Why does my cat bite so much?

[glorytaker]

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OK, ever since I got my cat 18 months ago, she's got this bad biting habit. If I pet her too much, she bites my hand. Sometimes she bites my leg if I'm just walking around the house or if I'm watching TV. She bites my arm sometimes in the morning (like she's trying to get me up) or she bites my arm when I'm playing video games. I can entice her to bite if I play rough with her or corner her like I'm chasing her. I know I shouldn't encourage aggressive behavior, but sometimes she bites at random or when I'm petting her.

Does she just have a biting habit like she likes to do it? Am I doing something that gets her to bite me? Is she starved for attention? If I try to shoo her away from biting or tell her no, she jumps away, then jumps right back at me and bites me again. About the only way I can stop her biting me multiple times is if I squirt her with the water bottle.

So I know it's hard to figure out cat's behavior and what they're thinking but is my cat aggressive or does she just like to bite? Did I do something to make her think biting is OK?

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[julieDVM]

eliminating unwanted behavior - especially if it is of long standing duration can be extremely difficult. You first need to clearly identify the stimulus that elicits the response - carefully analyze this - and then carefully analyze your response to the biting. I assume that the cat isn't drawing blood or seriously injuring you - my advice is based upon this assumption. If your cat is biting you with the intent to seriously hurt you then you have a serious problem that has a poor prognosis (you may be forced to remove the cat from your home).

As you attempt to rectify the behavior, you will notice that the biting gets worse, before it gets better - this is normal, and is called the "extinction burst," after which you will notice the behavior diminish.

After you identify the stimulus - make every attempt to remove it. If you find that your cat bites you, ensure that you do not reward it by giving it attention (especially if you suspect your cat is biting you to get your attention). Ignore the biting in this case - and the cat will figure out that biting you doesn't get the response it desires. You can also try negative reinforcement to stop the cat - every time the cat bites you, squirt it with water - the problem with this is the cat is meeting its objective of getting your attention - even if it means you're going to squirt it.

If you are petting your cat, and it bites you - immediately put it down and ignore it - walk away from it.

Try this - again remember it will get worse before it gets better.

 

[glorytaker]

No, she's not drawing blood. In fact, 90% of the time, she bites on unexposed areas of my arm (i.e. my shoulder if I'm wearing a T-shirt). If she's sitting under the computer desk and I put my foot too close to her, she'll bite my foot like I'm invading her space. If she gets a bite of my arm, and I don't do anything, she'll let go but just jump back on it after walking away a bit. If I shake her off and wave her away, she'll come back again. About the only way to stop the cycle is to squirt her because I think it breaks her attention from biting to getting away from the water.

She also likes to bit the corners of cardboard boxes, paper, magazines and toy pillows. It's just so weird that she'll walk up to me to get petted, I pet her a few strokes and she tries to bite my hand. I'll try the water squirt with more effort and I'll keep in mind that it may get worse before it gets better. Thanks for your advice. I know cat psychology isn't a big field. 🙂