# Unprovoked biting



## CobieBear (Nov 27, 2010)

My parents recently got a new cat (he was my aunt/uncles but they moved to a place that didnt allow cats so my parents offered to take him). They have had him for 2 weeks now and they are ready to get rid of him. He will be fine, come up to be pet, rub all over you then without warning (or sometimes its a quick warning) he will bite and sometimes claw you. We arent sure what the deal is. We think my uncle/cousins played rough with him but when we visited we dont recall anyone ever having an issue with him biting. He was always very friendly and outgoing and my aunt/uncle were very concerned with who they gave him to because they didnt want just anyone taking him because they really love him.
He seems very well adjusted to my parents house, he walks everywhere, lays in the middle of walk ways making everyone walk around him. He walks up to people for attention, but everyone is literally afraid to pet him because you never know if/when hes going to spin around and bite. My parents do not want a cat that they cannot trust because I visit with my 2 young boys often. My boys are good with animals, my cat, Cobie (who lives with my parents) is now 13, we got her at 8 weeks old, and shes a very shy timid cat but she trusts my 4 year old enough to let him pet her and she will even go up to him for attention and she knows she just needs to walk away when shes done. It seems kind of like the new cat, Tyler, decides hes done and instead of walking away he just bites.
We also considered that maybe something was bothering him but hes spun to bite while being touched somewhere different each time (ears, tail, side.. not one specific spot on his body)... 
Is there anything we are missing to check or is this something anyone has experienced with a cat before? When hes not biting hes a cool cat. Not shy and timid like the cat Ive grown up with. Hes always out with everyone, big beautiful cat but my parents just dont know what to do. They dont want a cat who they have to be on pins and needles around in their own house but of course they dont want to get rid of him after just getting him. Does anyone have any advice?
Just because he is a beautiful cat, and when he wants to, hes very sweet this is him:


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## rightsaidfed (May 31, 2012)

i don't have any specific advice, but if you don't recall a history of biting, he could be having trouble adjusting to the change.

Maybe a Feliway Diffuser would help calm him?

Also, I've heard that if a cat flicks or wags its tail, that means it is not happy, and that's supposed to be a warning sign. is it possible that he's giving signs earlier than you think?

Lastly, THOSE EYES! how could they possibly get rid of those eyes?! So pretty!


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## bluemilk (Oct 3, 2005)

Something breed specific? I've heard meezers can get funny,sometimes. They ARE a wonderful breed,and Cobie's adorable!!! I'll bet it's hard to say no to that face!


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## kit-e-kat (Aug 4, 2012)

Cats don't like rough play much I think.. My cat bob is one of the most chill axed cats ever he let's us do anything with I'm and he is happy and purring and loved attention from me and my mum, but the brother and dad think because he is a big 6kg sturdy cat he likes rough handling and he did try to bite and claw my dad. But he has never even growled at us...

He may just not trust you? Or even if your are clapping h. You ight be doing it too rough without knowing.. I know bob will flick his tail to show his displeasure and usually turns his head away while he wil l look at you wanting attention if he likes it. Look out for that
Maybe try giving him treats when he lets you clap I'm but if he bites just get up and walk away. You might just have to start from point one untill he is ok for the children to Handel keep I'm locked in the kitchen or such?


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## dlowan (Jul 13, 2012)

I'm wondering if it might help to time how long the cat can normally go before it turns on people and restrict petting to just under that amount of time? 

Also, is it possible, perhaps, to video the cat being petted until it turns on the petter and look at the video to see if there are some signals that the cat gives that are hard to see at the time?


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## dlowan (Jul 13, 2012)

Also....does the cat get a lot of active play, chasing toys etc?

Mine love Da Bird and the squeaky or feathered toys that come with long strings and wands for the human to use....that way the toy gets attacked, not you! Some cats love laser pointers....mine do....and lots of Siamese will play fetch.


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

When he DOES give a quick warning what type of warning is it? After he bites what does he do?

I'd just like to determine if it's aggressive or playful...I have one cat who gives "love bites", it's something he's done since the day we brought him home as a 12 week old kitten. He basically gets overstimulated and nips (but it hurts) during petting but in no way shape or form wants you to stop, he immediately continues rubbing after the bite, purring his head off and showing no signs of unhappiness. Many times the bites will be very slow and obvious, if I offer my elbow to him when I've been petting him for a while I can guarantee he will bite it, and you'll be able to watch him slowly stretch his neck out, slowly open his mouth, then quickly nip. I think they've sort of turned into attention seeing bites, which is a bit of a problem. We've never really discouraged them, they were just one of those things that makes Neko weird. But they are getting a bit more common now so I'm starting to treat him like a biting kitten again. Neko is also odd in that he enjoys rough play.

If it is indeed aggressive and not playful you'll really need to start paying attention to his body language. I think a lot of aggression in cats is caused by their warning signs being ignored and by petting always going overboard (much longer than they would like, every time). I would start listening to the cat so he feels he can trust you and doesn't feel like he needs to use extreme measures to make you go away.

So start asking the cat for permission before petting, hold out a hand or finger and see if he rubs it or offers his rear to be pet. Then pet for maximum of five seconds, pet only the area that the cat offered (so head/ears of he rubbed with head, chin if he rubbed your hand with his face, and rear/back if he offered his back end), and then stop and leave him alone. Every time you pet it should end with him loving it and wishing you weren't stopping. If you offer a hand and he pays no attention to it then just walk away, he's said no thank you.

If while you are petting he ever seems to shrink back from your hand immediately pull your hand back so he knows you noticed. Look for tail flicking or the cat seeming disinterested in you (refusing to look at you), even if he is still pushing into your hand. Sometimes you can tell when I cat is becoming upset by changes in breathing, it may speed up. They may also begin walking differently, either faster or heavier on their feet. That will all have to be something you figure out on your own.

But the first step is asking for permission and keeping all petting very short, 5 second max. You can certainly do it multiple times a day, just have a break in between each and always ask for permission again.


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## hoofmaiden (Sep 28, 2009)

It may well be feline hyperesthesia syndrome--basically the normal cat tendency to be very sensitive and hedonistic gets turned on its head. The cat wants to be petted but then can't handle the stimulation and reacts as you've seen.

It could be something else--trust issue, etc.--but it could also be hyperesthesia. There are some medications that can help w/ it but generally you just have to be very understanding and careful.

More on this syndrome here:

Feline Hyperesthesia Syndrome

HyperesthesiaSyndrome


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## Jacq (May 17, 2012)

hoofmaiden said:


> It may well be feline hyperesthesia syndrome--basically the normal cat tendency to be very sensitive and hedonistic gets turned on its head. The cat wants to be petted but then can't handle the stimulation and reacts as you've seen.


Or, as my partner puts it, "Asperger's Cat."


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

I've posted about this before, but I live alone and Zenobi had only one person to deal with. 

Shortly after I got her, she was on the bed when suddenly she whipped around and bit me before jumping off the bed. There was fury in her eyes as if to say, "I'm not going to put up with any of that."

I don't suppose too many people would react the way I did. I offered my other hand knuckle first and her eyes changed right away to calm and understanding.

Zenobi's long gone now, but I used patience to cure our problem. I've never been absolutely sure why she bit, but I think she may have seen my other hand coming and thought I was about to scruff her. (I'm positive she'd been abused but I've posted about that several times.) Two hands may mean a grab and that's unwanted. How hard is the bite? Does it draw blood?

I hope you can find out what the trouble is. Perhaps if all petting is withdrawn and the cat is allowed to solicit it before any more is given.


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## CobieBear (Nov 27, 2010)

Thank you so much for all the replys. Im sorry I didnt reply sooner.



rightsaidfed said:


> i don't have any specific advice, but if you don't recall a history of biting, he could be having trouble adjusting to the change.
> 
> Maybe a Feliway Diffuser would help calm him?
> 
> ...


What is a Feliway Diffuser? I, sadly, dont have a large range of knowledge of cats so I have a lot to learn. Ill have to pay closer attention to his tail and see. I dont recall if he flicks it around or not. He really is beautiful. And he knows it too. I love taking pictures of my animals and couldnt resist and he was literally posing for me. 



bluemilk said:


> Something breed specific? I've heard meezers can get funny,sometimes. They ARE a wonderful breed,and Cobie's adorable!!! I'll bet it's hard to say no to that face!


Thank you. Cobie is my baby. Moving her would be to traumatic since we arent in our forever home and shes bonded with my dad pretty close since I left but I miss her so much. She used to be my shadow, I couldnt go anywhere without her following me. Shes come out of her shell a lot since I left though since she didnt have me to be glued to so its been good for her. But man do I still miss my little shadow. She still trusts me with her life though. Shes very shy but once you earn her trust she literally puts her life in your hands. (sorry, about that, I quite love my little girl)



kit-e-kat said:


> Cats don't like rough play much I think.. My cat bob is one of the most chill axed cats ever he let's us do anything with I'm and he is happy and purring and loved attention from me and my mum, but the brother and dad think because he is a big 6kg sturdy cat he likes rough handling and he did try to bite and claw my dad. But he has never even growled at us...
> 
> He may just not trust you? Or even if your are clapping h. You ight be doing it too rough without knowing.. I know bob will flick his tail to show his displeasure and usually turns his head away while he wil l look at you wanting attention if he likes it. Look out for that
> Maybe try giving him treats when he lets you clap I'm but if he bites just get up and walk away. You might just have to start from point one untill he is ok for the children to Handel keep I'm locked in the kitchen or such?


Well we are all very gentle with him. Like I mentioned, I *think* my uncle and cousins played pretty rough with him but no one does now. My parents and 19 year old brother are the only ones who live at the house (my parents both work full time) and my husband and I visit on weekends with our boys (who know to leave Ty alone, they do not chase him or approach him). We are all very gentle with him as we are used to my timid little girl.



dlowan said:


> I'm wondering if it might help to time how long the cat can normally go before it turns on people and restrict petting to just under that amount of time?
> 
> Also, is it possible, perhaps, to video the cat being petted until it turns on the petter and look at the video to see if there are some signals that the cat gives that are hard to see at the time?


I think Ill give the video a try. Im still working on learning cat body language so perhaps theres more that Im just missing.



dlowan said:


> Also....does the cat get a lot of active play, chasing toys etc?
> 
> Mine love Da Bird and the squeaky or feathered toys that come with long strings and wands for the human to use....that way the toy gets attacked, not you! Some cats love laser pointers....mine do....and lots of Siamese will play fetch.


Well he chases my girl around the house but shes always been a cat whos been picked on (my brothers old cat used to chase her and kind of bully her too) so she doesnt enjoy it. So I guess no he really doesnt have any play time. Ill bring my laser pen this weekend and dig out some cat toys for him.



~Siameseifuplz~ said:


> When he DOES give a quick warning what type of warning is it? After he bites what does he do?
> 
> I'd just like to determine if it's aggressive or playful...I have one cat who gives "love bites", it's something he's done since the day we brought him home as a 12 week old kitten. He basically gets overstimulated and nips (but it hurts) during petting but in no way shape or form wants you to stop, he immediately continues rubbing after the bite, purring his head off and showing no signs of unhappiness. Many times the bites will be very slow and obvious, if I offer my elbow to him when I've been petting him for a while I can guarantee he will bite it, and you'll be able to watch him slowly stretch his neck out, slowly open his mouth, then quickly nip. I think they've sort of turned into attention seeing bites, which is a bit of a problem. We've never really discouraged them, they were just one of those things that makes Neko weird. But they are getting a bit more common now so I'm starting to treat him like a biting kitten again. Neko is also odd in that he enjoys rough play.
> 
> ...


Well the warning Ive noticed was he will kind of make a growling type noise then spin and bite. Typically all to quickly for us to back up. Other times he just spin and bite without noise. Though as previously mentioned I, admittedly, do not know cat body language all that well and cannot recall, maybe he was flicking his tail as well? I will pay attention to that this weekend and try and get a good video to share. Usually after he bites/claws he stays where hes at. He doesnt run, or walk away. If hes laying down next to you he stays right there. Once he was standing and he bit me and then he laid down right there next to me after.
I know when I pet him I sat down and called him. He came up to my out reached hand and rubbed his face on me then walked so his whole side rubbed down my hand. I took that to mean he wanted attention and continued to gently run my hand down his back and over whatever body part he put in front of me. He pushed his ears into my hand so I rubbed his ears and after a short time he spun to bite then flopped down on his side right there. Another time, I did the same thing and as he passed I was running my hand down his back and when I got to the end of his tail he spun around with teeth and nails and went for my arm. I could very well be missing something there though. Im just used to my girl who when she has had enough she will just get up and walk away. Or if she really doesnt want to leave your lap and just wants you to stop (usually because we are talking while petting her and dont realize we are hitting the spot on her back that makes her tail twich, like a weird nerve, and she will do that to get your attention so you stop making her tail twitch) she will open her mouth and basically hit you with her teeth without ever closing her mouth. The only time shes ever fully bit or clawed someone is because we are playing with her and shes all riled up -which she doesnt do much now that theres only my parents and youngest brother left in the house. Shes more just a mellow lap cat now. 



hoofmaiden said:


> It may well be feline hyperesthesia syndrome--basically the normal cat tendency to be very sensitive and hedonistic gets turned on its head. The cat wants to be petted but then can't handle the stimulation and reacts as you've seen.
> 
> It could be something else--trust issue, etc.--but it could also be hyperesthesia. There are some medications that can help w/ it but generally you just have to be very understanding and careful.
> 
> ...


Thank you for those links! I will do some reading on that!



Jacq said:


> Or, as my partner puts it, "Asperger's Cat."


Lol I think they could deal with that if they know theres a reason and hes just not being a butt lol



jusjim said:


> I've posted about this before, but I live alone and Zenobi had only one person to deal with.
> 
> Shortly after I got her, she was on the bed when suddenly she whipped around and bit me before jumping off the bed. There was fury in her eyes as if to say, "I'm not going to put up with any of that."
> 
> ...


I really had no idea how to handle it (Im much more knowledgeable about dogs) and I didnt get up and leave when he bit. I stayed right where I was and gave him a minute then reached over again and he rubbed his face on my hand again like nothing happened. I will admit the first time he did it I flicked my finger at his nose and it caught his nose. He didnt run he just flopped down on his side and stared at me. I just waited a minute looking around while sitting on the floor next to him and reached over again and he got up and came over and rubbed on my hand again.


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## CobieBear (Nov 27, 2010)

I was just reading about FHS and am quite interested. I acutally believe that is my girl Cobies problem for sure. Describes her to a T. We have learned certian ways to avoid petting her to avoid the tail twitching which would cause her to hit us with her teeth (as I posted about above being one of the few times she touches us with her teeth). But it also describes Tyler quite a bit as well. Dialated eyes, running around for no reason, loud meowing for no reason, loving one second not the next, I believe he rippled his fur along his back and was twitching his tail while running around for not apparent reason... I think I will look more into this and really watch and see if theres something that happens when hes being pet that causes him to bit like with my girl it would be her tail twitching when you hit certain points along her lower back (she also has licked her inner legs raw with sores and they are hairless. The vet thought it was scabby cat but keeping her on 2 different flea medicines didnt help it any like the vet said it should and we since stopped and nothing has changed)


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## freedevil (Aug 21, 2012)

Interesting. When we got our cat he would nip us as well and now it hardly happens except early in the morning to wake us up for food or if I let him. If other conditions are ruled out it probably is over stimulation or maybe he is too easily over stimulated. 

Here is a video of over-stimulation and a strong desire to play. Notice the tail at the beginning. Once he turned around I could have retracted my hand and he would not have nipped me (I make a noise to see what he would do and not out of pain). Screaming ouch etc. did not work for us. Once we learned when to stop petting him or sensing the bite, we were able to avoid such situations.






Few things we have learned during petting:

1) Never pet in the blind. Pay attention to the cats tail and body language. 
2) The cat won't always nip when its tail flicks. The more you get to know the cat the more you know your limitations and boundaries.
3) The nips vary from light to hard. Notice the timings of these mood swings. Is he sleepy (our cat is irritable if very sleepy)? Hyper? 
4) We can easily avoid his nips by moving our hand out of the way by focusing on him.
5) Avoid petting with your arm or hand hovering above his head until you get to know him. Reach from below, chin or the side to access his head or pet his back without your arm arching over his face.

The most important thing we learned about nipping is to play with him with toys he can chew on. His favorite toy is the go cat chase wand and he chews it and attacks it. If we ignore him he'll come and give us a gentle nip sometimes letting us know he wants to play. I recommend draining the energy from that cat and increasing play to see if it helps. Good Luck!


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## snowy (Aug 23, 2012)

After reading this thread, I realised I am not alone. I am a new cat owner, that is why I am quite ignorant about cat matter. My kitty sure make me very confused, loving at 1 moment, biting at the next, and sometimes w/o any provocation. I have also learnt to look out for his flicking tail and learnt to know his likes and dislikes to keep myself out of trouble. So funny, its not kitty staying out of trouble, its me, the owner, the hands that feed them. 

I now know, after some months, that my kitty doesn't like to be combed (after being bitten hard and scratched so many times). I now use a sticky roller instead, though it doesnt do as good a job, but still better than nothing at all. He will also bite whenever he is hungry. My way around it, is, get his food ready before I enter his room, so I have stayed away from being bitten for quite a while. I have learnt also to pet and massage him only when he asks for it.

But today, I was reading the newspaper, kitty came over to sit by my side. After i finished reading, while folding up the papers, he suddenly bit me on my elbow. Everything happened so fast, no chance for me to see if his tail was flipping. Maybe, it was the sound of the folding papers that startled him to react by biting. I seriously don't understand cats sometimes. One moment sweet and loving, next moment, they scratch and bite.


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## Goldtanker (Jan 9, 2011)

Midnight, the wild cat has bitten me twice (about a year and a half apart). Once on the hand when I was putting a rug down on the porch for him and, about a month ago, on the arm when I was giving him treats and reached around him to push myself up off the porch. 

Not a problem except I have to get medical treatment each time. (learned the hard way that cat bites are on the order of those from a Gaboon Viper!) 

My theory was that there was some movement that he interpreted as a threat from some past experience in his life prior to showing up in my woods. Otherwise, he is very friendly and let's me pet him anytime and even pick him up off the bed on the cabinet in the garage to put him on the floor for treats.


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## CobieBear (Nov 27, 2010)

Well my mom showed one of the residents at her work a picture of Tyler and right away the lady said hes a seal point siamese and discribed the rest of his body that wasnt in the picture then started describing a siamese personality and it matched him exactly. She said he was probably jealous and needed time to bond. Sure enough he is no longer biting and hes become quite fond of my dad (now my dad is really hoping he starts to behave because my dad has become pretty fond of Ty but he has flat out said Cobie comes first)

The main issues now is he keeps clawing at my parents new couch (they do have some cat scratcher things but they are all flat nothing up right for stretching and clawing, not sure if thats really an issue or not) and he will attack Cobie (the lady did say Siamese tend to like being only cats but they will get rid of him before getting rid of my old girl). We dug out the cat toys and he seems to love those as well. The main thing has now moved to his attacking my 13 year old little girl whos about half his size. She so far isnt letting it get to her to much as far as she still will come sit with us. My parents set up a litter box and food and water in their room (she sleeps with them, she became my dads cat after I moved out) and they now lock Ty out of their room so he cannot attack her and she seems quite happy to be in there (they were also having an issue with him getting locked in their walk in closet all day so keeping him out of the room also has that advantage lol) and she will sit on the couch in the evening with everyone but the other night after everyone got up and walked to the rooms to go to sleep he chased her down and there was a cat fight. My parents both flew out of bed and chased him down and squirt him with a water bottle (they used to squirt their old cat -RIP- when he would wake them up at 5am wanting food, he learned to stay just out of reach of the spray and meow from there lol). Not sure if the squirting is something that will work but its all they can think of to get him to stop attacking poor little Cobie.


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## artiesmom (Jul 4, 2012)

Freedevil,
Your cat looks and acts exactly like Artie!! amazing!! Artie is 8 yrs old..and he only nips me!! I guess I play too much and do not observe the 'rules'. Thanks for reminding me.


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## minikin44 (Aug 25, 2012)

Feliway is a synthetic copy of a cat pheromone that helps comfort cats and reduce stress. It comes in a spray and a diffuser. You can find it at big name pet stores like PetSmart, online, and probably other places as well. FELIWAY - Official Site


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Feliway plug ins are the most effective. Buy it on Amazon. Its outrageously priced in retail stores. Play therapy is very effective in calming a cat down. Do it daily. See if that helps him bond with you. Cats are territorial and he just lost his people and familar home. He needs time to get to feeeling safe. Siamese pick certain people to be theirs. Playing with a wand toy will help.


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## CobieBear (Nov 27, 2010)

Thank you everyone for taking the time to read this! Things have gotten much better with Tyler. He has since bonded with my dad (I guess before he was really close to my uncle, hes also showing interest in my husband whos allergic to cats lol) He has definitely stopped the unprovoked attacks and now moved on to only doing so when theres a clear reason. He does play rough but its not very obvious that hes just playing when he bites/grabs at you. He has scratched my son twice now but thats a learning curve as my son likes to lay down on the floor next to Ty (which is what he does with my little girl who prefers when your at her level) so hes learning how to act around other cats as my girls the only one hes really interacted with until now. Ty meows a "leave me alone" meow and swats my son then walks away and my son leaves him alone. So things are settling down for the good. Tyler loves my dad (whos turning into a mush with the cat, he lets that cat break so many rules that were always no-nos for our cats growing up) and literally cries at the front door when my dad leaves for work every morning and runs to see my dad when he hears him walk in the door at night. Its adorable. He meows his hello and my dad, before even setting his stuff down stops to say hello and pet the cat.
He does still attack my little girl but they have come up with a solution to that as well. Cobie now has her own litter box and food/water in my parents master bed room and they keep Tyler out of their room. Tyler gets them during the day and my baby gets them at night. She has always been a shy girl and now that shes in their room with their door shut she has stopped being so nervous and shy. I havent seen her this happy and relaxed since I lived with them 5 years ago. She LOVES being in there with the door shut. Only people she knows go in there and she knows that so shes never worried when the door opens. I go in and visit her every weekend when we visit and shes curled up on their bed out in the open, she doesnt run and hide, she never hides period now lol shes so happy and I LOVE to see how happy she is. My parents felt bad that she was shut only in their room but after I told them that even if they got rid of Tyler I think they should keep Cobie in their room with the door shut they decided Ty isnt going anywhere. My girl sleeps with my parents at night, shes still my dads baby too but when hes not in bed shes taking to my mom now as well. Im just so thrilled to finally see her as happy as she was 5 years ago when I was still living with her and she was my little shadow (she basically stayed in my room only, even then and their room now is much larger so its not like shes locked in a tiny room alone, she sleeps WITH my parents every night, I visit her every time Im there because I no longer have to search for her, shes always sprawled out on their bed. Shes become a happy spoiled little girl now that Tyler came along (not that she wasnt spoiled before but we finally found the trick to getting her to come out of her shell and be able to relax and if its not apparent in reading this I am beyond thrilled that my little girl is so happy!)

So thank you again everyone. Things always seem to have a way of working out and looks like that happened once again. My little girl is happy, my dad has another new buddy whos getting him to really lighten up on animals (my mom thinks she will have an indoor dog within a few years now- growing up our dog was never allowed in except during thrunder and fireworks because she was terrified of those lol my dad loves animals and they are drawn to him but he just has always hated the fur and them inside the house lol)


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## cupcakes4breakfast (Mar 23, 2012)

When I got my kitten 9 months ago, he bit me a lot too. At first I didn't know what to think, but I learned it was his way of playing! When cats play with each other, they play rough. Since he doesn't have another cat to play with, he plays with me in the same way he would a cat. You need to figure out if he's being playful or aggressive. If he's being aggressive, he will probably draw blood... or he will hiss, his ears go back, his hair raises. Look for those signs.


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## Huge2 (Jan 28, 2008)

This may have been said already, but there's no such thing as unprovoked biting.


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## kty78 (Mar 18, 2012)

Miley will sometimes nip while playing. She is 10 months old, I think for her it's a kitten thing she hasn't outgrown. But it is not angry biting. Both of our cats will also nip at me when they want me to get up if I'm lying in bed or on the couch. They will get behind me, nip at, usually my ankle, then wriggle up along my leg and try to push me off the bed with their legs. I think it's funny, and I am in no way provoking them to bite me. I'm just reading or sleeping, ie, ignoring them. 

Personally I have always ignored nipping, other than mayb yelping a little if it actually hurts.


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

Ive taught my cat Mittens that biting is not OK. He now rubs the front of his teeth on my skin instead of doing the little nips! 

He was doing that to my S/O yesterday. He had no idea why my cat was doing with him. This is the first man my cat has shown affection to beside my son. Big step for my Zen guy, Mittens. I guess its his way of saying this guy is OK by me. Hes passed the test.


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## coyt (Jul 15, 2012)

Mitts & Tess said:


> Ive taught my cat Mittens that biting is not OK. He now rubs the front of his teeth on my skin instead of doing the little nips!
> 
> He was doing that to my S/O yesterday. He had no idea why my cat was doing with him. This is the first man my cat has shown affection to beside my son. Big step for my Zen guy, Mittens. I guess its his way of saying this guy is OK by me. Hes passed the test.


My cat does this too! I've never been to sure what it was, exactly, haha. He'll headbutt you and then rub the front or sides of his teeth against you.


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## jusjim (Jun 30, 2009)

Huge said:


> This may have been said already, but there's no such thing as unprovoked biting.


I was going to say that, but what the provocation is can be hard to determine. When Zenobi bit me a couple of days after I got her, the first thing I wanted to know was what I'd done wrong.


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## Alpaca (Dec 21, 2009)

jusjim said:


> I was going to say that, but what the provocation is can be hard to determine. When Zenobi bit me a couple of days after I got her, the first thing I wanted to know was what I'd done wrong.


I agree it's hard to figure out sometimes. Miu is 3 yrs old and I've had her since she was 2 months. A couple of days ago I woke up screaming in pain as she gave me a vicious bite on the wrist. She looked genuinely scared of my hand but I have no idea what happened. I'm assuming I might have bopped her in my sleep and frightened her.


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