# I have a biter on my hands...



## misschris (Feb 28, 2012)

I adopted my lovely little Cooper a little over two weeks ago. At the shelter he hid under his blankets, but he's been nothing but loving and social since I brought him home. 

Unfortunately I believe we have entered phase two of getting to know each other. He still wants pets, cuddles, and to be close to me, but this past weekend he started randomly biting me. He also likes to lick and nip me sometimes when he is grooming while laying next to me. 

There are also times where he seems to be very agitated and stressed or scared, which suddenly started happening this past weekend as well. He will pace, and he wants to be directly in the middle of my bed at all costs (I live in an apartment and have a bed/couch combo, so it's usually where we both hang out). Then his eyes will dilate and his ears go flat. At times he jumps at me to bite if I'm on or near the bed while this is going on. 

It seems he knows it's wrong, and there are times where he's leaped toward me, but he stopped himself to instead grab a toy to bring onto the bed and bite like crazy. He bites it while stopping frequently to lick his paw. Then he attacks my pillow, and eventually me if that isn't enough. I feel so helpless not knowing what to do in this situation. It's scary for me, and I know he's stressed or scared of something - though I'm not sure of what it could be. He was fine for two weeks, and it seemed to manifest along with his new nipping habit.

I'm not really sure of how to correct him. It seems he has two "modes," so to speak. For his "attention nips" a stern "no" or saying "ouch" doesn't seem to do the trick. I've tried just removing him from the bed and ignoring him. He seems determined to get his way through bites. I've been trying to play with him several times a day until he gets tired, and he has toys that he likes to play with. I give him a lot of attention (though I stop when he's had enough), and he always has plenty of food, water, and clean litter. He's been eating and has good litterbox manners, so there are no issues there.

For his "scared/stressed" mode, I'm really at a loss on what to do. Calmly talking to him, giving him a toy (unless he chooses to get one himself), making a loud noise, and "no/ouch" don't seem to help. I haven't tried a spray bottle yet, but I don't know if that would upset him more when he's like this.

Sometimes I don't know which "mode" he's going to be in when he's biting, especially if he starts biting when I'm sleeping. I did make an appointment with the vet to get him checked out, since all of this came on kind of randomly. 

I guess I just mainly want to vent and ask for advice from someone who's had to deal with these issues before. I just want to be able to correct him properly and give him what he needs if he is indeed stressed or scared of something (since nothing has changed in my apartment from the time that I brought him home). I just want to understand what's going on and for him to be a happy boy again.


----------



## Kjs (Feb 22, 2012)

When he bites you, is it an actually bite to the point that it causes you pain (when playing or stressed)? Or is it a warning nip where he will hold for a second or to but not hurt you (when he simply wants to be left alone)?


----------



## BotanyBlack (Apr 6, 2011)

This might sound strange, but first thing I would do is get him to a vet for a dental to check for a bad tooth. While at it rule out any other pain he could have like arthritis that have "flair" ups. (if he does have one that needs removed, have the vet go ahead and clip his nails while under, most will do this if you ask.)

Look into getting a Feliway collar or defuser. It will help if it is a stress issue. 

Play some light music (cats respond well to classical) to help mellow out other back ground sounds as he adapts to your home, it has only been a few weeks after all. 

excess energy can cause these sporadic crazies. invest in a laser pointer. I have found that my local dollar tree carries batteries for these Uber cheap. (5 for a dollar!!!) and wal mart usually has a cheapo one in the check out lanes for like $2.50. 

also search this forum for "overstimulated" or "over stimulation". lots of other advice in those threads.


----------



## Penny135 (Apr 6, 2011)

Mia became a biter about 2 months after I got her (around 4 months old). She would bite anything that moved (feet, hand ect...). It dint matter if you were trying to pet her or you were moving them under the covers. I started pushing her away saying a sturn "no", then ignoring her. Finally around 6 months old she started growing out of it. She doesnt do it at all anymore (9 1/2 months old). Just be consistent with him. It will pay off!


----------



## Shenanigans (Jul 23, 2011)

Apollo has been a biter since he was a kitten. I still have scars from him attacking me. Even now, to this day, he still jumps on me and attacks the ever living gobstoppers out of me. It'll be out of nowhere and sometimes in the middle of while he's sleeping. If I happen to move or make a sudden noise, he attacks me. 

The vet never found anything - he's just a very overly excited cat at all times. 

The best purchase I've ever made was the Kong Kickeroo. He FINALLY uses that to beat the living crap out of instead of my ARMs. (Yes, he will be attached by all 4 paws, claws digging in my skin, teeth tearing skin. I can hold my arm out straight and all 11lbs of him will hold on for dear life. Sigh!) Have you tried buying him one of those? 

There's a lot of things the poor little guy is trying to get used to. A Feliway diffuser might help a lot in this situation. And be very consistent in your "no" when he bites. I use a spray bottle on Apollo, it's enough to get him out of the attack mentality. It's very much a daily battle with him, and I wish you the best of luck with this. If you catch this behavioral issue early enough, you have a much better chance of fixing it.


----------



## Violetzephyr (Feb 26, 2012)

Kong Kickeroo ftw! My cat is obsessed with it and it has saved my hand/arm/legs/toes!


----------



## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

I have something similar. It's a long dog toy and whenever Shepherd is looking feisty I throw it for him and he races to it and grabs it. Then he does a forward roll hanging on to it and kicks/bites it like crazy. I always praise him like crazy when he's attacking it.

It must have sunk in eventually because last night he was clawing the bed. I pinned him down by the scruff and gave him a sharp "NO!"...when i let him up he raced to where this toy was on the living room floor and took out all his aggression on it.  It cracked me up and I had to follow him in and praise him.


----------



## RascalDog (Dec 30, 2011)

Penny135 said:


> Mia became a biter about 2 months after I got her (around 4 months old). She would bite anything that moved (feet, hand ect...). It dint matter if you were trying to pet her or you were moving them under the covers. I started pushing her away saying a sturn "no", then ignoring her. Finally around 6 months old she started growing out of it. She doesnt do it at all anymore (9 1/2 months old). Just be consistent with him. It will pay off!


Sounds like teething. I think this is very common in kittens. At least in the kittens that I have had it was common.


----------



## misschris (Feb 28, 2012)

Thanks for all of the replies and suggestions!

I forgot to mention that he's an adult kitty. They weren't too sure about his age at the shelter, but they told me they guessed from 3-6yrs. Hopefully the vet can give me more info than that during his appointment. He was picked up as a stray when he was yowling outside before a snowstorm, and he was neutered at the shelter. Other than that, they didn't know much about him.

His bites vary. He usually doesn't break skin when he's nipping for attention, but he has at times. He sometimes leaves little welts, but there's usually no blood involved. When he's scared or agitated, he does bite really hard to the point that I'm bleeding.

I tried playing some classical piano when he was upset the other day, but when the music became more up-tempo or louder for a moment, he really didn't like it. I do leave a radio on for him during the day while I'm gone (tuned to an easy-listening station). 

A laser pointer was one of the first toys I got for him. He does chase it here and there, but he figured out that I'm in control of it. After that discovery, it takes him a while to stop watching it and actually chase it. He seems more interested in rubbing on or biting it. He loves his litte furry mouse toy. He carries it around, bats it, and grooms it. I've been able to distract him momentarily with that when he's nipping for attention. He also has a big catnip banana that he started grabbing to bite when he's stressed. I got another toy that looks a lot like the Kong Kickeroo that I'm going to introduce soon (I don't want to overload him with toys all at once lol). He's also fond of old shoelaces.

Thankfully he hasn't had a major meltdown for a day or two. He's still been nipping for attention in the middle of the night. I've been gently but firmly pushing him off of the bed and saying a stern "NO" when he bites. He either jumps up to bite harder or starts scratching on my bed or pillow.

Last night I started gently roll in his direction but face away from him when he continued to act like this. That seemed to make him lay down or run off to find a toy. Hopefully that will do the trick. I keep telling him only good boys can be on the bed (lol), and I'm trying to be as consistent as I can with removing him when he bites/giving him tons of praise when he bites on toys instead of my arm.

We have an appointment with the vet this afternoon, so hopefully I'll have more information then.


----------



## Kjs (Feb 22, 2012)

Sounds like your best bet is going to have to train him by saying "gentle" whenever he bites any harder than just holding you (there should be no marks or any pain) and withdraw your hand or wherever he is biting you until he complies with the command. Just withdraw completely from him and pay him no attention except to repeat "gentle" until he stops biting or only does a holding bite (most cats do this to play, it's the one that doesn't hurt).

If you do it constantly he will understand that he won't be able to play with you unless it's on your terms (terms being he doesn't hurt you). Cats are smart animals, he'll pick it up quickly as long as you're consistent with it.


----------



## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

Your vet might not have any good advice to offer. Vets are not the same as trainers or behaviorists. That being said some vets do have good suggestions.

It sounds to me like no one taught him any manners. Unfortunately that means you have to do it. It sounds like you're on the right track though! When he bites ignore him, or remove him (with as little contact or interaction as possible) from the area. If you can't remove him then remove yourself.

At night I'd suggest a 3 strikes rule. If he bites once, push him off the bed. Twice, push him off the bed. The third time he goes after you remove him from the room entirely. Tough luck, rude kitties don't get to sleep with mommy. It'll take a while but he'll learn it. The less interaction he gets for this behavior the sooner it will go away, but be prepared for the extinction burst.

An extinction burst is when the animal is learning that the behavior that used to work isn't working. They decide, "ok, i'll give it one last shot." they try again, and they get frustrated and seem to be getting worse. This actually means you're winning! Once they get over that last bit of fuss they will give up.

It's like if you lose your money in a vending machine. You push the 'money back' button. Nothing happens. You try again, still nothing. You push the button a whole bunch more times. If nothing happens you give up and walk away, but if you were to get your money back by pushing a whole bunch of times it would be a lot longer before you gave up the next time!

It is a great idea to give him a toy to chomp instead of you, when he bites you say "no" and then give him the toy. Eventually he'll get it but it will take patience.


----------



## misschris (Feb 28, 2012)

The vet visit went well. He's a healthy boy. The vet said some of his issues could be related to stress, but he's mainly diagnosing him as "a little jerk." Part of it is most likely him testing boundaries. 

Also, the vet estimated his age to be 18mos-2yrs - much younger than the shelter had said. I don't know why they missed the mark, but I had a feeling he was younger than their estimate. That does explain a lot as well, especially if he hasn't had proper discipline.

The vet suggested a lot of the tidbits already mentioned here. He also suggested that I feed him a few smaller meals throughout the day. I've currently been giving him food once in the morning and then again at night (since he currently only wants to eat dry food - he takes a couple bites of the wet food I bought for him and then tries to cover it up). He always has a little bit of food in his bowl at all times, and the vet said he may have more manners toward me if he's made more aware that I have control over his food. I suppose it's worth a shot.

He also suggested a treat dispensing toy to fulfill his hunting instinct and possibly getting a cat tree to give him more real estate for jumping and climbing. Since cats tend to hate citrus, he suggested either using a citrus lotion on my hands and arms before bed to possibly detour him from biting, or to even use a citrus-scented spray (like Febreze or something) on my bed.

If he continues the pacing and anxious behavior, he suggested using a Feliway diffuser. I also had a co-worker recommend Rescue Remedy for cats. Does anyone have experience with it?

It was a lot of information to take in, but it seems I still need time to experiment and to get to know him and his quirks. He only had one biting episode after going to the vet on Thursday, and he's been a good boy so far tonight. I bought a bed for him a week ago, but he wasn't really interested in it until I put it on the corner of my bed today. He's been kneading it, romping, and relaxing in it for an hour or so already, so it's a hit thus far. Hopefully he likes it enough to stop demanding the middle of the bed at 3am lol.

I feel more at ease now that I have a better understanding of his behavior. Now I just need to find what works for him, I suppose. Thanks for all of the help!


----------



## Violetzephyr (Feb 26, 2012)

Thanks for relaying all that information!


----------



## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

In general I agree with your vet, but I feel I have to point out one thing. If he's never been taught any better he's not really a little jerk. It really irritates me when people describe pets this way when they honestly don't know any better.

It doesn't mean that his behavior is acceptable, or that you shouldn't work to change it...but it's kind of like expecting someone form an entirely different culture to immediately understand our social boundaries and expectations. It's not possible, not fair, and bound to make everyone upset.

To extend my metaphor a bit, if someone kindly takes this person aside and calmly and politely explains what they are doing that is upsetting people and what they should do instead it will help solve to situation. Yelling, getting mad, ect...those things won't fix the issue.

I'm sure you aren't doing those things, but this is a public forum and it's a major peeve of mine when people call animals 'jerks' for simply not knowing any better!


----------



## misschris (Feb 28, 2012)

"Little jerk" was the vet's phrasing. I don't think he was insulting the cat- just saying that he's going to continue his unacceptable behavior until he learns his manners. 

The nervous/stressed fits have pretty much subsided, but he's been in full-on play mode at 4am for the past few days. We have play time before I go to work in the morning and twice in the evening - when I get home and an hour before bed - but it doesn't seem to be enough. I've also been trying to keep him awake when he wants to nap a couple hours before my bedtime. 

I keep trying to get him to play with his toys during hs 4am romps, but I guess it's more fun to pounce on my head and bite my arms under the blankets/pillow instead. He even nipped my face when he couldn't get to my arms. If I finally get him to play with a toy, he seems to want me to watch him play haha. He will start meowing or nipping again if I lay down, only to run over to the toy and start playing again after I look in his direction. 

When I try ignoring him, he either goes from nipping to breaking the skin, or he starts scratching on my pillow (or the wall, a door, or anything that he knows will get my attention). Nudging him off the bed when he bites seems to be turning into a game, so I'm going to try putting him in "time out" tonight when he starts this. I've been thinking of trying a spray bottle as well, but I'm no sure yet.

Other than this 4am business, he's already starting to improve. He loves to play during our scheduled play times (it's taking him some time to learn how to play with the toys, but he's catching on - he seems to understand that play time stops when he bites), and he wants to cuddle a lot. There are times that he looks as if he wants to nip, but he will stop and start licking instead. He has even been bringing me presents - the hair stopper from the drain is his favorite gift to give!


----------



## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

@ 4 Am when he first starts bothering you I would put him out of the room or lock him in a room with a litterbox and give him some toys. 

If you start reacting now and teach him that if he is persistent that you will give in..you'll have heck to pay later. 

I keep a few toys in my closet on my sock shelf and when Book gets obnoxious late at night, early morning i toss those toys and shut the door on him when he chases them. He has a whole basket in the living room to play with and MowMOw and I can go back to sleep in peace. It only took a few days of this for Book to learn that if he's noisy in my room he doesn't get to sleep with us and since I keep my apartment at a chilly 50 degrees  he spends a cold night alone.


----------



## Binkers (Mar 8, 2012)

Agree heartily with most of the above. Cats are almost always nocturnal (cheetah's are the only exception I think) but they can be switched around. It does take time in most cases as they come by it naturally. As in any training, the main thing is kindness & consistancy. It does sound like you're doing good stuff with both probs. Keep up the good work.


----------

