unprovoked "bite and scratch"

Hi,

First of all - thank you for helping me with my previous question - we
seem to have solved the litter problem.

We rescued our affectionate two year old spayed feline two weeks ago.
Other than being quite skittish, she demonstrated no unwanted biting
or scratching.

Over the last few days she has taken to "biting" me once or twice a
day without warning. I will be petting her as she nuzzles in, and
then out of no where, she reaches back and bites me. Not hard enough
to leave a mark - but hard enough.

At first it appeared to be just me, but today when my husband was
petting her, after she "asked" to be petted, she turned around and not
only bit him, but scratched him as well.

She does not give any warning - her tail does not change or start
moving, she does not quite purring, and she may even be mid-nuzzle.
What is concerning is the frequency and pressure of the bites appear
to be increasing.

I read through old posts on biting - and I tried the yelling "ouch"
and leaving her - but that has not worked. It seemed disconnected to
run for the water bottle and then run back and spray her.

Any thoughts as to why and sugggestions around changing the behavior?

Thanks!

Actually it might be your behavior that needs to be changed or at least what
to pay attention to. The bite that was just hard enough was a warning that
you went to far. More unlikely you did not notice the tail tale signs of a
cat get annoyed even thought you said that her tail or purring did not
changed. The ears are the biggest give away beside the tail. The scratch
more unlikely came from the person pulling away when she went to smack his
hand to say enough.

Cats purr while even in pain.

Forget the water bottle try carrying a small container full of something
that will make a lot of noise when shook

Also try a yell saying NO when she does it. The ouch is used when it is
play that turns rough and aggressive

wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi,

First of all - thank you for helping me with my previous question - we
seem to have solved the litter problem.

We rescued our affectionate two year old spayed feline two weeks ago.
Other than being quite skittish, she demonstrated no unwanted biting
or scratching.

Over the last few days she has taken to "biting" me once or twice a
day without warning. I will be petting her as she nuzzles in, and
then out of no where, she reaches back and bites me. Not hard enough
to leave a mark - but hard enough.

At first it appeared to be just me, but today when my husband was
petting her, after she "asked" to be petted, she turned around and not
only bit him, but scratched him as well.

She does not give any warning - her tail does not change or start
moving, she does not quite purring, and she may even be mid-nuzzle.
What is concerning is the frequency and pressure of the bites appear
to be increasing.

I read through old posts on biting - and I tried the yelling "ouch"
and leaving her - but that has not worked. It seemed disconnected to
run for the water bottle and then run back and spray her.

Any thoughts as to why and sugggestions around changing the behavior?

Thanks!

on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 22:35:38 GMT, "Matthew"
wrote:

Actually it might be your behavior that needs to be changed or at
least what to pay attention to. The bite that was just hard enough
was a warning that you went to far. More unlikely you did not notice
the tail tale signs of a cat get annoyed even thought you said that
her tail or purring did not changed. The ears are the biggest give
away beside the tail. The scratch more unlikely came from the person
pulling away when she went to smack his hand to say enough.

Cats purr while even in pain.

Forget the water bottle try carrying a small container full of
something that will make a lot of noise when shook

Also try a yell saying NO when she does it. The ouch is used when it
is play that turns rough and aggressive

Yep. To a cat, nothing is unprovoked. There is a reason, but figuring it
out is the trick.

--
Lynne

wrote:
Hi,

First of all - thank you for helping me with my previous question - we
seem to have solved the litter problem.

We rescued our affectionate two year old spayed feline two weeks ago.
Other than being quite skittish, she demonstrated no unwanted biting
or scratching.

Over the last few days she has taken to "biting" me once or twice a
day without warning. I will be petting her as she nuzzles in, and
then out of no where, she reaches back and bites me. Not hard enough
to leave a mark - but hard enough.



My 6 month old spayed female does the same thing to me. I take it as telling
me she's had enough. But, she has started attacking my ankles while I'm
sitting...biting them. Once she drew blood. I think I've figured out she
wants attention and I start to play with her.

At first it appeared to be just me, but today when my husband was
petting her, after she "asked" to be petted, she turned around and not
only bit him, but scratched him as well.

She does not give any warning - her tail does not change or start
moving, she does not quite purring, and she may even be mid-nuzzle.
What is concerning is the frequency and pressure of the bites appear
to be increasing.

I read through old posts on biting - and I tried the yelling "ouch"
and leaving her - but that has not worked. It seemed disconnected to
run for the water bottle and then run back and spray her.

Any thoughts as to why and sugggestions around changing the behavior?

Thanks!

--
Message posted via http://www.catkb.com

On Mar 1, 1:38 pm, "Mommy of 2 via CatKB.com" u26651@uwe wrote:
wrote:
Hi,

First of all - thank you for helping me with my previous question - we
seem to have solved the litter problem.

We rescued our affectionate two year old spayed feline two weeks ago.
Other than being quite skittish, she demonstrated no unwanted biting
or scratching.

Over the last few days she has taken to "biting" me once or twice a
day without warning. I will be petting her as she nuzzles in, and
then out of no where, she reaches back and bites me. Not hard enough
to leave a mark - but hard enough.

My 6 month old spayed female does the same thing to me. I take it as telling
me she's had enough. But, she has started attacking my ankles while I'm
sitting...biting them. Once she drew blood. I think I've figured out she
wants attention and I start to play with her.







At first it appeared to be just me, but today when my husband was
petting her, after she "asked" to be petted, she turned around and not
only bit him, but scratched him as well.

She does not give any warning - her tail does not change or start
moving, she does not quite purring, and she may even be mid-nuzzle.
What is concerning is the frequency and pressure of the bites appear
to be increasing.

I read through old posts on biting - and I tried the yelling "ouch"
and leaving her - but that has not worked. It seemed disconnected to
run for the water bottle and then run back and spray her.

Any thoughts as to why and sugggestions around changing the behavior?

Thanks!

--
Message posted viahttp://www.catkb.com- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Thank you for the responses. Finding this discussion group and
reading through current and past discussions has helped this "new mom"
immensely! Not only have I been able to answer most questions I have,
I have enjoyed reading about everyone's families.

I have been more careful to be in tune with Suki and we are the better
for it. She even dains to allow me to pick her up for five minutes
each morning!

Enjoy the day!