Stop biting, damnit

[charibdis]

Most of the time Gwen is happy and purring and content or sleepy. Sotimes she is very active and running around all over the place. However, every once in a while, for no reason I can fathom, she is in the mood to bite. When I'm not petting or scratching her this is not a problem, but when I am she will do her usually sniffing thing, and then

Comments

cats

[mare_imbri]

cats generally like being petted (is that a word?). then they decide they're done, but we keep petting them. How dare we not read their minds, they think. So they bite us. :) What I'm saying is, she may just be doing it to let you know she's done for now.

Re: cats

[charibdis]

There's a difference between a little warning bite which does not break the skin, and a nasty eating bite which does.

Besides, when she wants to stop being petted she often wags her tail or moves away a bit to indicate displeasure.

Re: cats

[pylocatabasis]

Might be hard to train her out of that at this point, but the only way to do so is some form of punishment, be it a spritz from a water bottle or a quick smack. NOT doing anything is just a reinforcer for the behavior.

Re: cats

[charibdis]

Yes, a friend mentioned that too. Unfortunately he also said I had to be consistent, whatever I did, and I guess I already blew my first chance at that. Still, so far she has only broken the skin once. I'm going to try.

[caughthalo]

Eep. Bad kitty. :(

[hugh_betcha]

Unrelated to the pet behavior, be sure to clean and bandage your wound if it was caused by a cat bite. I have friends who are vets, and while cat scratches tend to be as benign as any other scratch or scrape, cat saliva has the potential to often carry a very toxic/infectious agent, and thus bites need to be treated seriously.

If the site of the wound swells substantially in the next 24 hours (Not just reddened/sore, but develops a nasty lump) get to a doctor sharpish.

Obviously, this is just a potential, and it happens rarely. But people can get hospitalized in a matter of days from cat bites gone bad.

[charibdis]

Thanks for the advice. It broke the skin, and left little puncture marks, but stopped just short of bleeding. Mind you, if I had left my fingers in her mouth there is no doubt she would have continued biting until I bled.

It's good advice though. I have heard cat bites can get very nasty.

[mare_imbri]

a moose-*cough* er cat bit my sister once...

heh, sorry, had to.

[hugh_betcha]

Oo, that reminds me-

Don't karve your ynytyals on the katte.

Thanks, Mare!

[anonymous]

Now you see what it is to be loved by a devil-feline! :-)

From what I've gathered from reading, the cat is biting in aggressive play -- but this behavior probably wouldn't be happening if as a kitten, she had stayed longer with the mother cat. I have read that *kittens that are separated from the mother too early are not totally socialized*.

I agree with pylocatabasis that the behavior needs negative reinforcement. You might try getting thickish gloves (like suede gloves or even rubber gloves) and a water pistol. Then pet her while wearing the gloves and the moment that she attempts to bite you, squirt her with the water. It won't hurt the cat but it may train her out of the biting (and you may even have some fun!).

As you know, I have a devil-kat and I always watch her when I pet her. "Mr. Bottle" (a plant mister) is a well-known persona to my demonic pet.

[anonymous]

Did you guess that the above was written by flightofstairs?

[charibdis]

Spritz from a water bottle is the second suggestion I have gotten. The third suggestion I have gotten was to hold her down by the neck (not choking her, but keeping her from moving much) flat on her back, and stare into her eyes until she looks away, then let her up. Supposedly this matches what cats do in the wild when they want to establish dominance.

I'm not convinced Gwen is a hell-beast yet. It took her a long time to work up to biting. Nor does she have red glowing fires where her eyes ought to be.

[anonymous]

Don't hesitate to use the gloves. It will give you confidence.

flight