Biting

Biting Problems

Cats that do not enjoy prolonged petting or being held may still play with their owners, follow them around the house, sleep on the bed with them, and cuddle. All of these behaviors are indicative of attachment. Some cats are huggable and others are not, but both types of cats can be equally attached to their owners.

Fluffy was cuddling with you; he bites you and jumps down. This scenario happens more than you might think.

He has begun to doze in your lap, wakes suddenly and is momentarily disoriented by his surroundings and by being "confined" by your hands. After he jumps down he may look confused and begin to groom himself to calm down.

Sensitive or nervous cats can be over stimulated by prolonged petting. There are usually warning signs of the impending attack--restlessness, tail twitching, flattened ears, head turned toward hand. It is important for the cat owner to be alert to these signals and to stop petting the cat before this point is reached. At this time a small food treat could be given, along with a few more strokes, to gradually increase his threshold of tolerance. Never physically punish the cat for biting as it may cause him to become defensive and to seriously retaliate.

Petting the cat's sensitive stomach area almost always elicits a natural defense reaction which includes wrapping his paws around the person's wrist, holding on, and biting.

Environmentally, cats are extremely sensitive and can react to a change by urinating out of the box. This change could be subtle such as moving a piece of furniture or as obvious as a move or a new baby in the house. Once you determine your cat is healthy with your vet, retraining can be an option. To retrain your cat, you will need to confine him to a small area when you cannot be there to supervise - usually a bathroom or laundry room works well. Just remember to kitty proof the area so you don’t come home to a mess. Place the litter box in the room with other amenities such as water, bed, and toys. However, do not place these items too close to the litter box, as cats like to keep these activities separate. While you are not home, the cat will hopefully use the box because it has little choice of where to go. When you are home, you will want to show the cat the litter box occasionally in hopes of catching him going in the box so you may reinforce with a lot of praise and treats.

Refrain from punishing a cat for going to the bathroom outside of his litter box, as this may confuse the cat. Hitting the cat is counterproductive and will only cause more behavioral problems such as biting, nervousness, or hiding from you to go to the bathroom. Do not use a spray bottle or loud noise in this case because you do not want the cat to think that whenever he goes to the bathroom he will get misted with water or yelled at – even in the litter box.

If your cat does have an accident, clean it up with a product that neutralizes the odor. There are many such products on the market. Make sure you do not clean it up with anything that contains ammonia, as this is a component of urine and can encourage the cat to go there again.

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