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Biting cat



 
 
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  #1  
Old December 29th 04, 08:06 PM
mcdowelldrew
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Default Biting cat

?I have a 4 year old neutered male cat who came to live with us when he was
a week-old
kitten. His mother, a stray I had been feeding, moved into my house with
one tiny kitten as the weather got
cold. The mother is shy, won't allow anyone to pick her up, but is a very
sweet cat. Baby Kitty,
on the other hand, is just plain mean. He is nasty and intimidating to his
mother and he
bites me.

In the warm weather, he hangs around outdoors most of the time. But now
that it's cold out and he is frustrated by being indoors (his choice - I let
him out if he
wants to go out, and let him in promptly), he has taken to attacking his
mother and jumping on my lap, insisting
on being petted, and then suddenly biting me. Hard. Eight days ago, he bit
me on the
wrist down to the bone. The wound is still oozing. If I don't pet him, by
the way, he
bites me. This morning, I picked up some towels that were on the bed near
where he
was lounging and he bit at me, but I pulled away in time.

Obviously I do not react in a friendly way to being bitten. It ends the
petting session
and I usually scream in pain and forcefully push him away. He always seems
slightly
confused by this, as if he doesn't understand why I reacted that way.

Is there anything I can do to stop this behavior?


  #2  
Old January 1st 05, 06:49 AM
Marek Williams
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Default

On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 19:06:58 GMT, "mcdowelldrew"
dijo:

I have a 4 year old neutered male cat who came to live with us when he was


I have had a number of cats over the years, mostly neutered males. I
have observed this behavior to varying degrees in all of the males.
The females react a bit differently.

Here's the deal. When a male cat mounts a female he holds on by
grasping her around the middle with his forelegs, claws extended to
hang on, while at the same time biting her on the back of the neck to
provide further traction. In short, the behavior we are seeing is the
mating behavior.

Your cat loves you. Unfortunately, sort of like teenage human males,
they cannot distinguish between lust and love. It's all the same to
them.

So when your cat bites you and grabs you with his forelegs, claws
extended, it is an expression of love. And just as with teenage boys,
it is an instinctive reaction.

However, we humans have an incredible intellect. We can use our
intellect to override any of our instincts. We can even commit
suicide, overriding self-preservation, the most basic instinct of all
animals. Thus, it is possible to teach even teenage boys to behave
themselves in society. (Well, with some difficulty, but let's not go
there.)

It is also possible to teach a cat not to bite or scratch you when
expressing love. However, you have to deal on a more basic level than
you would with teenagers, because their intellect is so limited in
comparison.

Over many years with male cats I have discovered that a simple
reward/punishment system works best. When my current neutered male
came to live with me from the shelter he bit and grabbed too hard.
Every time he did so I bopped him on the head and yelled "Ow!" I
didn't hit him hard; just enough so he closed his eyes and ducked. If
he bit or grabbed really hard I yelled, bopped him, and he got ignored
and I wouldn't have anything further to do with him (the cat
equivalent of a time out). It didn't take too long. Most of the time
now he bites and grabs me, but very gently so as not to hurt me. And
when he does he keeps an eye on me to be sure he hasn't gone too far.

My teenage human is now a first year university student and doing
similarly well.

--
Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.
  #3  
Old January 1st 05, 05:47 PM
Mary
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Posts: n/a
Default


"Marek Williams" wrote in message
...
On Wed, 29 Dec 2004 19:06:58 GMT, "mcdowelldrew"
dijo:

I have a 4 year old neutered male cat who came to live with us when he

was

I have had a number of cats over the years, mostly neutered males. I
have observed this behavior to varying degrees in all of the males.
The females react a bit differently.

Here's the deal. When a male cat mounts a female he holds on by
grasping her around the middle with his forelegs, claws extended to
hang on, while at the same time biting her on the back of the neck to
provide further traction. In short, the behavior we are seeing is the
mating behavior.

Your cat loves you. Unfortunately, sort of like teenage human males,
they cannot distinguish between lust and love. It's all the same to
them.

So when your cat bites you and grabs you with his forelegs, claws
extended, it is an expression of love. And just as with teenage boys,
it is an instinctive reaction.

However, we humans have an incredible intellect. We can use our
intellect to override any of our instincts. We can even commit
suicide, overriding self-preservation, the most basic instinct of all
animals. Thus, it is possible to teach even teenage boys to behave
themselves in society. (Well, with some difficulty, but let's not go
there.)

It is also possible to teach a cat not to bite or scratch you when
expressing love. However, you have to deal on a more basic level than
you would with teenagers, because their intellect is so limited in
comparison.

Over many years with male cats I have discovered that a simple
reward/punishment system works best. When my current neutered male
came to live with me from the shelter he bit and grabbed too hard.
Every time he did so I bopped him on the head and yelled "Ow!" I
didn't hit him hard; just enough so he closed his eyes and ducked. If
he bit or grabbed really hard I yelled, bopped him, and he got ignored
and I wouldn't have anything further to do with him (the cat
equivalent of a time out). It didn't take too long. Most of the time
now he bites and grabs me, but very gently so as not to hurt me. And
when he does he keeps an eye on me to be sure he hasn't gone too far.

My teenage human is now a first year university student and doing
similarly well.

--

"Bopped" is a much better term for that abrupt, but gentle swat
you are talking about. I did the same thing with my biting female,
but stupidly used the term "slapped" and got flamed to hell and
back. In any case, it was a "bop" and together with a loud "Ow!"
it worked on her too.


  #4  
Old January 6th 05, 05:04 AM
mpwilliams
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Posts: n/a
Default

"mcdowelldrew" wrote in message
...
?I have a 4 year old neutered male cat who came to live with us when he
was
a week-old
kitten. His mother, a stray I had been feeding, moved into my house with
one tiny kitten as the weather got
cold. The mother is shy, won't allow anyone to pick her up, but is a very
sweet cat. Baby Kitty,
on the other hand, is just plain mean. He is nasty and intimidating to
his
mother and he
bites me.

In the warm weather, he hangs around outdoors most of the time. But now
that it's cold out and he is frustrated by being indoors (his choice - I
let
him out if he
wants to go out, and let him in promptly), he has taken to attacking his
mother and jumping on my lap, insisting
on being petted, and then suddenly biting me. Hard. Eight days ago, he
bit
me on the
wrist down to the bone. The wound is still oozing. If I don't pet him,
by
the way, he
bites me. This morning, I picked up some towels that were on the bed
near
where he
was lounging and he bit at me, but I pulled away in time.

Obviously I do not react in a friendly way to being bitten. It ends the
petting session
and I usually scream in pain and forcefully push him away. He always
seems
slightly
confused by this, as if he doesn't understand why I reacted that way.

Is there anything I can do to stop this behavior?


We have a neutered male who, for two very long years after joining our
household, alternated - sometimes from hour to hour - between debilitating
anxiety and predatory, unprovoked aggression. Even when he took to daily
spraying and urinating over every square inch of our home, we persevered in
our efforts to help him, but he was refractory to all of the usual
behavioral strategies. Quite by accident, we learned that fluoxetine
(Prozac) therapy can be quite effective in resolving anxiety-aggression
behaviors, and so, with the help of our veterinarian, we began treating our
little 'monster' with 0.5mg/kg/day fluoxetine, which we had compounded in #3
gel caps. Within 48 hours, the spraying and urinating stopped completely,
and within 7 days we could see a very extraordinary change in this cat's
demeanor. He became sociable and friendly, amenable to holding and stroking,
and eager to spend time in our fenced back yard ... the latter a minor
miracle in itself, as he had never before mustered the courage to set even
one foot over the threshold! Almost two years latter, our little friend
remains on daily maintenance fluoxetine and is healthy, energetic, well
adjusted and as lovable as they come. This sort of outcome is much more the
exception than the rule when relying on behavioral therapy alone.


 




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