This cat I got acts really bad. He bites a lot, and not just love bites. I was wondering what I can do about it, he is not that old. I guess his Mom never got a chance to teach him anything. He sits on your lap and loves to be petted, but then he'll bit you. Whats the right way to deal w/this behavior?
Why is this cat doing this???
- Thread starter Stifko
- Start date
Before all the dopes telling you stupid things like:
"Throw it in the street" Etc.
The cat should be warning you before it bites you.
It's tail will thump, ears go back.
When the cat does that, stop petting it.
"Throw it in the street" Etc.
The cat should be warning you before it bites you.
It's tail will thump, ears go back.
When the cat does that, stop petting it.
you better start disciplining him if he isnt old. i would say grab a newspaper, or yell, hehe. sounds like something for a dog, try it
Wellll....
Believe it or not, when a cat bites you in response to being petted, it is sort of a sexual reaction on the cat's part.
Cat:
"Oooh, oooh, ahhh.... CHOMP!"
You:
"WTF????"
Has he/she been fixed yet?
My cat does that, but has done it less and less as he has aged. This cat will probably cool it in time, too.
Edit:BTW, LOB is absolutely right about the warning signs!
Believe it or not, when a cat bites you in response to being petted, it is sort of a sexual reaction on the cat's part.
Cat:
"Oooh, oooh, ahhh.... CHOMP!"
You:
"WTF????"
Has he/she been fixed yet?
My cat does that, but has done it less and less as he has aged. This cat will probably cool it in time, too.
Edit:BTW, LOB is absolutely right about the warning signs!
negative reinforcement just like a kid that does this stuff.
stick your finger down his throat or pinch him pretty good.
nothing mean, just enough to let him know that when he bites, he gets back more.
cats that do this usually give no specific warning.
hitting with newspapers usually does not work, just makes em run when they see a rolled up NP.
Stalking, jumping & biting is a different story
PS: this is from the Guy who has always trained his cats to go outside & not use a litterbox.
You can train most cats same as dogs, tho they can be stubborn at times, like women
stick your finger down his throat or pinch him pretty good.
nothing mean, just enough to let him know that when he bites, he gets back more.
cats that do this usually give no specific warning.
hitting with newspapers usually does not work, just makes em run when they see a rolled up NP.
Stalking, jumping & biting is a different story
PS: this is from the Guy who has always trained his cats to go outside & not use a litterbox.
You can train most cats same as dogs, tho they can be stubborn at times, like women
According to Isla, sounds as if the Love bites are Passion bites.
Maybe you do need to have it fixed.
Maybe you do need to have it fixed.
Does he bite hard or just a little nibble. My cat does that sometimes, sometimes to show affection and sometimes if she is angry, but she never bites hard.
My cat does this. Use a watergun and squirt the cat gently when the cat does this. The cat won't associate the water with you (so he won't hate you for displining him), and it works quite effectively. Pretty soon, your cat will stop the behavior
He bites pretty hard and has broken skin. Maybe it is out of pleasure, but thats gotta stop. He chomped my Mom's arm bad the other day and she is still bruised. He has been spayed. I was kinda hoping he wasn't, thinking that losing his cajones would mellow him out, but they're already gone. I think he is on the feral side.
The water pistol sounds like a good idea.
The water pistol sounds like a good idea.
My cat bites a lot, she is only playing. She does not bite my gf, only me. She knows better than to bite my gf because she taught the cat that it is not ok to bite her.
I dont mind when my cat bites me. I used to be a dog owner so it is funny to me, though it hurts at times.
The trick is not to scold the cat when it bites you. Cats know jack about negative reinforcement. When the cat bites you just pull your hand away and make a noise like a hurt cat. Then turn your back on the cat and act wounded. After a while it will get the hint not to bite you anymore.
I dont mind when my cat bites me. I used to be a dog owner so it is funny to me, though it hurts at times.
The trick is not to scold the cat when it bites you. Cats know jack about negative reinforcement. When the cat bites you just pull your hand away and make a noise like a hurt cat. Then turn your back on the cat and act wounded. After a while it will get the hint not to bite you anymore.
<< And that method actually works, Dwell? Sounds amusing to me! >>
As silly as it sounds, it works quite well. Cats are not as dumb as they look.
Adul
Elite Member
Corn
Diamond Member
- Nov 12, 1999
- 6,389
- 29
- 91
Negative reinforcement does work, but only when done at the instant that it's behavior needs correcting. Punishing a cat by a smack, pinch or thump on the nose generally doesn't work.
My cat, a female, also would bite when being cuddled and petted/scratched. Just when it looked like see was totally in love with what you were doing, she would bite down on your hand in between my thumb and index finger area, wrap her paws around my wrist and then scratch the **** outta my forearm with her hind claws (her front were removed). My wife and I each had a different approach with correcting this behavior, and because of our different approaches, the cat now behaves differently with us.
My wife would yell and hit the cat on the nose. It sorta worked because now the cat doesn't want to cuddle with the wife anymore.
IMHO it's best to assert your dominace without inflicting pain or needing to yell loudly--that really only will end up scaring your cat. Instead it's best to firmly (but gently) grab the cat by the scruff of his/her neck without actually picking it up, just a little pressure will force your cat into complete submission, then hiss or howl at the cat. Let go of the cat and get up and walk away.
My cat still "owns" my belly.
Another thing to be careful of is that most cats hate their belly to be touched. Most cats will show you their belly as a gesture of trust, even though it sure looks like an invitation for a little rub be wary, most will attempt to rip the skin off whatever it is that touches down there.
My cat, a female, also would bite when being cuddled and petted/scratched. Just when it looked like see was totally in love with what you were doing, she would bite down on your hand in between my thumb and index finger area, wrap her paws around my wrist and then scratch the **** outta my forearm with her hind claws (her front were removed). My wife and I each had a different approach with correcting this behavior, and because of our different approaches, the cat now behaves differently with us.
My wife would yell and hit the cat on the nose. It sorta worked because now the cat doesn't want to cuddle with the wife anymore.
IMHO it's best to assert your dominace without inflicting pain or needing to yell loudly--that really only will end up scaring your cat. Instead it's best to firmly (but gently) grab the cat by the scruff of his/her neck without actually picking it up, just a little pressure will force your cat into complete submission, then hiss or howl at the cat. Let go of the cat and get up and walk away.
My cat still "owns" my belly.
Another thing to be careful of is that most cats hate their belly to be touched. Most cats will show you their belly as a gesture of trust, even though it sure looks like an invitation for a little rub be wary, most will attempt to rip the skin off whatever it is that touches down there.
<< Believe it or not, when a cat bites you in response to being petted, it is sort of a sexual reaction on the cat's part. >>
Maybe you're petting it in the wrong places! j/k
PH
OK, I am Dwell's gf, who trained the cat not to bite me. She does bite Dwell *very* hard (breaks skin and once even bit his fingernail so hard it was bruised and dented for a week), but it's always b/c he provokes her during playtime.
Cxim: the method you described is absolutely repulsive--like Dwell says, there have been a lot of studies showing that negative reinforcement that subjects the cat to pain often does not work--and even when it *does* work, it takes a lot longer to train a cat in that method, not to mention the cat will associate YOU with the pain, rather than their own bad behavior.
This is one reason the water gun method/spray bottle works well--you can train a cat w/o use of pain, and also keep from damaging your relationship with your kitty.
Many professional cat trainers use the "clicker" method, coupled with rewards (i.e. treats or praise/attention). I think this is a lot better than ramming your finger down your animal's throat--all that teaches him is that you're a sadistic bastard who didn't read up on feline care.
I used to let Fatso (our cat) bite me all the time when she was a kitten, but once she got older and her teeth sharper, I decided to train her to stop. She was already full grown at the time, probably 1.5 to 2 years old (it's easier to train them when they're still kittens). My method was based on the repetition of the word "No" in a calm but very firm voice every time she bit me--once in a while I would try the "wounded cat" routine Dwell described, but if you do it too often she gets used to it and doesn't care that you're meowing in pain anymore--so use this technique sparingly. When I said "No" and she stopped biting me, I would praise her, but not touch her yet. I find if you give your cat a few minutes to calm down and just leave them alone, they will come back as affectionate as ever.
Anyway, she learned after a few weeks, and now she is so well trained that even when Dwell has her all riled up and biting him and wrestling around, if I put my hand near her she will jerk her head back and even though you can see she REALLY wants to bite me, she will run away and remove herself from temptation.
Pets.com has a lot of good articles written by vets on the subject of feline care and behavior (just go to Pets.com home page, click on "Cats" and then use the drop-down menu on the right which says, "Cat Article Topics". Here is one that outlines what to do if kitty is being overly aggressive:
http://www.pets.com/cgi-bin/puppy/editorial/editorial.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=YES&oid=98962&parOid=-13273
And just in case you still are tempted to use negative reinforcement (please please don't), here is a quote from and the link to one more relevant Pets.com article:
"Never use negative reinforcement, or punishment, to train your cat. More often than not, he will associate the punishment with you, rather than with what he has done, and will learn to distrust you. Use positive reinforcement for the best training results."
http://www.pets.com/cgi-bin/puppy/editorial/editorial.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=YES&oid=16179&parOid=-13273
Cxim: the method you described is absolutely repulsive--like Dwell says, there have been a lot of studies showing that negative reinforcement that subjects the cat to pain often does not work--and even when it *does* work, it takes a lot longer to train a cat in that method, not to mention the cat will associate YOU with the pain, rather than their own bad behavior.
This is one reason the water gun method/spray bottle works well--you can train a cat w/o use of pain, and also keep from damaging your relationship with your kitty.
Many professional cat trainers use the "clicker" method, coupled with rewards (i.e. treats or praise/attention). I think this is a lot better than ramming your finger down your animal's throat--all that teaches him is that you're a sadistic bastard who didn't read up on feline care.
I used to let Fatso (our cat) bite me all the time when she was a kitten, but once she got older and her teeth sharper, I decided to train her to stop. She was already full grown at the time, probably 1.5 to 2 years old (it's easier to train them when they're still kittens). My method was based on the repetition of the word "No" in a calm but very firm voice every time she bit me--once in a while I would try the "wounded cat" routine Dwell described, but if you do it too often she gets used to it and doesn't care that you're meowing in pain anymore--so use this technique sparingly. When I said "No" and she stopped biting me, I would praise her, but not touch her yet. I find if you give your cat a few minutes to calm down and just leave them alone, they will come back as affectionate as ever.
Anyway, she learned after a few weeks, and now she is so well trained that even when Dwell has her all riled up and biting him and wrestling around, if I put my hand near her she will jerk her head back and even though you can see she REALLY wants to bite me, she will run away and remove herself from temptation.
Pets.com has a lot of good articles written by vets on the subject of feline care and behavior (just go to Pets.com home page, click on "Cats" and then use the drop-down menu on the right which says, "Cat Article Topics"
. Here is one that outlines what to do if kitty is being overly aggressive:http://www.pets.com/cgi-bin/puppy/editorial/editorial.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=YES&oid=98962&parOid=-13273
And just in case you still are tempted to use negative reinforcement (please please don't), here is a quote from and the link to one more relevant Pets.com article:
"Never use negative reinforcement, or punishment, to train your cat. More often than not, he will associate the punishment with you, rather than with what he has done, and will learn to distrust you. Use positive reinforcement for the best training results."
http://www.pets.com/cgi-bin/puppy/editorial/editorial.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=YES&oid=16179&parOid=-13273
Felicia,
That is a bunch of pure crap !
The goal is not pain, it is not punishment, simple negative reinforcement...
It works very well. It must be immediate & appropriate to the cats action. Finger down the throat has been the best. They can bite all they want & it does not hurt you.
If you yell at the cat or hurt the cat, the cat will avoid you from then on. That part is obvious.
Mamma cats teach the little ones to not bite by swatting the crap out of em
You waited 2 yrs to teach the cat to stop biting ? what a freak show...
That is a bunch of pure crap !
The goal is not pain, it is not punishment, simple negative reinforcement...
It works very well. It must be immediate & appropriate to the cats action. Finger down the throat has been the best. They can bite all they want & it does not hurt you.
If you yell at the cat or hurt the cat, the cat will avoid you from then on. That part is obvious.
Mamma cats teach the little ones to not bite by swatting the crap out of em
You waited 2 yrs to teach the cat to stop biting ? what a freak show...
so the goal is *not* pain or punishment but the recommendation is to
<<stick your finger down his throat or pinch him pretty good.>>
hmm--sounds rather painful to me. consensus?
As for my "bunch of crap," it happens to be supported by many printed opinions I can refer you to--books, articles, etc.
Your statements aren't supported by anything, except your own personal experience--which is questionable due to the immaturity (not to mention lack of logical reasoning) demonstrated by your personal attack on me for re: waiting 2 years to train Fatso.
So, to reiterate your argument: [amount of time before train cat] is directly correlated with [degree of freak-show-ness]? Uh-HUH.
In my own defense, I waited that long because, like I mentioned before, it didn't hurt or become a problem until she had reached maturity. She started biting harder and more frequently, which prompted the decision to train her.
ANYhoo--corporate spies (i.e. the ppl who decide my salary) are logging my internet activity, so excuse me if I must choose the jobbie-job over sophomoric bantering with ppl whose minds are already made up.
[\end rant]
<<stick your finger down his throat or pinch him pretty good.>>
hmm--sounds rather painful to me. consensus?
As for my "bunch of crap," it happens to be supported by many printed opinions I can refer you to--books, articles, etc.
Your statements aren't supported by anything, except your own personal experience--which is questionable due to the immaturity (not to mention lack of logical reasoning) demonstrated by your personal attack on me for re: waiting 2 years to train Fatso.
So, to reiterate your argument: [amount of time before train cat] is directly correlated with [degree of freak-show-ness]? Uh-HUH.
In my own defense, I waited that long because, like I mentioned before, it didn't hurt or become a problem until she had reached maturity. She started biting harder and more frequently, which prompted the decision to train her.
ANYhoo--corporate spies (i.e. the ppl who decide my salary) are logging my internet activity, so excuse me if I must choose the jobbie-job over sophomoric bantering with ppl whose minds are already made up.
[\end rant]
My cats come when they are called, 80 to 90 % of the time. This is not your "come here so I can feed you" crap, either.
they poop outside, they go to the door & ask to go out to poop, not live outside. They either meow or scratch on the door.. You do have to make some concessions... all my outside doors have scratch marks.
There is no litterbox & there hasn't been one for 20 yrs.
They do not get on the furniture, except the bed sometimes at night. Never on a table or kitchen counter. Allowed on one chair and only one, in the whole house, unless they are asked to jump up. That is only when a person asks them. No people, no chair or sofa !!
They will not eat people food from the table, period. I can leave steak, fish, tuna, etc, you name it, on the floor in a people plate & they do not touch it. Only eat from the cat dish....
Just lost my oldest one a few months ago. He was 14yrs old & licked my hand just before he died in my lap.
They meet me at the door when I come home.
I walk them outside without a leash, they stay close.
All my cats bring me frogs, rats, snakes, birds, etc
There have been some battles, like when we had Tweet, a cockateil for about 5 yrs. It took a year to break the cats from stalking Tweet when he ran around on the carpet.
If you think you can break a cat from eating a bird by positive reinforcement, you are nutts.
Yeah, sure, I am mean to cats & don't know how to train one, sure !!!
they poop outside, they go to the door & ask to go out to poop, not live outside. They either meow or scratch on the door.. You do have to make some concessions... all my outside doors have scratch marks.
There is no litterbox & there hasn't been one for 20 yrs.
They do not get on the furniture, except the bed sometimes at night. Never on a table or kitchen counter. Allowed on one chair and only one, in the whole house, unless they are asked to jump up. That is only when a person asks them. No people, no chair or sofa !!
They will not eat people food from the table, period. I can leave steak, fish, tuna, etc, you name it, on the floor in a people plate & they do not touch it. Only eat from the cat dish....
Just lost my oldest one a few months ago. He was 14yrs old & licked my hand just before he died in my lap.
They meet me at the door when I come home.
I walk them outside without a leash, they stay close.
All my cats bring me frogs, rats, snakes, birds, etc
There have been some battles, like when we had Tweet, a cockateil for about 5 yrs. It took a year to break the cats from stalking Tweet when he ran around on the carpet.
If you think you can break a cat from eating a bird by positive reinforcement, you are nutts.
Yeah, sure, I am mean to cats & don't know how to train one, sure !!!
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