After reading, it is hoped that cat parents can understand why cats bite, what the meaning of biting is, and train cats to develop a good habit of not biting people from a young age. The article is about 2000 words long and takes about 3 minutes to read. What should we do if a cat keeps biting and won’t let go? This is probably a concern for cat parents. A gentle bite is fine, but a hard bite can cause pain or bleeding to cat parents. If there are children at home, they may also be bitten. Cats may bite not necessarily because they are attacking or angry. There are many times when it may be due to reasons such as expressing anxiety, physical discomfort, physiological needs, and so on. So why do cats bite? How can we understand the information cats want to convey from their biting? And how can we establish the habit of cats not biting? This article will tell cat parents: Why do kittens/adult cats bite? What are the common reasons? What are the signs before a cat bites? How can we correctly train cats not to bite? What should we do if we are bitten and bleeding by a cat? Little knowledge: How strong is a cat’s bite force? A cat’s bite force is 70 PSI (about 5 kilograms). Compared to other felines, domestic cats have the weakest bite force. However, felines are natural hunters. Their sharp teeth can easily pierce the skull of prey. When biting into flesh, it is also difficult to pry open with external force. If a cat really exerts force, it can bite off a human finger. OPEN Table of Contents Why do cats bite? Common reasons for kittens/adult cats biting 3 common reasons for kittens biting 8 common reasons for adult cats biting Signs before a cat is about to bite? How to correctly train cats not to bite? Checklist of guidelines for training cats not to bite 3 steps to teach cats not to bite How to teach kittens the correct concept of biting? What should we do if a cat bites and causes bleeding and injury? Immediately clean the wound and disinfect Observe the wound condition. Seek medical attention immediately if there are abnormal signs. Summary Common questions Why do cats bite? Common reasons for kittens/adult cats biting Cats are hunters. Therefore, seemingly aggressive behaviors such as biting, pouncing, and scratching are actually part of playing. That is to say, cats may not bite to attack cat parents. However, occasionally when cats express reluctance or want to convey information to cat parents, they will also communicate with cat parents by biting. The reasons for kittens and adult cats biting may be very different. It is important to distinguish the reasons for biting and solve them individually. 3 common reasons for kittens biting Low degree of socialization: In simple terms, if a kitten is adopted without learning socialization through playing with its mother, the kitten will bite people randomly and not control its strength. Teething: When a kitten is teething, it will bite things or people randomly because of itchy teeth. At this time, toys that can be scratched and bitten such as cat scratching boards should be purchased and the kitten should be taught not to bite or scratch randomly. Transferred aggression: When a cat first arrives in a new environment, it may suddenly attack people and objects around due to stress or anxiety. Kittens may bite due to social or growth problems, which is the biggest difference from adult cats. When kittens are growing up, they mostly interact with their mother and siblings through scratching and biting. If they bite other cats too hard, their mother and family will ignore them, so that the kitten knows that biting too hard is wrong. How to train a kitten not to bite: Click on the link in the table of contents or the chapter titled ‘How to teach kittens the correct concept of biting?’ to view the relevant chapter! How can we train kittens to have social awareness and not bite people randomly? Refer to the relevant chapters in this article! [Extended Reading] How should we take care of kittens? Care guidelines for 0 – 1 year old kittens! 8 common reasons for adult cats biting Asserting one’s status or feeling threatened: If a cat bites you and won’t let go no matter what, or shows its teeth before biting, this may be the case.
[Extended Reading] What’s the meaning of a cat’s meow? Understand a cat’s emotions through its meows! Feeling stressed and anxious: Cats will increase their aggressiveness to protect themselves. Changes in the environment may lead to this behavior, such as new decorations or new members (children and new cats)… etc. Preventing annoying behaviors: Cats bite to stop certain behaviors they don’t like, such as nail trimming, applying ointment, brushing teeth, etc. If a cat has bitten you when you trimmed its nails before and you stopped, the cat will know this is effective and will continue to exhibit similar behaviors. Excessive petting: Cats don’t like being petted all the time. The tiny electric current generated by the flow of fur when being petted can sometimes make cats uncomfortable, so there may be a situation where everything is fine one second and then they are attacked the next second. When brushing a cat’s teeth, trimming its nails, or applying ointment, cats will resist or bite because they don’t like it. Pet parents can wear thick gloves and not force the cat. Proceed step by step to complete the health care work slowly. Pain and discomfort: When a cat is sick and uncomfortable, it is prone to aggressive behavior. Usually, there will be other abnormal symptoms. Pet parents need to check more. This situation often occurs in cats with arthritis due to aging. [Extended Reading] What should we do about feline degenerative arthritis? Acting coquettishly and attracting attention: When a cat bites, it just wants to attract your attention and hopes you will play with it. It will bite gently. Usually, in this case, the biting force won’t hurt pet parents. Hands and feet being mistaken for prey: Because hands and feet move, and cats are hunters, they are easily mistaken for prey. Or when playing too vigorously, it stimulates a cat’s hunting instinct, and pet parents will be bitten. Displaced aggression: This is more likely to occur in multi-cat households. When two cats are fighting and pet parents pull them apart, they are easily the target of displaced aggression. This situation is also very likely to occur when preventing cats from scratching furniture or clothes. When cats are fighting, if pet parents pull them apart, they may also be bitten due to displaced aggression. Signs before a cat bites? There are signs before a cat bites. We can first understand the preparatory actions before a cat opens its mouth to bite and judge the timing of a cat’s bite to respond! Raising the voice: Staring at pet parents and making a ‘hah–‘ or ‘huh–‘ exhalation sound. Rapidly wagging the tail and buttocks: Usually, when a cat wags its tail rapidly, it means refusal or anger. Especially if the fur on the tail is puffed up, don’t touch the cat. Airplane ears: When a cat’s ears are pulled down and in the shape of airplane ears, it may mean anxiety or fear, or it may be staring at prey… Staring intently at the hands or feet and crouching down: This is a preparatory action for a cat to enter hunting mode. Whiskers forward and downward: When a cat is hunting, it will stare intently at its prey, and the position of the whiskers will extend downward. There are always some signs before a cat bites, such as staring intently at the hands or feet, or having airplane ears… etc. Pet parents need to pay special attention. How to correctly train a cat not to bite? What should you do first when you are bitten by a cat? It is recommended that pet parents who find that their cats bite can first prepare cat scratchers, cat teasers… etc. toys that cats can bite and scratch to distract their attention from hands and feet. Checklist of guidelines for training cats not to bite. Compiled by Director Mao. If bitten by a cat, here are some methods to make the cat release its mouth and a checklist of guidelines for training cats not to bite again for pet parents’ reference: Prepare suitable toys: When bitten, you can wave toys in front of them to divert the cat’s attention.
Don’t play with kittens using hands or feet: In the long run, cats will regard your hands and feet as moving toys and bite them. When playing with cats, using toys is the most correct approach. Press your hand or foot inward: When bitten, gently press your finger or toe into the cat’s mouth, and they will release their mouth. Don’t get angry/ punish the cat: Getting angry or punishing the cat may scare them and make the cat no longer trust you. Cats are more likely to attack people they don’t trust. Or punishment games are like the struggles of prey, making the cat more excited. For subsequent care and training, don’t punish the cat. Prohibit the cat from scratching or biting your clothes: Even if it doesn’t bite or scratch the skin, you should still prevent the cat from biting or scratching your clothes. They won’t be able to distinguish whether the boundary between your clothes and the exposed skin can be bitten. Prepare toys such as scratching boards and cat teasers… which can effectively divert the cat’s attention and stop them from biting the hands and feet of cat parents. Improve cat behavior with snacks: If the cat attacks the feet of cat parents when they enter the room, the cat parents need to stay calm first. Let it sit down first or throw other toys for it to play with. When it doesn’t bite your feet, reward it with snacks. In this way, the cat will connect ‘not biting feet = having snacks’ and link the rewarding behavior, thereby reducing biting behavior. Maintain a consistent reaction: Ensure that family members and friends have a consistent reaction to the cat’s biting. Because if others take different actions towards the cat, the cat will feel confused and it will be difficult for it to learn that ‘biting people is not allowed’. Stop the game when the cat bites: When the cat bites you, whether it’s a light bite or just the teeth touching, you should immediately stop the game. Use ignoring to let the cat understand that you are hurt. This is also the way a cat mother uses when teaching kittens. Three steps to teach cats not to bite: Step 1: Understand the cat’s personality. Cat parents are usually the people who know their cats best. First, understand the cat’s habits. Which part does the cat like to be touched the most? Which part does it hate to be touched the most? How long is the playtime? Does it like to contact with cat parents?… etc. Only by understanding the cat’s personality first can we have a chance to understand why the cat is most likely to bite. The cat may be too energetic or too playful and regard hands or feet as prey. It may also be under too much stress usually and want to bite to vent. If the cat is usually gentle but suddenly bites the cat parents and there seem to be other abnormal conditions in the body, make sure to check if the cat may be sick! Step 2: Create a correct play experience and find the cat’s minefields at the same time. If the cat bites, we can improve from many aspects to give the cat a friendly environment. For example, for energetic cats, you can buy various toys it likes, collect cardboard boxes, and play with cat teasers every day… etc. This can not only consume energy in the correct way and let the cat learn the game experience of ‘only toys can be bitten’, but also prevent the cat from being too energetic and biting dangerous items such as wires, gloves, and plastic bags. Every cat also has certain minefields. Cat parents can pay more attention to these minefields during daily care to remind family members and visitors how to treat the cat. For example, when stroking, observe the degree of stroking that the cat can accept. Or when trimming nails or brushing teeth, the cat will definitely be uncomfortable, struggle or bite at the beginning. Cat parents can wear gloves and long pants and long sleeves to deal with it and understand the possible minefields of the cat by the way.
In daily care, cat parents can actively pay attention to the danger zones of cats to prevent family members or visitors from being bitten. Step 3: Set up play rules. When the rules are violated,冷落 cats appropriately. Getting angry at or nagging cats is not a useful method. Especially after getting angry and finally giving a comforting pat will only make cats think that their owner is very strange. In fact, there is a very useful punishment method for cats, which is ‘ignoring’. This is also the method used by cat mothers when teaching kittens. Ignoring means not giving any response to cats. There is no response in terms of sound, eyes, body, or emotion. Just do your own thing and become like air completely. If it is a cat with a good relationship with you, it will usually feel panicked and know that it has done something wrong. Of course, during the period of ignoring, when cat parents hear the cat howling or being unhappy and lonely… etc., they will definitely feel sad, but please endure. Just like teaching children, cats also need to be taught, but the way is just a little different from teaching children. The director said: If after ignoring, the cat still behaves as usual and all possible methods have been tried. It is recommended that cat parents consult professional trainers or veterinarians. Please find a regular and systematic trainer. Or you can join the LINE pet discussion area and ask other cat parents if there are any recommended training methods or cat trainers. How to teach kittens the correct biting concept? After adopting kittens, I believe cat parents will worry about how to teach correct concepts to kittens. For cats, fighting is a very normal instinctive behavior. This imitates the process of them hunting and biting prey. Although it is unnecessary for domestic cats, this is a gene engraved in the body of felines. Usually, cats will learn how to control the strength through fighting with their mothers and siblings. Only when they come to the side of cat parents at a young age, the learning object is only left with cat parents! Many kittens leave their cat mothers and come to the side of cat parents at a very young age. Naturally, it is difficult for them to learn the correct concept of biting. Usually, the best way to solve the problem of young cats biting people is actually to adopt another cat of similar age. They can learn the biting strength through fighting with each other and avoid harming cat parents. But not every cat parent has the energy and money to take care of two kittens. At this time, how should we correctly train young cats to bite with the correct strength? In fact, the guidelines have been mentioned in the previous chapters. But Director Mao knows that cat parents will want to know specifically about the method of ‘training young cats to bite’. Therefore, a checklist is compiled for cat parents’ reference: Prepare chewable toys: Prepare chewable toys. When a cat bites hands or feet, it can be used to divert the attention of young cats. Or correctly train cats to only bite toys and not human fingers and heels. Change toys frequently: Cats easily lose novelty. For them, once prey is captured, it is no longer interesting. Therefore, it is also important to frequently change different types of toys. Don’t play with young cats with hands and feet: After teasing cats with hands and feet, young cats will easily regard hands or feet as prey and then attack. Don’t react when bitten: If bitten by a young cat, try not to move around as much as possible and don’t react. For example, put your hands behind your back and stand up. Ignore all subsequent behaviors of the cat and let them focus on other movable toys.
Spend as much time as possible playing with cats: Kittens have more energy than adult cats. If they feel they haven’t played enough, they are likely to take the moving hands or feet of their owners as targets. Therefore, it is very important to play with cats as much as possible every day. In short, because kittens are more hyperactive, we need to deal with the situation where ‘hands and feet are regarded as prey or toys’. The main implementation is these three steps: Reduce the impression and experience of ‘human hands and feet are fun’. Increase the gaming experience of ‘playing with correct toys’. When a cat bites randomly, deal with it by ignoring it with ‘no movement, no sound, and no response’. How to deal with bleeding and injury from cat bites? What should be done if there is bleeding from a cat bite? Cat bites can introduce some bacteria into the bodies of cat owners, such as staphylococci, streptococci, and Pasteurella. If there is an infection, symptoms usually occur within a few hours. It is very dangerous for human hands, joints, and tendons. Immediately clean and disinfect the wound. After being bitten and bleeding by a cat, the first thing to do is to immediately rinse the wound with clean water and press it to make the wound bleed as much as possible. There may be pain, but this will help expel bacteria from the body. After washing, wipe the wound with a clean cloth and disinfect it with disinfectant. Observe the wound condition and seek medical attention immediately if there is any abnormality. Whether bitten by a domestic cat or a stray cat, cat owners need to observe whether the wound is swollen or red, and whether there is a fever… Once any of the above situations occur, please go to the hospital immediately and tell the doctor that you have been bitten by a cat so that the doctor can provide emergency treatment. The director says: The mouths of dogs and cats contain a large amount of bacteria, which can easily cause the wound to swell and turn red, indirectly causing ‘cellulitis’. In more serious cases, it may even lead to’sepsis’. For cat scratches, immediately clean and disinfect the wound, continuously observe the wound condition, and seek medical attention immediately if there is swelling, redness, or physical discomfort. Cat owners should pay special attention. If they are often scratched or bitten by cats, it may also cause ‘cat scratch disease’! Cat scratch disease is a zoonotic disease. The main symptoms are manifested as local lymph node inflammation, swelling, pain, suppuration, elevated body temperature, rashes on the limbs, and sometimes even meningitis. Although most cat owners can recover within a few months, it should not be underestimated! To summarize this article, the director helps cat owners understand the 11 possible reasons and meanings of cat biting, the checklist and implementation steps for training cats not to bite, how to train kittens when they bite, and how to deal with wounds after being bitten by a cat… It is believed that cat owners have a complete supplement to the knowledge point of ‘cat biting’. Finally, the director wants to specially remind that cats are natural hunting animals, but they also have their own communication methods. Do not scold cats just because they scratch or bite. Cats may lose trust in their owners as a result, making it even more difficult to teach cats the correct biting concept. The reason why cats and dogs are called furry children is because they, like children, need to be taught with love and patience by cat owners. Do not give up. If necessary, seeking professional resources can also help solve problems! The director says: Cat biting is a very troublesome problem, but I hope that through this guide, cat owners can be correctly taught the concept of training cats not to bite and help cat owners train their furry kids well.
Every furry friend that comes to their human parents is deserving of love and care. Never let a moment of scolding cause your cat to lose trust in you. Common question: Why do cats bite people? Is it to attack humans? Cats are predators, so behaviors like ‘biting, pouncing, scratching’ that seem aggressive are actually part of their play. Thus, a cat biting is not necessarily an attack on their human parents. However, occasionally, cats may use biting as a way to communicate dissatisfaction or information to their human parents. The reasons for kittens and adult cats biting can be very different, and it is important to distinguish and address the reasons individually. Typically, kittens play by biting humans, while adult cats have more complex behaviors that require understanding and discussion. The first section of this article discusses this topic in detail, and you can click on the table of contents for a full explanation! How can I teach my cat not to bite people? What steps or methods should I use? Teaching a cat not to bite is recommended to start with kittens. A crucial rule is to never ‘scold or hit the cat’, as this can lead to two situations: one, the cat may become very scared and dislike you, making it more likely to bite you; two, the cat may think you are playing a prey game with them, and thus treat you as a resistant prey, increasing the frequency of biting. If you want to punish your cat for biting, it is recommended to use a ‘disregard’ method. Follow these 3 steps: 1. Understand your cat’s personality and trigger areas. 2. Prepare plenty of toys to entertain your cat, avoid using hands and feet to play with your cat to reduce the impression and experience that ‘human hands and feet are fun’, and increase the experience of ‘playing with toys correctly’. 3. When your cat bites indiscriminately, handle it with ‘no action, no sound, no response’ disregard. Generally, teaching a cat not to bite can be accomplished by following these 3 steps. This article provides a comprehensive explanation, which can be used in conjunction with related chapters for in-depth learning! Are there signs before a cat bites? How can I tell if a cat is about to bite? If a cat treats you as prey or starts to get annoyed with your petting, there are some signs, such as: 1. Raising its voice 2. Rapidly wagging its tail and buttocks 3. Ears laid back flat 4. Staring intently at the hand or foot, crouching down 5. Whiskers pointing forward or downward. For a limited time offer of only 50 yuan, including free shipping, click to use the coupon. Read the latest article: ‘Understanding Cat Body Language: Decoding 18 Cat Gestures in 3 Seconds’ dated 2023-02-03. ‘What to Do When Cats Fight: Preventing Cat Fights + Emergency Peacekeeping Guide for Multi-Cat Households’ dated 2023-01-26. ‘Essential Items and Knowledge for New Dog Owners: 7 Must-Have Items, Care Tips, and Related Knowledge’ dated 2023-01-23. ‘What to Do When Your Cat Keeps Meowing: Understanding the Reasons and How to Handle It in 3 Minutes’ dated 2023-01-08. ‘Human Foods That Can Also Benefit Cats: 20 Foods for Cats to Eat for a Longer Life!’ dated 2022-12-24. Thank you for watching. If you find the articles very useful, you can click the share button below to share on LINE, FB with everyone who needs the information. You are also welcome to join the pet parents LINE discussion community to discuss pet experiences with 670 other pet parents.
