Why Does My Cat Keep Biting Me?

If you have just got a cat or kitten and they occasionally take hold of your hand in their mouths ready to bite you, you might wonder why your new found and usually affectionate feline companion behaves this way. Read on to find out why a lot of cats bite or nip you on the odd occasion, often when unprovoked and for no apparent reason.

Playful Aggression

It's in a cat's nature to want to stalk and hunt down their prey. They adore ambushing things too and will wait for what seems like an eternity for the right moment to pounce. You might be sitting at your computer one day with just your socks on and without any warning your cat pounces on your toes. The reason being that you wriggled them which triggered a very natural behaviour in your pet. Kittens are notorious for doing this and although it can be very funny - if the nip breaks the skin, it's pretty painful and the bite might well get infected too!

There are some brilliant interactive toys around these days and cats love them. Investing in a few to keep your pet occupied when you are at home and when you are out is a great solution, but you still have to be careful and watch your toes and fingers when playing with your feline friend.

Aggressive Behaviour When You Pet Your Cat

Some cats love to be petted one minute and will sit happily on your lap so you can give them a cuddle only to turn on your hand and try to bite it. If the truth be known, it's a type of aggression that nobody can really explain. With this said some experts in feline behaviour think it could be because cats don't like it when they are given too much physical attention so when they get fed up of being petted, their natural reaction is to nip the hand that's stroking them before running away.

Most cats will warn you before they actually nip and the signs to watch out for include the following:

• Suddenly turning their heads so they can reach your hand
• Cats flatten their ears when they have had enough petting
• Twitching their tails as a sign of annoyance
• They get restless and start to move around on your lap
• Their pupils get dilated

If a cat does any of the above when they are sitting on your lap and you're petting them, it's best to stop what you are doing and letting your pet jump down or you might end up getting bitten because these are the early warning signs of things to come!

Protecting Territory

Some cats get a bit territorial and although their aggression is typically directed towards other cats that dare come into their space"", it can also be directed towards people and other animals that might share their environment. Cats mark their territory by nature and do so in many ways. It could be by rubbing their chin on a favourite spot, or spraying around the property and this tells the world they are the ""boss"" of that particular area whether it's inside the house or outside in the garden.

There's not much that can be done to prevent a cat from becoming territorial other than to ""condition"" them to get on with another household pets or people they have previously been aggressive towards.

Redirected Aggressive Behaviour

When a cat bites and this aggression happens because they are afraid or scared of something else, it usually means they are out of control and it's a situation that has to be taken more seriously. Your cat might have been frightened or attacked by another cat, it could even be because a cat walked passed a window they were sitting in which meant they could not get at them. If you touch your cat while they are in this state of mind, they might well end up biting or scratching you which is called ""redirected aggressive behaviour"".

It's really important not to touch or approach a cat when they are in this state because they may well lash out at you and if you try to pick them up they may well end up giving you a nasty bite!

Conclusion

If your cat suddenly turns aggressive for no apparent reason, it's important for them to be checked out by the vet because there could be an underlying health issues that's triggering this unusual behaviour. If the vet finds there is nothing wrong with your pet, the chances are their wanting to bite you could be playful aggression but you still need to be careful because cat bites can turn nasty very quickly no matter how slight they are!

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