Conference misery::feline

    What usually works is for you to cry and lick the bitten area and
    generally carry on in such a way that he realizes he's hurts you,
    but not so loudly that you scare him.  He's probably also bored,
    so some energetic games will likely help.
    

    You can help to stop it.  What I've done in the past is to take
    my thumb and gently press down on his/her tongue while saying
    "NO" or "DON'T BITE" when they've attempted to bite me.  It 
    doesn't take very long for them to associate the biting with 
    the light pressure on their tongue.
    
    I have 8 cats and only one biter that hasn't responded completely
    to this action.  He's much better though.  He hides his bites...
    tries to make me think they're love bites when he gets over stimulated.  
    We're talking about a very aggressive cat that has done a 360 and I did
    use this method on him.  I used to have to wear leather gloves when I 
    handled him.  Not any more.
    
    Jan 

    One thing.. is the kitten neutered?  Mondo bit me SEVERELY three times
    before he was neutered (bad enough to go to the doctor on two of the
    three times).  I had him neutered when he was ~1 year old.  He hasn't
    bitten me since.
    
    Holly
    

    Seems my cat Squeak, is not the only cat that bites.  I have had him
    neutered.  I will try some of the suggestions put forth.  He is rather
    energetic - not at all like our last cat.  Hopefully, he'll get the
    message.
    
    Thanks for the suggestions.  It's nice to know there are other cats out
    there with the same behaviour.
    
    Marilyn

    How long ago did you have him neutered?  It took Mondo a good three
    months before he calmed down after being neutered.
    
    Holly
    

    This sounds familiar, I also have 8 month kitten who loves to bite
    since I got him at 2 months.  He has been neutered since early
    September and that has not stopped him. I was told that they would calm
    down after but it didn't work.  I have tried putting my thumb in the 
    mouth and saying no or little tap on the nose but doesn't understand.
    He goes after legs/hands/elbows....
    
    

    
    Well speaking of bitting, my sweet little girl Keesha now 2.5 years old
    has this habbit, evermorning or sometimes in the middle of the night
    she like to come curl up with me and she starts licking my chin. After
    a while she grabs my chin, face, with her teeth, not pressing down hard
    ofcourse if at that time I try to pull back her sharp teeth will do 
    some damage, (I know from experience ;*) ). I do not scold her for 
    doing this and will not put my thumb in her mouth and such. I know she
    is doing this out of love. Kinda like when they groom themselve every
    once in a while they kinda bit. I just try and be alert and usually 
    after a few licks there is a second pos before the bite, so I try to 
    get my face away before that happens. 
    
    Shaw 

    My Tabby, who was my first kitty when I moved out to my first apartment
    was the most ferocious kitten there ever was.  I was constantly covered
    with kitten scratches from launches and assaults given from behind the
    furniture and around corners.  You just never knew from when or where
    he was going to assault you, especially the ankles.  Thank goodness he
    outgrew that stage.  I think he was about 8 months old when I had him 
    fixed and within a few months he began outgrowing that habit.  By the
    time he was a year old, he had definately matured.  The only thing at
    that point he would savagely assault was an enormous furry glove that I
    would wear just for his playing with.  It was so thick he could not
    hurt me, but boy he made ribbons out of it.  Eventually, he didn't even
    do that.  He mellowed as his life went along.   He died 9 years ago of 
    leukemia at age 15.  He fought that disease until he just could not
    stand up anymore.

    Hi Holly,
    
    Re: NOTE 941.5
    
    I had him neutered two months ago.  I must say he is one of the
    smartest cats I've ever owned.  Greets us at the door more like a dog
    than a cat.  He is very curious.  We can't put anything new out or down
    - he will be there to check it out.  Likes to chase us and play hide
    and seek.  Hopefully some of the tips here will curtail his bitting,
    not to mention maturity sinking in as well.
    
    Cheers,
    Marilyn

    
    Help!
    My family just adopted a female cat from the animal shelter.  She's
    about 2 yrs, lovely cat, but a BITER!!! (She bites hard enough to draw
    blood.) I already have several permanent scars on my hands/arms.  The vet 
    won't even handle her without heavy gloves on.  My mother desparately wants
    to provide this cat with a loving home, but it is very difficult because 
    there are small children in the home that are being bitten.  Asia (the cat)
    only bites when you attempt to touch her anyplace other than her head.  We
    don't know if this is because she is in some discomfort, or sick, or
    beacause of some traumatic experience she may have had before my mom
    adopted her.  Is there any way to discourage her from this behavior?  
    
    Help, 
    Amanda
    

    Often a cat will bite like this when it has had fleas for
    awhile, and it interprets every touch as a flea bite.  Why they
    don't react like this to touching the head, just the body, often
    esp. near the tail, I have no idea.   The fact that
    you can touch her head without her biting makes me think this
    may be what is going on, as opposed to her being frightened, etc.
    The good news is that once  you get rid of the fleas, the biting
    behavior goes away in usually a few days.
    
    On the other hand, my Pussycat was a real biter (I wore a denim
    jacket when I had to handle him) out of fear, for about six months
    after I adopted him (the scars on your arms will fade) until he
    finally realized things were okay.  In his case the vet first altered
    him, then whenthat didn't help much, gave him some medication on
    a one-time  basis that helped a lot.  I don't know if this would
    work for a female kitty.
    
    

	My Buki is a biter too.  When he was a kitten he bit through my 
	thumbnail and the thumb pad at the same time...OUCH!!!  Now, I will
	be petting him and he'll be purring up a storm, then all of a sudden he
	snaps at me and bites as hard as he can.  He's been neutered for
	4 1/2 years.  At this point I squeeze his face to get his jaw to
	open and on the floor he goes, no more loving until he calms down.
	I don't think he'll ever change.

	Laura

    My Tigger used to be a biter, too, but only when he was playing.  He
    would put both paws around my arm and bite hard, not enough to break
    the skin, and start to "bunny kick" with his hind legs.  If I tried to
    pull away, he thought it was a game and he would start to really go at
    it.  Fortunately, if I said "Tigger, no!!" in a loud, stern voice, he
    would stop, but not let go.  So I would have to sort of peel him off
    me.  He hasn't done this in a long time, but every once in a while,
    when he gets the "cat crazies" he will do it again.
    
    Marilyn

    Marilyn,
    
    	This sounds familiar with my Goldie.  He sort does the similar
    bunny kick with his hind legs. I think thats funny.. I am laughing
    away reading your reply!!  Sounds just like my kitty...
    
    Anila
    
    

    
    This discussion reminds me that Floyd is a trap for the unwary.  He
    rolls over on his back, arms and legs spread wide, just about begging
    you to rub his soft, furry little belly.
    
    And when you do, in an instant you're caught - the front paws wrap around
    your hand, the claws come out and sink in, the fangs start gnawing on your
    fingers, and while the front paws pull the back legs push ("bunny kick"
    indeed!); if you're lucky, the rear claws stay retracted.  And just try to
    escape, it's like one of those finger traps, the harder you try the
    stucker you get.
    
    len.
    

    I think there are several reason why cats bite --
    
    1.  A feral cat who is still learning to trust.  Remedies:
    time, patience, love, altering, and perhaps additional temporary
    medication.
    
    2,  A cat, usually a kitten, who doesn't know that biting that is
    tolerable for other cats hurts humans.  Remedies:  the crying
    scenario I mentioned, the suggestion about gently pressing
    down, etc.
    
    3.  A bored kitty.  Remedy: energetic games.
    
    4.  Fleas.  Symptom -- esp. biting when the back is touched.  Remedy:
    obvious.
    
    5.  Some highly excitable kitties bite near the end of petting
    sessions.  You can usually tell by a strange look in the little
    varmit's :-) eye or a tenseness in the body that this is about to
    happen, and stop handling the cat.
    
    6.  Some cats have no-no areas, esp. the tummy or above the tail.  In
    some cases the above the tail sensitivity is a problem that needs
    medical attention.
    
    

    
    > This discussion reminds me that Floyd is a trap for the unwary.  He
    > rolls over on his back, arms and legs spread wide, just about begging
    > you to rub his soft, furry little belly.
  
    This is one of Mac's ploys too.  The "I'm so cute, look, here's my
    exposed tummy" look.
    
    Mac has several reasons for biting 1) he's easily overstimulated; pet
    him too much and watch his eyes glaze over just before he tries to
    bite, 2) he has "off limit" zones; tummy, hind feet and front free, 
    though he sometimes allows a small amount of touching on his front 
    feet, 3) he's very territorial and now and then Onyx pisses him off
    enough that he'll go after any one or anything in his path, 4)
    sometimes races through the house, stops and frantically grooms his
    tail area.  I think there's either a flea thing or a something's 
    caught in my tail fur thing that goes on here.
    
    Jan
      
    

    Bits is a bitter too but only when he has been playing hard, he gets
    all worked up, then will take a grab at the first available arm or leg.
    All we do is say NOOoooo and he backs off and looks at us with a very
    puzzled look on his face, like, what did I do now?
    
    Other than that he is a very loving kitten, he was neutered two months ago
    and Syd and I have not seen any change in the way he acts so far, he still
    plays hard, demands his boxes be cleaned, his food and water bowls are
    full at all times and we provide a lap when he needs one.
    
    
    joan 
    

    re: bunny kick - I like that.
    
    Merlin will do what Len described... lay on his back with that nice
    furry belly just begging to be petted and when the hand comes in...
    WHAM! you're stuck in...the BELLY TRAP!
    
    The problem is sometimes he likes you to pet his tummy and other times
    it's a belly trap. So, we take bets now before petting him to see which
    way it goes. Luckily no claws are used. But, as said before, it is like
    those finger puzzles, it's harder to get out once you're stuck!
    
    janetb.

    With Veto, the only way out of the "belly trap" is for my hand to play
    dead.  Even so, I usually get a few slo-mo "bunny kicks" for good
    measure before he gives up in disgust!
    
    Leslie

                      
    My Pamina LOVES to have her tummy rubbed and kissed and even
    lip-buzzed.  She rolls over and sprawls out invitingly, and who can
    resist that?
    
    
    

    
    I love that term "the belly trap"! My cats love to have
    their tummy rubbed and sometimes after they trap my hand,
    they'll lick/groom my (clean) fingers affectionately.
    
    
    Eva

    Pumpkin does what we call "making a slipper".  She'll lay flat on her
    back and she waits for you to "step" on her.  She'll wrap around
    your foot like a slipper, bunny kicking and biting furiously (well, it
    looks that way - she's very gently and rarely do I even feel a thing).
    
    I usually sweep her around the floor this way making sure that I
    support myself on the counter so I don't squish her.  Kids...
    
    Sharon
     

    
    	Hi Sharon - I have a Pumpkin too!  She just turned 1 on
    	Hallowe'en.  Cute name...  
    
    	Tom
    

  The belly trap reminds me of an old Pickles comic strip we had on the 
refrigerator a couple of years ago.  For those of you who don't get the 
strip, it's a family strip, the Pickles family.  Opal and Earl are retired
and their daughter and her son live with them, along with the kitty and dog.
The strip usually pokes gentle fun at the eccentricities in human and animal 
nature.  Hope the humor comes through without the pictures.

  The strip I'm thinking of had a picture of Muffin (the kitty) stalking a 
bag of corn chips in the first panel.  The second panel, she was on the floor
giving the bag of corn chips the "belly kick."  The third panel was just a
picture of the torn bag and corn chips everywhere.  The last panel, Opal 
(the grandmother) was standing over the mess and saying, "Who in tarnation 
disemboweled the bag of chips!  

  Sometimes when Sophie grabs us in the belly trap, it DOES feel like she's
trying to disembowel our arm.  Kelly is so gentle though, it's just a game 
to her.

				SQ

    We had a calico cat named Andromeke (I did NOT spell that right) who
    was very good at the belly trap.  She would purr and purr, keep rolling
    around right near your feet until some poor unsuspecting guest would
    bend down and rub her belly.  We had to have a squirt gun handy, because
    she was really vicious with her little trap - immediate clawing,
    biting, and bunny-kick with claws fully extended!  In hindsight it was
    NOT the best thing to do, but we would indulge her while wearing heavy
    leather gloves (fireplace gloves, probably asbestos-lined).  She got to
    'attack' and kill her prey, and we saved our skin.  
    Sarah  

    Mac does the belly trap.  He just lays there is with that cute tummy
    exposed.  It's near impossible to resist.  I know he really doesn't 
    enjoy belly rubs so I do my best to ignore it but...I just can't.  It's
    just too enticing.  I can usually get one good rub in before the trap
    closes.
    
    Jan

    
    re .26 - If my recollection of Greek mythology is still intact, it
    would be Andromache.
    
    Floyd seems to be getting more tolerant of having his tummy rubbed, and
    he's a bright little guy who understands the meaning of "NO!" even when
    faced with almost irresistable temptation, at least long enough to
    allow me to extract my hand with only modest damage.
    
    len.
    

    I'm reminded of a Calvin and Hobbes strip that dealt with "belly
    traps".  For those of you that don't know,  this is a cartoon strip
    whose main characters are a small boy named calvin and his stuffed
    tiger named hobbes. When Calvin/Hobbes are alone, Hobbes come to life
    and has many characteristics of real cats. Many different adventures,
    but some of the strips are definately "cat centered". 
    
    The one I remember (though maybe not completely correct) had several
    panels with Hobbes sleeping in various comfy cat poses, all with his
    belly exposed. Calvin comes up and puts his face fur deep into Hobbes's
    tummy. Of course, this wakes up Hobbes and there's a fracus. The last
    panel has Calvin walking away, much worse for wear, but with a big
    grin, saying: "Sometimes a furbelly is worth a little pain"
    
    How true it is!
    
    janetb.
    

    
    Oh, I have a very similar one to that on my fridge.  Calvin gives
    Hobbes lipbuzzes on his tummy, Hobbes beats him senseless, and Calvin
    staggers away saying "Their tummies shouldn't be so soft and fuzzy if
    you're not allowed to do that".
    
    I love to do that to Pamina.  She lets me, too.  Gotta start 'em young,
    I guess 8^).