Why does your Cat Bite you?

Each cat has a specific and unique personality. For this reason, not all cats will appreciate the same gestures or respond in the same way to social communication, whether with us or with others.

You should make an effort to understand what your cat likes and doesn't like, how you should touch it and what are its favorite areas of the body to be touched.

While some cats adore being endlessly stroked behind the ears or on their back, others will detest it. Does this sound like your problem? You should learn to communicate with your cat and interpret whether or not it is angry, or if it is simply warning you to stop touching it in that area.

If you are relaxed and stroking your cat, and it suddenly bites your hand, then something is wrong - you've overdone it. In such a situation, the best thing will be to keep still and wait for the cat to divert its attention to something else. Stop stroking it and try to maintain a calm and tranquil atmosphere. This may sometimes happens when a cat is licking you and then bites you, as it may be part of their grooming session.

It is important for you to focus on your cat's body language, especially if it usually bites out of the blue. If you pay attention you will know if your cat is genuinely angry or if it is a simple warning telling you to stop bothering it.

Many people teach their kittens to play very actively with their hands, cat toys and many other items. If you reward this behavior, especially with hands, you will be encouraging your adult cat to intentionally harm you in the future without it realizing if it hurts you or not.

If you couldn't prevent it and your adult cat is now showing this behavior during playtime, you should try to change it. To do it, always use toys - and never hands - to play with your pet, something which you can positively reinforce with cat treats and snacks.

Some toys like dusters or balls with bells divert your cat's attention because of their appearance or sound, and you should begin the process with these.

Perhaps you have a wonderful relationship with your cat, and this is maybe why you're wondering "why does my cat bite me?" - it simply comes down to love.

Maybe you haven't experienced this before, but sometimes cats tend to chew on your legs, arms and hands when they are in a happy situation: When you put food out for them, when you stroke them, and so on.

These bites are usually minor and painless (although they might hurt when the cat is particularly excited?) and usually occur as a result of the great energy and excitement that they want to express. In this situation, you should reduce the amount you stroke it, or even stop altogether. Also, if your cat doesn't bite while playing a game, reward it with cat treats so it can learn faster and behave how you want.

Cats can bite if they feel scared, threatened, or endangered. Although they generally tend to use their claws, they also resort to biting. Identifying a scared cat is really easy: Its ears are pinned back, there's hissing, stereotypical behaviors, etc.

There are cases in which you will not able to identify why your cat bites you. It is then when you should turn to specialists such as ethologists, vets specialized in animal behavior.

It is important to know that an aggression problem should be solved as soon as possible, especially if you never know if your cat is going to attack or not. Although a cat is a small animal, it can cause a lot of harm; don't waste any time and fix the problem quickly.

If you want to read similar articles to Why does your Cat Bite you?, we recommend you visit our Behavioral problems category.