Cats & Kittens

I have a one year old cat that I have been having problems with, and it's only been on the rise for the past few weeks. My boyfriend and I adopted her a year ago, when she was about 7-10 weeks old when we moved to our new state. She's always been active, never shy, and loves attention. I has a cat growing up and didn't have a good experience. While I have loved my cat since the second I met her, I think I might have become a victim of my own self-fulfilled prophecy (in regards to not having good experiences with cats). My cat has tended to favor my boyfriend, even from the beginning. I admit, how afraid I am of cats has a lot to do with it. But biting me willy-nilly since she has been maybe 3 months old is starting to get to me. I clean the apartment, there she is following me around with the intent to bite me. At first it started out just biting the tops of my feet. Then it become biting my ankles. From there, she started to come around back of my legs, wrap her paws around me and bite my ankles from behind. As of maybe two or three months now she has taken a liking to full on jumping on my leg and biting me. Even more recently, within the past few weeks she has started to leap up onto the couch or bed and bite my arm, and she has even started biting my boyfriend (just less than she bites me).

I have no idea what to do. She is not an all-around evil cat, I'd say. She has fresh food, water, a clean litter box. We have toys for her that she never plays with. We do play with her, but I have been less inclined to because she has been so mean. Giving her away would be the last option, and even then my boyfriend would not go for it. I love her, but I am tired of being the prey in my own home. We have tried disciplining her. We used to grab her by the scruff and push her head down when she was young, and it didn't really do much. I have tried to stop her biting by using a spray bottle occasionally, but it didn't work -- she didn't care.

My boyfriend and I think our cat is experiencing a lot of boredom. It's been said it's better to have two cats than one. I am not sure at this point another cat is a good idea, because I don't know if I could handle having another one who bites constantly. Our cat has a lot of energy, but it's not feasible to be there to entertain them 24/7. However, a part of me really thinks I am making excuses for a cat who will not change. I don't feel like we have done anything particularly wrong...we try to give her what she wants, we try to make her happy, but the behavior stays the same. I don't know where to go from here, and I have no idea if anyone can give me some insight...

Welcome to Cats and Kittens.  I'm sorry you cat is biting you so much.  I would get fishing pole type toy or laser light and try to play with her chasing that a couple of times a day for about 15 min.   You do need to let her know that it isn't OK to attack you like that.  It may take 100 times to discipline her before she understands, but you have to keep at it and be consistent or she will never learn that it's not OK to do that.   I would stop her before she gets in her attack mode.  I'm sure she gives you signs before she will attack.  You need to stop it before it happens with the loud noise or squirt gun.  Make a loud noise to scare her off.  You may want to try the water bottle or a squirt gun again, but keep after her every single time she starts to or attacks you. Putting her in a time out room may help too when she attacks you.   It may help to get another kitty for her to play with.  Most cats don't bite like that.  I think too she is picking up that you are afraid of her, which I don't blame you for being,  and that doesn't help the situation.

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Welcome to Cats & Kittens...

I have to agree - she sounds bored.  Getting her a friend about the same age and energy level would go a long way to help this.

Keep in mind also, that she is now getting "rewarded" every time she attacks you.  Not positive in your mind, but you yell or run or whatever and she gets a charge out of it.  Keep an eye out for signs and try to cut her off at the pass.  This can be tough if she is hiding under something but her ears most likely go back and her butt will start to wiggle.  Grab her and give her a stern NO!  If she persists, time out works - losing a playmate is the worst punishment every.

Interactive play helps too.  A laser pointer or fishing type toy will give you to the ability to play and wear her out.

While this isn't normal behavior, it isn't terribly unusual.  I am not surprised she won't just play with the toys - some cats just aren't into self entertainment.  Try throwing them down a hall or tossing them up in the air.

Good luck and keep us posted!!

First question,...Is she declawed? If so this may be part of the problem as declawed cats frequently turn into biters. 

What do you do in the form of play with her?  You really need to start by doing some interactive play with a fishing pole toy like Da Bird or something similar.  This burns off energy and helps build trust and a bond between you. 

http://home.ivillage.com/pets/cats/0,,mj31,00.html

I understand you may be frightened of her but disciplining her by scruffing her and pushing her head down or squirting her with water only further makes her distrust you.  That is not going to help your situation.  I have no idea where people come up with these ideas of disciplining cats.  They are NOT dogs and don't respond well as you've found out to these methods.  What started out as play aggression can easily turn into defensive aggression if she then becomes fearful of you and doesn't trust you. 

I highly suggest that you do some research on cat behavior starting with Cats Internation and Pam Johnson Bennett.

http://www.catsinternational.org/contact/index.html

Cat's International will help you free of charge via a phone call and they have quite a bit of good information on their site as well.

I would also suggest you pick up Pam Johnson Bennett's book Think Like A Cat and read it cover to cover.  It's an invaluable book for every cat owner and should definitely be in a cat owners library.

Take care, Lynn