Biting

MissSarah · **Joined:** Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:57 am **Posts:** 36

My Luna is 8 months old now and has really come out of her shell. She's definitely my cat, follows me around everywhere (even to the toilet), smooches my legs and will come up to me when she wants a pat. She's even sat on my lap for the first time!

My husband works full time and I work part time, so when I get home from work she is craving attention. I have 2 kids, the 7 year old can pat her but she is still wary of the 3 year old.

We give her a lot of attention when we get home from work, and the kids will play with her with her toys chasing them around.

The issue we're having is that if I stop patting her she bites me. She's probably done it three or four times over the last few days. When it happens I tell her "no, no biting" and I immedately stop patting her so she knows that I'm the boss.

Is there anything else I can do as obviously I don't want her biting my kids??

brianj12 · **Posted:** Wed Feb 25, 2015 1:14 am

The two things I would look at about this behavior:

* When she is being played with, by you or your kids, is there ever a human hand or arm that is "prey" in that game? If so, then you are training her to attack hands/arms, and there may be genuine (and understandable) confusion about what is an acceptable game and what isn't.

* How and where are you petting her when she does that? If there is a "tender area" (because of an injury) then you sometimes get a reaction like that. Also there are some spots on a cat's body that many cats consider taboo (namely the stomach area, because that is a "vulnerable" area that they have to protect).

Also if you are doing, like long repetitive full body strokes, it may be a case of over-stimulation. You might try just concentrating around the chin and cheeks or top of the head and see if that helps things.

I really don't think it's ever about "who's boss" when it comes to cats, that is more of a dog concept.

MissSarah · **Joined:** Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:57 am **Posts:** 36

Thanks Brian.

Whenever we play with her we always use a toy of some form. I've told my kids (as hard as it is) that hands or arms are not play toys for Luna. She was trying to play with our hands when we first got her, but I've really made sure that she understands that it's toys only.

As far as I'm aware there are no tender areas, and she loves having her belly rubbed but only by me.
When she bites me I've always been scratching around her ears or under her chin. It's almost as though because I've stopped scratching she's biting me because she wants more.

cranberry · **Joined:** Wed Aug 28, 2013 7:42 pm **Posts:** 641

If it is just over the last couple of days then it might be a behaviour that she is trying out.

Apart from stopping the patting, what do you do when she bites ?

When mine first came to me ( I have 2 very close siblings ) if they mouthed me they got carried to their room at arms length ( so minimum contact, rather than as they would normally be cuddled and carried ). They were left there on their own for a period of time - it only really needs to be 10-15 mins. Basically they had all attention/play/temptation removed from them for a little while and being Bengals who wanted to play, run and involve themselves in everything they soon learned that the cost of mouthing was an end to fun. When the time was up, I'd open the door to their room and let them out without making eye contact or any sort of fuss over them.

I also used to let out a little "yelp" sound that cats make when they have been hurt, even if the mouthing hadn't been painful.

In a multi-person household, especially with kids who want to play with Luna it might be slightly harder to organise everyone to sing from the same song sheet and remove all attention when she bites, but it will be worth it in teaching her that using her teeth is unacceptable.

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

Still just a kitten! My Raiden is almost 8 years old and he would play just about 24/7 if he could. Your baby may need more play time. She's not getting enough. Bengals are hard to wear out. I don't know why some cats bite. Raiden has never bitten me. Bengals especially seem to like "prey." They are super active, very high energy .... even your kids may not be able to wear Luna out. But try! Bengals crave attention, too! That's what you get when you adopt a bengal.

MissSarah · **Joined:** Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:57 am **Posts:** 36

Thanks everyone.

She does get played with a lot to the point that she pants from being worn out. I understand that she's still a kitten and that she wants attention, and trust me, she gets it!

I just thought it was weird that I'm the only one she has bitten. I don't think its ever been to hurt me, more a "give me more".

Whenever she has bitten me I've stopped patting her and completely ignored her for about 10 minutes, so hopefully she soon realises that biting means no attention.

Sherry · **Joined:** Thu May 23, 2013 2:21 pm **Posts:** 9217

You might try a stern "NO". Raiden knows what it means! When I shake my finger at him and go "No!" he stops and just stares at me. He also hears "No" a lot on our walks when he tries to go up into someone's yard. If Luna is just biting you, then it's something about you and nobody else. Cats sense our aura. I've had kittens before and know what it's like to become their prey.

MissSarah · **Joined:** Thu Jul 17, 2014 2:57 am **Posts:** 36

Thanks Sherry. I do tell her no when she has bitten me. I'll keep going how we are and hopefully its a phase she grows out of soon.
We have had a couple of days with no biting, so maybe it's working.

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