls it spread eagle! Anyway, do you have any suggestions?

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