cat that bites

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kellyklump
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cat that bites

Post by kellyklump »

i have a cat who lives outdoors and sleeps indoors. when i am outside he is very friendly and will rub against me and bring his head to my hand. he follows me on walks and if i sit he will jump onto my lap. i never forcibly pick him up or pet him when he doesn’t initiate it.

but if i spend more than fifteen minutes or so with him in my lap or next to me, he will bite me. and not like a light gentle bite. he will aggressively bite my hand or arm until he draws blood or i pull away. if i don’t react at all he will scratch and bite my arm or hand and then move on to the other one. it is very painful. if i put him down he will jump back up to me to bite me.

i am confused as to why he does this and need advice on how to stop this behavior. he is soon moving into my house as an indoor cat and i am afraid he will bite my younger brother. because he is an outdoor cat, i don’t think he lacks any stimulation and i’m also pretty sure he doesn’t bite me because he feels trapped. i also don’t think these are love bites. please help!
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Mollycat
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Re: cat that bites

Post by Mollycat »

It sounds like overstimulation to me. We had a walk-in adoptee cat who was just as you describe and she got much worse after I moved out and would visit once a week. But it was me who sorted it out!

Does your cat twitch or flick his tail, or put his ears back, or show any sign he is about to bite? You need to get to know he is irritated before he does, get up and walk away. If there really is no sign at all, which would be unusual, then give it a time limit and get up and walk away. If he is indeed getting overstimulated, by the time he attacks you he is going to do it no matter what - if you tell him off or are confrontational it escalates, if you do not react it annoys him even more without defusing the wind-up. You know when you're all riled up for a row and someone says ok that's fine, and you have nowhere for that wound-up anger to go?

Can you talk soothingly to him to calm him as well as staying very still and relaxed when he has a go at you? I'm wondering if he continues to react to tension, and if soothing and reassuring might help him defuse his fuse.
kellyklump
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Joined: Sat Aug 06, 2022 2:22 pm

Re: cat that bites

Post by kellyklump »

Mollycat wrote: Sat Aug 06, 2022 7:18 pm It sounds like overstimulation to me. We had a walk-in adoptee cat who was just as you describe and she got much worse after I moved out and would visit once a week. But it was me who sorted it out!

Does your cat twitch or flick his tail, or put his ears back, or show any sign he is about to bite? You need to get to know he is irritated before he does, get up and walk away. If there really is no sign at all, which would be unusual, then give it a time limit and get up and walk away. If he is indeed getting overstimulated, by the time he attacks you he is going to do it no matter what - if you tell him off or are confrontational it escalates, if you do not react it annoys him even more without defusing the wind-up. You know when you're all riled up for a row and someone says ok that's fine, and you have nowhere for that wound-up anger to go?

Can you talk soothingly to him to calm him as well as staying very still and relaxed when he has a go at you? I'm wondering if he continues to react to tension, and if soothing and reassuring might help him defuse his fuse.

thank you for the advice! right before he attacks he will put his ears back and grab my hand. he doesn’t have a tail. is he overstimulated because i am petting him? what should i do if he follows me and goes at my legs? thanks!
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