i don’t know… the towel reminds me of police dogs attacking men wearing thick arm protective stuff. somehow i got the idea that that will encourage them to bite harder…
OTOH yes, i seem to have a problem with them attacking my hands when they feel like it, though they have never hurt me that way before.
Cat bites can be surprisingly dangerous, especially if your cat is an outdoorsy type that likes to hunt. I’ve heard stories from vets that were bitten hard enough to break skin and their hands started swelling almost immediately. Cat scratches aren’t as bad, but can still cause infection. I’ve been scratched dozens of times by my cat and never had any problems, but I guess it depends what the happen to have on their claws at the time.
Anyone else notice the distinct noise it makes when your cat manages to get a good swipe in? I never knew skin could sound EXACTLY like cloth being ripped.
Well, I finally gave in and let Phobic bite me and I discovered that indeed, her bites are the kind that RealityChuck mentioned: she just touches the skin with her teeth for a second. What had scared me before I let her do it was the needle sharp teeth and the mean kitty look in her eyes before she’d do it. But even though I don’t know much about cats’ body language, I can tell the difference between when she’s playing and when she’s serious. When we first brought her home she’s hiss and spit and growl with her ears flat against her head and her eyes narrowed. When she plays with me she has her ears up, her eyes open, she often purrs, and most importantly, her tail is wagging. I know in dogs this is a friendly sign so I am assuming in cats it’s the same?
She also does that rabbit kick thing when she’s on her back. It’s when she’s doing this that she does the teeth thing. I still would like to encourage her not to do it, because she does get very excited when she plays and I remember that I have a pet who can kill by nature. (I’m used to rabbits who just sit dumpily and wait to be eaten by something. Cute, fat, and non-threatening!)
I do have toys for Phobic to play with, while dangling them above her head she decides usually that my hand is more fun than the toy. She has little plastic balls with bells in them that she loves, and a catnip filled wool mouse that she sleeps with (like its her stuffed animal!) They don’t sell furry mice here that I’ve seen but I’ll keep looking.
We’re getting a hamster soon. Hopefully the kids won’t let it loose. I don’t want Phobic to REALLY go hunting!
(She was an outdoor cat when we found her but she’s strictly indoors now- we live on the 9th floor of our building so there isn’t anywhere else for her to go!)
You know, the biting really depends on the cat. My cat has never bit and never will; Jim’s cat experiences the whole world with her mouth, and is always gnawing on us.
One thing you can do to get a cat to stop doing something painful to you is to make a loud mewling noise, like you are a baby kitty that they are hurting. They are very deeply ingrained to not hurt the babies; both of my cats stop whatever they are doing when I make that noise, and actually get an apologetic look on their faces (which is very disconcerting to see on a cat).
(And just for the record, I don’t agree with giving catnip to cats. Try honeysuckle instead; it’s like the difference between cat drugs and cat candy; they love it, but it doesn’t make them act stoned.)
If she puffs up and hisses/growls/screams at an area above your head or behind you, then don’t play with her. She’s letting you know that a malign and evil presence is visiting your home… “good kitty!”.
Kittens have to learn how to play nice, don’t be afraid but do let her know the rules.
No, a tail that’s lashing back and forth means “I see something moving and I’m gonna pounce!”
Don’t dangle them over her head - drag them along the floor and the furniture so she can chase them, just like real prey. Much more fun for everyone involved.
Rhodium’s favorite toy in the whole world is a wire coat hanger that’s been straightened out and has about six feet of 1/4" nylon rope tied to it. (Previously used for fishing computer cables through the walls). I bet you can get those in Japan! She will chase the rope all over the house, and attack it vigorously. When she was a kitten, she used to get the end in her mouth, dig in her heels, lay down her ears, and growl at it if we tried to pull it away.
Laser pointers…best cat toys ever, my cats go absolutely bonkers over em.
I have a kitten who loves to play very rough! My arms, hands, thighs are covered in scratches. I cover my hands with a thick pair of socks now to play with her but now I realize this is just egging her on. I have a spray bottle with water in it, when she trys to attack me or play to rough I say NO, and spray her lightly. She hates the spray bottle, now all I have to do is show her the bottle and she backs off. It’s a great way to teach them. Also, the local pet stores have these little colorful mice toys, they only cost 99 cents, and wow, she plays with it for hours! I also taught her how to fetch and return the mice. They are cheap and great for the cat or kitten. So, I recommend the spray bottle with a deep tone NO! Try it, you’ll be surprised how well it works. Again, if you want to rough house with your kitty I recommend a kitty mitten or a thick winter sock over your hands, but remember, the more you play rough with her the more she’s gona think it’s ok to do. Good luck and let me know how the spray bottle works for you.
My cat never bit me too hard, she knew what play was. Now claws are different. First of all kittens don’t know how to use them yet. I had my kitten actually get her claws stuck in the couch and she some how put her right front paw over her head, behind her neck, so it was next to the right left paw and she got the claw stuck on the couch. Then she couldn’t move her head. It was pretty funny.
But kittens take awhile to learn how to properly use their claws. You will get scrached far more than bitten.
Also be aware kittens have milk or baby teeth and most of the time they swallow them, but not always. I used to find little teeth on the floor. So that’s just kitty losing her teeth.
And what’s funny is some kittens lose them first and have big gaps, other kittens don’t lose them soon enough and the adult teeth grow in and for a few weeks they have both adult and milk teeth that gives them a cool looking “shark tooth” kind of look.
Some kittens lose groups of teeth, so they fall out and look like a bridge would look on a person.
Two other pieces of advice, get baby blankets, the soft felt-like kind. Thrift stores have these cheap. Kittens and cats love these. Then you put them on the couch and the cat will sleep on the blanket not the couch, then the hair is much easier to clean. Just toss the baby blanket in the wash and replace it.
The other thing is fix a place VERY high up for the cat. Cats love high places. The higher the better. And make it the cats “safe place.” Never pick him/her up when he’s up there. The cat learns to go there as it’ll be undisturbed and because they are high up and can see everything they like to go there and are less apt to bother you. I had it fixed so I had a high shelf and my cat would jump from floor, to dresser, to filing cabinet, to high shelf.
Bear in mind that when a cat rolls on its back, it’s not actually an invitation to scratch the belly. It’s a sign of greeting and being relaxed in your company.
Some people can ‘train’ their cats to accept belly rubs, and some cats can grow to like it, but generally speaking, if this is the time when she tends to get her teeth out, I’d avoid rubbing her belly.
I hope the kitten in the OP has outgrown kitten bites, now it should be doing 7 year old cat bites. Unless it’s one of those things that likes to eat brains, starts with a “z” …
Oven mitts are awesome for this, particularly if you get the kind that has a mouth like shape.
I suppose it’s too late to demand pictures.
These Lazarus threads are getting tiresome
Zombie Kittens!
If one of my cats bit too hard then I’d yell OW and then NO followed by a finger tap to the forehead like I was testing a melon for ripeness. I’d then look them in the eye and pet them. Somehow they figured it out.
If your cat isn’t chasing your toes under the bed sheets then you’re missing out on a lot of entertaining kitten play.
Now is the time to start trimming their nails.
My cat is declawed in front. When I got him from the humane society it was already done. He has a tendency to bite. His front paws are like powderpuffs, but he does not really understand that. he smacks the puppy beagle in the face and he just looks at the cat. But he is nippier than any cat I ever had.