Why Do Cats Bite Play
Learning the reason why does my cat bite me.
Why do cats bite play. You re not the only one suffering. Whenever your cat engages in play that uses their paws but not their claws or teeth reward them with plenty of affection and a reward or treat. Cats often bite during play because they are expressing their natural hunting instinct. One in three cat bites will become infected compared to the much lower likelihood of infection from dog bites if an infected cat bite is left untreated it can develop into cat scratch fever which is a bacterial infection that causes flu like symptoms and can cause serious complications such as encephalopathy or vision loss.
Playful biting of hands or feet often occurs simply because your cat is bored and is looking for a play object. You can discourage the behaviour by praising them for gentle play during bonding sessions. Our cats are a part of our families but they are still animals and need to play to let out some of their excess energy as well as to instinctively hone their natural hunting skills. Petting induced aggression and it s a poorly understood topic.
Some cats bite to stop unwanted action or behaviors by humans or other animals especially if this was effective in the. Stalking attacking clawing and biting their perceived opponent. For cats playing consist of biting scratching punching and many other action that seems aggressive for human but actually normal in feline world. If a cat bites and then doesn t back down this could be the.
The most common reasons for cats to bite for no reason include. Many pet owners call this common behavior love biting but feline behaviorists have given it a more formal name. If your cat is biting to indicate over stimulation the best advice is to simply stop stroking or playing with your cat at least until it has calmed down a little. Misguided play attention seeking mistaking hands for food overstimulation fear dominance or aggression.
This is a type of social play that the cat usually does to other cat as well as people that owned them. You can also direct them to a scratching post or another outlet for their behavior. In many cases cat owners become much better at reading their cat s body language over time and as you get better at this you may learn to stop before the biting even begins. Play aggression is the most typical reason for aggressive biting particularly among young kittens and cats.
Cats play in a way that involves typical predatory and play behaviors notes the aspca. It could be to assert dominance or respond to a threat. Give it 15 minutes of active play with an interactive toy.