Hmm bit of a biting issue with new cat....!

[Liz]

Also try a valarian "catnip" sacl Gigi loves hers and has never had a reaction with catnip she just doesn't do it

Nice to see she has started you shopping already after such a short time

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Well i've already got an order coming from the Purrs shop!!!

I've got a laser pen, Da Bird, two cubes and ping pong balls!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Lupin is also free with his teeth and claws but was told that the previous owners son used to chase and torment him, so hoping with time he will learn that its OK to be stroked without having a go.

He also pounces on moving feet from under the bed which I think is just a play thing.

I hope that Layla will grow out of this, having a toy around to distract may help..................the toy is always on the other side of the bloomin room here 

[Dawn F]

give her time, honestly I never thought Star would stop doing it and she is fine now - in fact the first time I met her in the pen she bit me come to think of it!

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

I guess my concern is that we are planning children in the next year or so and that was really our main 'criteria' was that they were good with kids (we also have a visiting nephew)! We wouldn't really want to give her back though as she may settle, but having said that I did really want a cat that didn't nip at all 

[Liz]

Miss Gigi Skye our Sunny Harbour forever foster is a biter and a bit free with the claws around humans but gives me headbutts and kisses and I now know when to remove hand before she starts

However she doesn't like Robin at all  :shocked:he is persevering but she is a Mummys girl, we tried Zylkene and all the usual stuff and it made no difference so we now advise folks to stroke a different cat

If only they could tell us why they do something

[Dawn F]

I shouldn't laugh but the best bit was when oh turned his back on star she used to try and nip him lol!

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Hi Suzanne - that's a very interesting article - thanks!

I think that perhaps because she'd lived with children, other cats, dogs etc I guessed she would be fairly well adjusted to being handled and stroked.

She does absolutely love being stroked, groomed, picked up and tickeled under the chin most of the time and I think perhaps it will just take some time to read the signs and hopefully she will settle into knowing that we're friendly. It's been like 10 days since we re-homed her and she'll still be finding her feet I guess!

She's been a fairly indoor cat for a lot of her life and I do think there's some pent up energy which I think will be remedied by going outside. We have a large, secure garden with no traffic nearby and I do think she'll enjoy that - she certainly spends a lot of time sat on windowledges and by the glass back door!

[Susanne (urbantigers)]

messybeast have a good article on this - scroll down the the section "petting anxiety"

http://www.messybeast.com/nervous.htm

My Magpie used to be like that when he was a kitten - he would be purring away and then suddenly snap at you.  I learnt to not react by shrieking and pulling my hand away! but just let my hand go limp, break eye contact and stay completely still.  He would then relax so I could withdraw my hand without getting bitten and eventually he did stop doing it.

[Gillian Harvey]

I've got a foster cat like that. She was originally with one fosterer, then was rehomed, came back to a different fosterer (who has since given up fostering) so she came to me. She was returned because of the biting/swiping issue, and although she's lovely 90% of the time, loves being stroked, she will suddenly turn and bite, it seems to come out of nowhere! She does the foot thing too - I've got her indoors at the mo, and I made the mistake of moving her gently away from the door with my foot - oops! big mistake lol!  - so........I shall be interested to hear what others think about this, because I don't know why she does it, as she comes across as such a lovely friendly, confident cat.

[Dawn F]

star used to bite when we first got her, she was rspca and had been in the pen nearly six months with kittens, mastitis etc - I think it was a stress or fear thing, she did grow out of it but it took a few months

[wharfevalley catsprotection]

Hello All!

Well we said goodbye to our beautiful Katie cat last month from cancer and are now in the process of settling in Layla, our stunning grey tabby female into our home!

She's lovely natured and sleeps through the night (what a revelation that is!), eats all her food and is generally a pleasure to have around the house. There's only one issue which i'm concerned about and that's her suddenly biting!

When she was in her pen and we were fussing her, she did 'mouth' us a bit and the staff said that it was probably a stress thing at being in the pen. We've only had her around 2 weeks, but she does seem to be doing it quite a bit and it was just mouthing before, but yesterday I was just stroking her and she was purring away and then literally suddenly bit my arm quite hard. She'll do it with passing feet as well and i'm almost certain that it's a play thing and not an aggression thing but it's hard to know how to deal with it!

We're obviously still getting to know one another but I can't see what the trigger might have been in each case. Katie cat used to nip us when she got fed up of stroking and we got used to it, but with Layla she tends to bite and hold on, with her ears flat against her head and eyes wide.... is this a fear reaction? She tend to bite on the forearm and I wonder whether she's been struck in the past? She was brought to the RSPCA after being starved by her previous owner so it perhaps wouldn't suprise me!

Any help would be much appreciated!