Owww My cat bit me! What do I do? copyright Frania Shelley-Grielen,
all rights reserved
“My cat bit me, what do I do?” Cats bite as part of a normal set of behaviors, whether it is in play or defensively. These behaviors do not happen in a vacuum, they are responses to another’s action or interactions. When it comes to cats biting other cats, the messages being sent are often loud and clear but when it comes to cats biting humans, we need to first look more closely to what is happening in order to address it for both the cats and the humans.
Along with other four legged animals, cats and dogs do not have hands to hold or touch things with and use their mouths. Mouths when used to touch things may be used to explore, groom (oneself or others), and communicate.
(The mouth is also used to eat, vocalize, sniff-taste or “flehmen”.) When a cat
uses the mouth to communicate through biting the question is what is this cat
saying and in response to what?
Animal Behavior experts Daniela Ramos and Daniel Simon Mills studied cat
aggression directed at humans in the Sao Paulo region of Brazil and found that the top two reasons for owners reporting aggression were after some cats were “petted or put on to the lap” followed by “when playing.” While it is important to know when to pay greater attention to what humans are doing with cats to avoid biting, the difficulty with this study and others is that “aggression” is not defined so we may be talking about warning behaviors such as hissing up to and including biting.
A separate study published in May of 2017 by the Journal of Feline Medical Surgery compared the behaviors, including inappropriate elimination, excessive grooming and aggression, of cats that had been de-clawed compared to cats that not been de-clawed. The de-clawed cats significantly demonstrated more of these behaviors. 63% of the de-clawed cats were found to have bone fragments left in their digits, these cats were more likely to have back pain, inappropriate elimination, biting and aggression. De-clawed cats without retained bone fragments, were found to have increased biting and inappropriate elimination.
We do know that cats like all animals will use a host of behaviors to communicate what they are feeling including positive and negative emotions along with intent. Paying attention to what your cat is saying along with what you are doing will lessen negative experiences for you both. More on what to do when petting and playing and what to do when it goes wrong:
- We have to be very careful with cats to avoid punishment (including spraying with water bottles, shaking cans full of rocks, scolding, abusive
tones or language or physical force of any kind) as it greatly stresses
them and teaches only that they should be fearful of us. Using the
appropriate feedback carefully employed with the correct timing
and reinforced with praise for the correct response can be truly helpful.
Teaching cats what we do want changes behavior, understanding what
their behavior means teaches us. - When it comes to petting cats or picking them up, being mindful of how cats interact with each other and the most appropriate way to handle
them is kinder to cats and us. For petting, use the approach cats use
when greeting each other, confining your stroking to along the sides
of the muzzle, behind the ears and between the ears This is the safest
and most feline friendly approach. Several studies have been done
confirming that while some cats may like petting at the base of the
tail they are in the minority. When picking up cats, remember that
cats have a “righting” reflex so turning them upside down as you would
a baby is highly stressful and will cause them to struggle. - When it comes to playing with your cat, remember to do it. · Conduct regular interactive play sessions with your cat where the object of
play is a fishing wand toy and not your hands or your feet. Experiment
with different types to see which your cat likes best and remember to
drag the object across or away from your cat’s line of vision to engage
your cat in predatory play behavior. Make a practice of 5 minute
sessions in the morning and in the evening. We all can do 5 minutes,
no excuses. Regular play will also relieve your cat of needing to ask you
for play and interaction by jumping out at you, chasing you or you
offering your hands as toys. - Become familiar with what your cat is “saying.” A cat that is tail thumping or swishing, looking away, holding ears back, rigid, muscles rippling, hissing, growling or yowling is adamantly asking for whatever is going on in an interaction to stop. These sorts of behaviors are called “distance increasing behaviors” because they are exactly that. When you see a cat asking for space, give it to them. Cats, like most animals, go through a whole set of communicative behaviors as requests and warnings, they never “just” do anything. Routinely ignoring a cat’s requests can cause a
highly stressed cat to skip steps in asking for something to stop. - If a cat is biting defensively due to being petted or held incorrectly it is the person’s fault and not the cats. The cat should be released and the person needs to learn how to hold and pet correctly so the cat does not have to defend themselves again. If there is a history of petting or holding incorrectly, the cat will remember. Taking baby steps in approaching your cat sideways and offering tentative proper pets can start kitty on the road to trust.
- If a cat bites in play (which humans are going to retrain with interactive play), immediately, meaning at the exact moment of contact say “Oww!” and hold still. Use one short sharp syllable and no movement –providing feedback and taking the fun out of the chase. The key here is timing; the second you feel the bite use the response above and the very millisecond the cat stops use a softer voice in praise to reinforce the cessation and keep the encounter positive. Cats are extremely sound sensitive due to their
exquisite hearing and do not like loud or discordant noises which is why the correction is so effective at getting them to stop the behavior. Your reaction will startle the cat, in that very second when the cat pauses immediately say “Good kitty” in a soft voice and stroke along the side of the muzzle to reinforce that stopping the bite is the wanted behavior. That’s it, do not lecture the cat the afterwards as this only confuses a cat for doing what you asked for.
References:
Ellis S.L.H., Thompson H., Guijaro C., Zulch, H. E. (2015) The influence of body region, handler familiarity and order of region handled on the domestic cat’s response to being stroked. Applied Animal Behaviour Science; 173: 60–67.
Martell-Moran, N.K., Solan M., Townshend H.G.G. (2017). Pain and adverse behavior in dewclawed cats. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, (published online May 2017)
Ramos, D., Mills, D.S. (2009). Human directed aggression in Brazilian domestic cats: owner reported prevalence, context and risk factors. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 11: 835–841
Soennichsen, S., Chamove, A.S. (2002) Responses of cats to petting by humans. Anthrozoos; 15:258–265.
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