{"id":14734,"date":"2023-04-18T09:00:13","date_gmt":"2023-04-18T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/?p=14734"},"modified":"2024-11-13T17:43:33","modified_gmt":"2024-11-13T23:43:33","slug":"untrain-your-pet-stop-your-cat-from-biting-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/blog\/behavior\/training\/untrain-your-pet-stop-your-cat-from-biting-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Untrain Your Pet: Stop Your Cat from Biting You"},"content":{"rendered":"

Welcome to our \u201cUntraining Your Pet\u201d series, where we help you \u201cuntrain\u201d your pet from those naughty or annoying bad habits and get them back to being the goodest boys and girls. <\/em><\/p>\n

If you have a kitten, it\u2019s almost guaranteed that they\u2019re going to nibble (or chomp down) on you at some point. An adult cat biting you isn\u2019t unheard of, either. Why do cats bite their pet parents if they love them? Are they playing, are they mad or is there another reason? We\u2019ll look into why cats bite their humans and how to train your cat<\/a> to stop using your hand as their personal pin cushion.<\/p>\n

Biting Is a Natural Instinct for Cats<\/h2>\n

Cuddling with your sweet kitty on the couch can make it hard to remember that your cute snuggle buddy is actually a natural-born predator. Cats are naturally wired to stalk and attack moving objects (i.e., prey). That can include your ankles as you\u2019re walking past them or your snake-like fingers that were innocently scratching their chin.<\/p>\n

Channeling their hunting instincts isn\u2019t the only reasons cats bite, though. It\u2019s normal for adult cats to bite while playing with other cats, and one of the reasons kittens bite is to release some of their pent-up energy. Kittens also may bite because they\u2019re teething<\/a> and looking for something to chew on, or because they\u2019re still adjusting to the world around them.<\/p>\n

Kittens often bite and nip while they\u2019re going through a developmental phase. Luckily this biting phase usually fades away by the time they\u2019re one to two years of age. But this may seem like forever if their nibbles are a daily occurrence!<\/p>\n

Does Kitty Actually Want to Play?<\/h2>\n

There are probably some days when a friend invites you to go out with them and you\u2019d prefer to stay at home. It\u2019s the same for your cat. They may not be in the mood for playtime, even if you are.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to read your cat\u2019s body language<\/a> to check whether they are in the mood for playing or if you should come back later. If your cat is scrunched down with a wiggling back-end, they\u2019re ready to pounce and play. If they\u2019re stretched out and lounging around, they\u2019re relaxed. If their tail is straight up or has a little curl at the end and their fur is flat, life is gooood. These are all great signs that they\u2019re probably ready for a game of chase the red spot.<\/p>\n

Signs of a \u201cI\u2019m not in the mood for playing\u201d cat are when they\u2019re huddling low to the ground with big eyes and pinned-back ears. A really annoyed cat will whip their tail back and forth \u2014 and the faster the whipping, the more annoyed they are.<\/p>\n

Petting your cat<\/a> in the wrong place could also cause those sharp teeth to come out. Cats generally don\u2019t appreciate their legs, paw, tail or belly being touched. Of course, every cat is different and maybe you know some of those areas are OK for your cat. The spots that cats usually welcome some scratches and strokes are on their back, around their cheeks and the base of their ears and under their chin.<\/p>\n

Untrain Your Cat from Biting You<\/h2>\n

When cats are playing with their feline friends in a group, they like to growl and bite as part of their normal play behavior. When the rough and tumble gets too much for a cat, they will yelp or distance themselves from their trouble-causing companion.<\/p>\n

You can adopt this distancing behavior to show your cat that their biting is not appreciated. If your cat bites you, walk away for a minute or so, ignoring them. Come back and start playing again and reward their good behavior. You can also redirect their attention away from your hand by offering them a toy and then reinforce their good behavior when they play with the toy (and don\u2019t bite you).<\/p>\n

Sometimes cats can get themselves wound up and overstimulated, which can lead to biting. If this happens, put them in a safe place to calm down for 5 to 10 minutes. When they\u2019re calm, welcome them back with lots of love and affection.<\/p>\n

Avoid using negative reinforcement or physical punishment when your cat bites you since this can lead to fear and aggression. You should avoid roughhousing (wrestling) with your cat since this can also encourage the bad biting behavior. Cats generally don\u2019t like to play rough as much as dogs do anyway.<\/p>\n

Stick with the \u201cNo Biting\u201d Rule<\/h2>\n

When teaching your cat not to bite, make sure everyone in your household is consistently following the no biting policy. Your cat will become confused if they\u2019re allowed to play-bite one person\u2019s fingers but not another\u2019s.<\/p>\n

Kitten bites can be cute and probably don\u2019t hurt much, but remember that those tiny teeth grow up into big sharp teeth, so it\u2019s best not to allow your kitten to bite you. Use toys to play with your kitten instead of your hands.<\/p>\n

When to Call in a Professional<\/h2>\n

Biting is a natural behavior for cats, but if your cat shows signs of aggression, consistently breaks skin, shows signs that they\u2019re in pain, stiffens up and stares at you before biting, or gets aggressive around new people, it\u2019s time to ask your veterinarian or a certified animal behaviorist for advice.<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t Get Feverish Over a Cat Bite<\/h2>\n

If your cat does break your skin by biting (or scratching) you, it\u2019s important to clean the wound with soap and warm water immediately. Cat bites and scratches can introduce bacteria or other pathogens<\/a> into your body, including the bacteria that causes cat scratch disease (CSD), better known as cat scratch fever. The CSD-causing bacteria (Bartonella henselae<\/em>)<\/a> is commonly passed to cats from infected fleas.<\/p>\n

Most cats don\u2019t show signs of illness if they are infected with Bartonella henselae<\/em> and most cases of CSD in humans aren\u2019t serious (e.g., headache, fever, swollen lymph nodes). However, people with a weakened immune system may experience more serious complications. By using year-round flea preventatives<\/a>, you can help prevent your cat from becoming infected with Bartonella henselae<\/em> and avoid cat scratch fever.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It is possible to untrain your cat from biting you. By showing them that it\u2019s not an acceptable behavior and that a toy is much more fun to play with, hopefully over time, \u201cOuch\u201d will be heard less and less during playtime with your cat.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

RELATED POST: Debarking Pet Myths: Cats Are Untrainable<\/a><\/p>\n

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Welcome to our \u201cUntraining Your Pet\u201d series, where we help you \u201cuntrain\u201d your pet from those naughty or annoying bad habits and get them back to being the goodest boys and girls. If you have a kitten, it\u2019s almost guaranteed that they\u2019re going to nibble (or chomp down) on you at some point. An adult […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":14737,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"Untrain Your Pet: Stop Your Cat from Biting You","_seopress_titles_desc":"Learning why your cat bites is the first step towards breaking this painfully bad habit. Learn why cats bite and what you can do to curb this pesky behavior.","_seopress_robots_index":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_searchwp_excluded":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[201,282],"tags":[100,865,134,817],"class_list":["post-14734","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-behavior","category-training","tag-cat","tag-cat-biting","tag-diamond-pet-foods","tag-untrain-your-pet"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14734","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14734"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14734\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14734"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14734"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.diamondpet.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14734"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}