Biting me while I'm asleep

Hi everyone,

My 1-year-old kitty, Zali, has taken to biting me while I'm sleeping. She'll
bite me relatively softly the first time and wake me up. I tell her "no"
groggily (and in a near-whisper so as not to wake my partner) and then go
back to sleep. Then about five minutes later she'll bites me again, hard
enough to be painful but not to leave marks. I usually tell her "no" more
forcefully and shove her off the bed. Sometimes she'll jump back up almost
immediately after I shove her off, bite me again, and then quickly jump down
and go away. It's as though she is retaliating for me shoving her off the
bed, like she has to have the last word or something.

Until last night, two bites (one soft and one hard), plus maybe one
retaliatory bite seemed to be it. Last night she bit me a third time after I
had shoved her off the bed and gone back to sleep. And then she retaliated
after I shoved her off, too. I'm worried that the behaviour is increasing.

I'd really like her to continue to sleep with us because she loves it and we
love it (except when she hogs the blankets!) She's usually alone all day
when we're at work, so I like to spend as much time with her as possible. I
just hate being woken up in the middle of night, especially by biting! I
don't know if her motive is that she wants attention or that maybe I'm
twitching in my sleep or something and she goes into attack mode. I suspect
it's because she wants attention.

I'm wondering what the best course of action is for dealing with this
behaviour. Obviously what I'm doing isn't working. When making suggestions,
bear in mind that I'm half asleep when this is happening!

Thanks so much!

Kind regards,

Tara, the first-time kitty mom

My 1-year-old kitty, Zali, has taken to
biting me while I'm sleeping. She'll
bite me relatively softly the first time
and wake me up. I tell her "no" groggily
(and in a near-whisper so as not to wake
my partner) and then go back to sleep.
Then about five minutes later she'll
bites me again, hard enough to be
painful but not to leave marks. I
usually tell her "no" more forcefully
and shove her off the bed. Sometimes
she'll jump back up almost immediately
after I shove her off, bite me again,
and then quickly jump down and go away.
It's as though she is retaliating for me
shoving her off the bed, like she has to
have the last word or something.

When you treat your cat in an aggressive manner, such as shoving her off
the bed, you can expect your cat to respond aggressively. Punishment and
negative tactics do not work with cats.

What you will need to do to curb your cat's biting and waking you up is
to make her understand that the behavior she is exhibiting is not
appropriate. "Punishment" is not necessary.

You will have to be consistent in what you do and not let her get away
with even one time of this behavior. Starting immediately, as soon as
she starts in with the biting behavior, get up, *don't say anything or
react in any other way,* calmly and *gently* remove her from your room,
close the door and go back to bed.

A few times of this and she is going to start associating her biting you
with being banished from the bedroom. It's obvious she wants the
attention and not only *not* getting it, but also being isolated from
you will not make her a happy camper and she'll soon realize that she's
going to have to stop doing what she is doing if she wants your company
during sleeping hours.

It is also important that every time she behaves you make a fuss over
her, cuddle her, tell her how wonderful she is and allow her to stay in
the bedroom. Positive reinforcement of her good behavior will make her
want to continue it.

I know it's a pain in the butt to have to get up when you're tired, but
it's only for a minute while you work on this and believe me that you
won't have to do it for very long before she gets the picture.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

My 1-year-old kitty, Zali, has taken to
biting me while I'm sleeping. She'll
bite me relatively softly the first time
and wake me up. I tell her "no" groggily
(and in a near-whisper so as not to wake
my partner) and then go back to sleep.
Then about five minutes later she'll
bites me again, hard enough to be
painful but not to leave marks. I
usually tell her "no" more forcefully
and shove her off the bed. Sometimes
she'll jump back up almost immediately
after I shove her off, bite me again,
and then quickly jump down and go away.
It's as though she is retaliating for me
shoving her off the bed, like she has to
have the last word or something.

When you treat your cat in an aggressive manner, such as shoving her off
the bed, you can expect your cat to respond aggressively. Punishment and
negative tactics do not work with cats.

What you will need to do to curb your cat's biting and waking you up is
to make her understand that the behavior she is exhibiting is not
appropriate. "Punishment" is not necessary.

You will have to be consistent in what you do and not let her get away
with even one time of this behavior. Starting immediately, as soon as
she starts in with the biting behavior, get up, *don't say anything or
react in any other way,* calmly and *gently* remove her from your room,
close the door and go back to bed.

A few times of this and she is going to start associating her biting you
with being banished from the bedroom. It's obvious she wants the
attention and not only *not* getting it, but also being isolated from
you will not make her a happy camper and she'll soon realize that she's
going to have to stop doing what she is doing if she wants your company
during sleeping hours.

It is also important that every time she behaves you make a fuss over
her, cuddle her, tell her how wonderful she is and allow her to stay in
the bedroom. Positive reinforcement of her good behavior will make her
want to continue it.

I know it's a pain in the butt to have to get up when you're tired, but
it's only for a minute while you work on this and believe me that you
won't have to do it for very long before she gets the picture.

Megan



"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do
nothing."

-Edmund Burke

Learn The TRUTH About Declawing
http://www.stopdeclaw.com

Zuzu's Cats Photo Album:
http://www.PictureTrail.com/zuzu22

"Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one
elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and
splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then
providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision,
raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and
material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come his
way."

- W.H. Murray

"Tara" wrote in message
. ..
| Hi everyone,
|
| Until last night, two bites (one soft and one hard), plus maybe one
| retaliatory bite seemed to be it. Last night she bit me a third time after I
| had shoved her off the bed and gone back to sleep. And then she retaliated
| after I shoved her off, too. I'm worried that the behaviour is increasing.
|
| I'm wondering what the best course of action is for dealing with this
| behaviour. Obviously what I'm doing isn't working. When making suggestions,
| bear in mind that I'm half asleep when this is happening!
|
| Thanks so much!
|
| Kind regards,
|
| Tara, the first-time kitty mom
|
|

Hi Tara,

It sounds as though your kitty does, for whatever reason, feel that she's not getting
enough of your undivided attention. She is demanding a bit more of your time.

You can try having a one-on-one, interractive play session with her just before bed and
see if that calms her down. Use a feather, a cat dancer, a ribbon, or some other toy that
requires a human hand for play time. Wear her down by playing with her and having her
running for a good 15 minutes before bed. Hopefully that will tire her out and she will
relax and sleep.

If all else fails, you can try getting her a playmate. When she wants attention, or
someone to play with and you are otherwise occupied, she will have another kitty there to
taunt and play with.
--
Hugs,
Lynn


*strip CLOTHES to reply*
Homepage: http://members.shaw.ca/sewfinefashions/
See my boys: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/papavince_29/

"Tara" wrote in message
. ..
| Hi everyone,
|
| Until last night, two bites (one soft and one hard), plus maybe one
| retaliatory bite seemed to be it. Last night she bit me a third time after I
| had shoved her off the bed and gone back to sleep. And then she retaliated
| after I shoved her off, too. I'm worried that the behaviour is increasing.
|
| I'm wondering what the best course of action is for dealing with this
| behaviour. Obviously what I'm doing isn't working. When making suggestions,
| bear in mind that I'm half asleep when this is happening!
|
| Thanks so much!
|
| Kind regards,
|
| Tara, the first-time kitty mom
|
|

Hi Tara,

It sounds as though your kitty does, for whatever reason, feel that she's not getting
enough of your undivided attention. She is demanding a bit more of your time.

You can try having a one-on-one, interractive play session with her just before bed and
see if that calms her down. Use a feather, a cat dancer, a ribbon, or some other toy that
requires a human hand for play time. Wear her down by playing with her and having her
running for a good 15 minutes before bed. Hopefully that will tire her out and she will
relax and sleep.

If all else fails, you can try getting her a playmate. When she wants attention, or
someone to play with and you are otherwise occupied, she will have another kitty there to
taunt and play with.
--
Hugs,
Lynn


*strip CLOTHES to reply*
Homepage: http://members.shaw.ca/sewfinefashions/
See my boys: http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/papavince_29/

"Tara" wrote in message
. ..
Hi everyone,

My 1-year-old kitty, Zali, has taken to biting me while I'm sleeping.
She'll
bite me relatively softly the first time and wake me up. I tell her "no"
groggily (and in a near-whisper so as not to wake my partner) and then go
back to sleep. Then about five minutes later she'll bites me again, hard
enough to be painful but not to leave marks. I usually tell her "no" more
forcefully and shove her off the bed. Sometimes she'll jump back up almost
immediately after I shove her off, bite me again, and then quickly jump
down
and go away. It's as though she is retaliating for me shoving her off the
bed, like she has to have the last word or something.

Until last night, two bites (one soft and one hard), plus maybe one
retaliatory bite seemed to be it. Last night she bit me a third time after
I
had shoved her off the bed and gone back to sleep. And then she retaliated
after I shoved her off, too. I'm worried that the behaviour is increasing.

Hi Tara,

It sounds to me that the biting, shoving off, biting, shoving off has
turned into a game for Zali. It's one way of getting your attention and
getting a bit of playtime (from her perspective). A one-year-old has lots of
energy and I think she's not expending it sufficiently. I don't know how
much you play with her when you are home, but it would be a good idea to
have a good long play session with her just before bedtime to tucker her out
and if possible also in the morning before you go out. Does she have areas
she can climb and play on (a cat tree or condo with various levels), a place
in front of a window where she can watch the world go by, etc.?

As to the biting, you must be absolutely consistent in helping her learn
that biting is not acceptable. You can do this by saying "no" as you are
doing - do it every time, but do nothing else, and ignore her; don't
"reward" her with anything that could remotely be interpreted by her as
play - get under the blankets so she can't bite you again. You can also let
out a high-pitched "ooooowwwww" instead of "no" and then ignore her. I think
lots of playtime, however, is the key. Have you considered a little buddy?
Introductions at this age are usually not a problem but should still be done
carefully (there are several very good sites with hints if you decide to get
her a buddy who needs a home which I think would be great for Zali).

I'd really like her to continue to sleep with us because she loves it and
we
love it (except when she hogs the blankets!) She's usually alone all day
when we're at work, so I like to spend as much time with her as possible.
I
just hate being woken up in the middle of night, especially by biting! I
don't know if her motive is that she wants attention or that maybe I'm
twitching in my sleep or something and she goes into attack mode. I
suspect
it's because she wants attention.

I really don't think you will need to give up sleeping with Zali. Be
consistent, play with her as much as you can, and consider a feline
playmate.

Hope some of the above helps.

M.



I'm wondering what the best course of action is for dealing with this
behaviour. Obviously what I'm doing isn't working. When making
suggestions,
bear in mind that I'm half asleep when this is happening!

Thanks so much!

Kind regards,

Tara, the first-time kitty mom

"Tara" wrote in message
. ..
Hi everyone,

My 1-year-old kitty, Zali, has taken to biting me while I'm sleeping.
She'll
bite me relatively softly the first time and wake me up. I tell her "no"
groggily (and in a near-whisper so as not to wake my partner) and then go
back to sleep. Then about five minutes later she'll bites me again, hard
enough to be painful but not to leave marks. I usually tell her "no" more
forcefully and shove her off the bed. Sometimes she'll jump back up almost
immediately after I shove her off, bite me again, and then quickly jump
down
and go away. It's as though she is retaliating for me shoving her off the
bed, like she has to have the last word or something.

Until last night, two bites (one soft and one hard), plus maybe one
retaliatory bite seemed to be it. Last night she bit me a third time after
I
had shoved her off the bed and gone back to sleep. And then she retaliated
after I shoved her off, too. I'm worried that the behaviour is increasing.

Hi Tara,

It sounds to me that the biting, shoving off, biting, shoving off has
turned into a game for Zali. It's one way of getting your attention and
getting a bit of playtime (from her perspective). A one-year-old has lots of
energy and I think she's not expending it sufficiently. I don't know how
much you play with her when you are home, but it would be a good idea to
have a good long play session with her just before bedtime to tucker her out
and if possible also in the morning before you go out. Does she have areas
she can climb and play on (a cat tree or condo with various levels), a place
in front of a window where she can watch the world go by, etc.?

As to the biting, you must be absolutely consistent in helping her learn
that biting is not acceptable. You can do this by saying "no" as you are
doing - do it every time, but do nothing else, and ignore her; don't
"reward" her with anything that could remotely be interpreted by her as
play - get under the blankets so she can't bite you again. You can also let
out a high-pitched "ooooowwwww" instead of "no" and then ignore her. I think
lots of playtime, however, is the key. Have you considered a little buddy?
Introductions at this age are usually not a problem but should still be done
carefully (there are several very good sites with hints if you decide to get
her a buddy who needs a home which I think would be great for Zali).

I'd really like her to continue to sleep with us because she loves it and
we
love it (except when she hogs the blankets!) She's usually alone all day
when we're at work, so I like to spend as much time with her as possible.
I
just hate being woken up in the middle of night, especially by biting! I
don't know if her motive is that she wants attention or that maybe I'm
twitching in my sleep or something and she goes into attack mode. I
suspect
it's because she wants attention.

I really don't think you will need to give up sleeping with Zali. Be
consistent, play with her as much as you can, and consider a feline
playmate.

Hope some of the above helps.

M.



I'm wondering what the best course of action is for dealing with this
behaviour. Obviously what I'm doing isn't working. When making
suggestions,
bear in mind that I'm half asleep when this is happening!

Thanks so much!

Kind regards,

Tara, the first-time kitty mom

Your cat is just giving you love bites. Be honored that she is doing so.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"Tara" wrote in message
. ..
Hi everyone,

My 1-year-old kitty, Zali, has taken to biting me while I'm sleeping.
She'll
bite me relatively softly the first time and wake me up. I tell her "no"
groggily (and in a near-whisper so as not to wake my partner) and then go
back to sleep. Then about five minutes later she'll bites me again, hard
enough to be painful but not to leave marks. I usually tell her "no" more
forcefully and shove her off the bed. Sometimes she'll jump back up almost
immediately after I shove her off, bite me again, and then quickly jump
down
and go away. It's as though she is retaliating for me shoving her off the
bed, like she has to have the last word or something.

Until last night, two bites (one soft and one hard), plus maybe one
retaliatory bite seemed to be it. Last night she bit me a third time after
I
had shoved her off the bed and gone back to sleep. And then she retaliated
after I shoved her off, too. I'm worried that the behaviour is increasing.

I'd really like her to continue to sleep with us because she loves it and
we
love it (except when she hogs the blankets!) She's usually alone all day
when we're at work, so I like to spend as much time with her as possible.
I
just hate being woken up in the middle of night, especially by biting! I
don't know if her motive is that she wants attention or that maybe I'm
twitching in my sleep or something and she goes into attack mode. I
suspect
it's because she wants attention.

I'm wondering what the best course of action is for dealing with this
behaviour. Obviously what I'm doing isn't working. When making
suggestions,
bear in mind that I'm half asleep when this is happening!

Thanks so much!

Kind regards,

Tara, the first-time kitty mom

Your cat is just giving you love bites. Be honored that she is doing so.

--
Panther TEK: Staying On Top Of All Your Computer Needs!
www.members.cox.net/catprotector/panthertek

Cat Galaxy: All Cats, All The Time!
www.catgalaxymedia.com
"Tara" wrote in message
. ..
Hi everyone,

My 1-year-old kitty, Zali, has taken to biting me while I'm sleeping.
She'll
bite me relatively softly the first time and wake me up. I tell her "no"
groggily (and in a near-whisper so as not to wake my partner) and then go
back to sleep. Then about five minutes later she'll bites me again, hard
enough to be painful but not to leave marks. I usually tell her "no" more
forcefully and shove her off the bed. Sometimes she'll jump back up almost
immediately after I shove her off, bite me again, and then quickly jump
down
and go away. It's as though she is retaliating for me shoving her off the
bed, like she has to have the last word or something.

Until last night, two bites (one soft and one hard), plus maybe one
retaliatory bite seemed to be it. Last night she bit me a third time after
I
had shoved her off the bed and gone back to sleep. And then she retaliated
after I shoved her off, too. I'm worried that the behaviour is increasing.

I'd really like her to continue to sleep with us because she loves it and
we
love it (except when she hogs the blankets!) She's usually alone all day
when we're at work, so I like to spend as much time with her as possible.
I
just hate being woken up in the middle of night, especially by biting! I
don't know if her motive is that she wants attention or that maybe I'm
twitching in my sleep or something and she goes into attack mode. I
suspect
it's because she wants attention.

I'm wondering what the best course of action is for dealing with this
behaviour. Obviously what I'm doing isn't working. When making
suggestions,
bear in mind that I'm half asleep when this is happening!

Thanks so much!

Kind regards,

Tara, the first-time kitty mom

On Mon, 25 Aug 2003 03:57:27 GMT, "L. Kelly"
wrote:

If all else fails, you can try getting her a playmate. When she wants attention, or
someone to play with and you are otherwise occupied, she will have another kitty there to
taunt and play with.

I tryed that and now I have TWO kittens that attached any movement
under the sheets OR they get wrestling with each other on the bed in
the middle of the night OR they get chasing each other up and other
the bed and me.

But then I do not really mind it. In fact at times when they wake me
I will play with them and edge them on. I enjoy the time with them.
It seems they spend most of the day time sleeping - especially the
smaller ones.

http://www.ameritech.net/users/lestark/my-babies.htm