Biting me while I'm asleep

"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


We shared your problem with our little guy, Tara, but it came to us in
two parts. The first part was, our cat would wake us up every nite by
prancing around the bed and the like. We took care of this by putting
him (as well as his food and water, for all you animal rites wackos)
in a spare bedroom. At first he didn't like it. He would only go if he
was carried. But he eventually fell into line. Now he actually gets up
immediately and trotts into his room on the command of "Chessie...
Chop-Chop!" He then gets petted and sweet-talked for a minute, and
we're cool till morning. Can you believe it..? A cat that obeys
orders!
The other problem,.. the biting issue. He still tries to get a quick
one off on the wife now and again, but he won't try it with me.
The way I handled it was when he would bite me and then take off
running, I would chase him down no matter where he tried to hide and
swatt him with a rolled up newspaper or something equally less
harmful. Even if he went behind the furniture, I would simply move it
and uncover his hiding place. It sure made a big impact, and fast. Now
he understands that a bite will come with a price, and no matter where
he goes, he'll pay that price. Bottom line... it works.
Anyway, I suggest you let your 'partner' deal with the cat on this
issue (assuming this person is a guy).Good luck with your little
monster. Best take care of his undisciplined streak before he turns
into a big monster. The kind that will land you in court and will make
your homeowner's insurance go way up.

Regards... IBen Getiner

"IBen Getiner" wrote in message
om...

The way I handled it was when he would bite me and then take off
running, I would chase him down no matter where he tried to hide and
swatt him with a rolled up newspaper or something equally less
harmful. Even if he went behind the furniture, I would simply move it
and uncover his hiding place. It sure made a big impact, and fast.

Regards... IBen Getiner


poor little mite! :-(

"IBen Getiner" wrote in message
om...

The way I handled it was when he would bite me and then take off
running, I would chase him down no matter where he tried to hide and
swatt him with a rolled up newspaper or something equally less
harmful. Even if he went behind the furniture, I would simply move it
and uncover his hiding place. It sure made a big impact, and fast.

Regards... IBen Getiner


poor little mite! :-(

Ignore/killfile IBen Getiner. He is a white supremacist troll.

Ignore/killfile IBen Getiner. He is a white supremacist troll.

Hi Megan, and everyone else who replied,

Thanks so much for all the advice. I'm going to try Megan's suggestion first
as this approach did work in the past when Zali was younger and would play
with noisy things in the bedroom while we were trying to sleep. Last night I
started gently removing her from the room when she bit me the first time.
I'll report on my progress when I have some, especially for Cheryl with the
foot attacker!

I do want to say that "shove" isn't the right word--I was more like pushing
her off the bed by her behind. I wasn't sending poor kitty flying off the
bed or anything! I agree that punishment isn't the way to go, but sometimes
I don't know what other alternative there is. That's what you guys are for!


I sometimes get lackadaisical about making sure I give Zali enough
attention, and I'm sure that contributes to her naughtiness. So I'm also
going to make sure she gets lots of love, especially before bed, and praise
when she's being good (that's the part that's so easy to forget!).

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted.

Kind regards,

Tara and Zali


wrote in message
...

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

Hi Megan, and everyone else who replied,

Thanks so much for all the advice. I'm going to try Megan's suggestion first
as this approach did work in the past when Zali was younger and would play
with noisy things in the bedroom while we were trying to sleep. Last night I
started gently removing her from the room when she bit me the first time.
I'll report on my progress when I have some, especially for Cheryl with the
foot attacker!

I do want to say that "shove" isn't the right word--I was more like pushing
her off the bed by her behind. I wasn't sending poor kitty flying off the
bed or anything! I agree that punishment isn't the way to go, but sometimes
I don't know what other alternative there is. That's what you guys are for!


I sometimes get lackadaisical about making sure I give Zali enough
attention, and I'm sure that contributes to her naughtiness. So I'm also
going to make sure she gets lots of love, especially before bed, and praise
when she's being good (that's the part that's so easy to forget!).

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted.

Kind regards,

Tara and Zali


wrote in message
...

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

"~*SooZy*~" wrote in message
...
"IBen Getiner" wrote in message
om...

The way I handled it was when he would bite me and then take off
running, I would chase him down no matter where he tried to hide and
swatt him with a rolled up newspaper or something equally less
harmful. Even if he went behind the furniture, I would simply move it
and uncover his hiding place. It sure made a big impact, and fast.

Regards... IBen Getiner


poor little mite! :-(

IBen Getiner was posting here maybe several months ago - not worth one's
while, IMO, based on his past posts.

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

"~*SooZy*~" wrote in message
...
"IBen Getiner" wrote in message
om...

The way I handled it was when he would bite me and then take off
running, I would chase him down no matter where he tried to hide and
swatt him with a rolled up newspaper or something equally less
harmful. Even if he went behind the furniture, I would simply move it
and uncover his hiding place. It sure made a big impact, and fast.

Regards... IBen Getiner


poor little mite! :-(

IBen Getiner was posting here maybe several months ago - not worth one's
while, IMO, based on his past posts.

Cathy

--
"Staccato signals of constant information..."
("The Boy in the Bubble") Paul Simon

I hope you find a solution to this because I have a two year old who
attacks my feet while I'm sleeping, too. He leaves me with scratches
that I sometimes don't notice until I'm in the shower. YOW... if you
find something that works, please post back?

Aww, Cheryl, he's just attacking the bed mice. If you find a solution then
you'll be over-run with those pesky invisible bed mice.

Sherry