Looking for ways to teach my cat not to nip. I have

[applegrove]

tried locking myself or him in the bathroom because the say you are supposed to make fun end as soon as it nips you. Did not work. Now I emit a high pitched scream and he does not like that at all. He goes away. I hope it works in the long term. Just an fyi for cat people out there.

[ret5hd]

1. Man, it's a long downward spiral when a cat starts to nip.

First they want it just once in a while. Then it's once a week. Then once a day. They send you to the nip store in the middle of the night, always demanding "the good stuff". If you don't go, they pad restlessly around the house meowing. Before you know it all your house looks like it has nip carpet. The only answer is 30 days at rehab...and hope it sticks.

[applegrove]

2. LOL!

[ret5hd]

3. There's no shame in your situation. There are groups for you!

[CurtEastPoint]

4. How old is the cat? I have a new kitten and for the first 3 weeks...

he would nip. I removed my hand. I would put him in another room. Keep at it and he will stop.

[applegrove]

6. Mine is almost three. He started nipping a few months ago.

[CurtEastPoint]

9. Review your environment for any changes that may have ticked him off.

New people, smells, food change, new pets, litter... could be anything.

[applegrove]

10. Oh. I have been using a new type of litter. That could be it.

[CurtEastPoint]

11. They are picky (yet lovable) little things. Change it back perhaps?

[TexasBushwhacker]

21. They are sensitive to changes

It's kind of unusual for an adult cat to start biting. My male kitten would get a little too feisty when he was playing and I would get scratched up. I started saying "Ow!" loud enough to startle him, and then he would start licking. Now I just make sure not to over stimulate him. He gets this look in his eye and holds his mouth half open like a little vampire.

[applegrove]

24. I think it was a new kind of cat litter that coincided with his nipping.

The eeek seems to work.

[angstlessk]

5. I have an old kitteh that does that...I pretend it did not happen

and coo and pet him...when I tried to 'correct' his behavior, it got worse..the cooing and petting works.

[Generic Brad]

7. Cats teach us, we don't teach them!

The cat will nip you when it pleases and you will learn to accept it.

That's how it works with cats.

[Blue Owl]

8. Some cats are wired to nip

Find out exactly what is triggering the nip, usually it's being petted in a certain way or too harsh of an approach. Then do your best to avoid those motions, with love and respect!

[Laffy Kat]

12. My little demon does more than nip..

She bites! I've tried everything. She was an only kitten to a young queen that rejected her at birth and therefore bottle-fed by humans. I adopted her when she was about seven weeks old. I think that since she was never disciplined by her kitty-mama she never learned that biting hurts. Queens teach their kits not to bite hard by biting them back. I think it's just too late for my girl and I just stop petting her or put her down when she gets out of hand. She doesn't give a shit.

[applegrove]

13. I had one who was a biter. He was missing a canine so could not puncture

my skin. I adored him anyways. This little one I have now gets tons of attention from me when he was young and I got him at 3 months old. I've tried not to play with him with my hands. He started biting his sister as soon as he was grown. I guess he thinks he is the alpha male. But me yelling in a high pitch for an extended period of time seems to have worked so far. Don't know what the neighbours think upstairs.

[hibbing]

14. Petting induced overstimulation aggression?

I'm reading this book called Catification by Jackson Galaxy who hosts My Cat From Hell. He identifies this and I have a new kitty and am trying to avoid it. Some cats just get aggressive from too much petting. I don't watch the show, but I respect this guy. The book has some awesome projects in it for cats. I've been thinking about getting another kitten, I'm afraid they will not get along, so I have been going back and forth. I know my little Sweet Pea (Humane Society named her, it is so cheesy I kept it) will start to get agitated if I pet her too long. I wish you the best of luck with this.

Peace

[applegrove]

15. Thanks. That could be it. He follows me around and solicits contact so I'll try and cut back.

[area51]

16. One possibility

Squirting water w/a sprayer bottle is a humane way to discourage him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

17. According to Jackson Galaxy, the "My Cat From Hell" guy, says absolutely not!

"It’s widely believed that spraying a cat with a squirt bottle when he’s doing something you don’t want is an acceptable and effective means of disciplining and teaching him to stop unwanted behaviors. This is totally wrong! In fact, spraying your cat with water does nothing but harm your relationship with your cat!"

More here:

http://catingtonpost.com/jackson-galaxy-says-stop-using-a-squirt-bottle-to-discipline-your-cat/

[mopinko]

18. not a cat person, but most pets

will take your turning away or looking away as a break that they dont want, and will pick up on why you are turning away. it has to be quick. carrying him around to put him somewhere else takes to long to send the message.

never hurts to teach a pet what the word "no" means. pull away, say no. turn away. 2 lessons in 1.

[applegrove]

19. I had tried to put a hand up blocking his view of my face and I of his.

He did not like that at all and get swatting or biting my hand. Read that you can't make it a punishment, make it un-fun. Little bugger.

[mopinko]

20. not saying punish, just

disengage in a non-threatening way, but also attaching a word that you can then apply to other things, too.

i know cats arent like dogs, but a lot of what i do w my dogs is just about giving them words for what they already do that could come in handy in another situation.
do the same w parrots. having issues w my grey right now about the same thing. not allowed on my shoulder if she is being nippy. gets shooshed off the shoulder, and while i am at it is use the word "off". 2fer.

[LWolf]

22. My cat bites.

Only once in 6 years has she broken the skin, and that's because the bite was not in play, but an angry, terrified "let go of me right now" bite.

I have tried a lot of things. I think what works depends on the cat. My cat gets easily over-stimulated. She'll jump up in your lap, purring, acting like she wants to be stroked. She'll enjoy it for a few seconds, and then bite. It turns into her idea of play. She is very energetic, has a dozen toys and scratching posts and a climbing thing; it's not that she doesn't get play.

So, for me, rule #1 is: don't pet her. Just let her curl up on my lap for as long as she wants, which can be until I have to get up, or 5 minutes, or 10 minutes, or whenever she feels like she has to get up and play. Just don't pet her, or offer a couple of scratches and that's it. Stop before she gets overstimulated.

Rule # 2: Either don't allow her in the bathroom with me, or make sure I'm wearing long pants. She loves to attack my ankles when I can't get up, striking like a snake.

Rule # 3: Keep squirt bottles in strategic locations around the house. Like right here at the keyboard; if I couldn't squirt her away, I couldn't type, because she'd be attacking my hands.

Finally...if she is persistent enough in her determination to play/bite, and sometimes she is, I'll gather her in a thick towel that she can't bite through and thoroughly, and roughly, rub her all over. At first she loves it. When it gets to be too much, she'll signal her desire to leap out of my arms, and she'll leave me alone for awhile.

[astral]

23. I think biting might be a nutritional deficiency, sometimes.

My cats weren't biters, but one of my mom's was, he also seemed to be one of three cats I have ever run into that gave me an allergic reaction...

Anyways, all cats love nutritional yeast, you just put it on their food, full of B-vitamins to calm them down and some minerals. Recommended for humans, too, if it agrees with you.

I'm speaking of the kind that is flakey, and bulk, not the horrendous powder that comes in a can (although for all I know cats might like that kind just fine too.) The Dr Bronners kind is that variety, but buying theirs is quite a bit more expensive though great quality.

That cat was just like described above, affection starved, but when you pet him he acted like it insulted or hurt him somehow and he bit and scratched.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

25. If biting is on account of a nutritional deficiency,

does that mean the cat wants to eat you? I think for some of them it's attention seeking. One of mine likes to wait until I am in the bathroom and enthroned, as it were; and then he bites my naked flank. Not hard, but enough to get my attention. I think he's just messing with me.

[3catwoman3]

35. While "enthroned," as you so delicately...

...phrased it, is one of ours favorite time to want to sit on my lap. Weird.

[guillaumeb]

26. I recommend duct tape.

Hire someone to put it on and hire two people to remove it.




(Note: this is meant as humor)

[GP6971]

27. A spray bottle of water

works for us. He hates it!! When he starts to nip, just show him the bottle and he bolts.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

30. See post #17. Jackson Galaxy recommends against this.

[mike_c]

28. mostly I don't worry about it too much unless it becomes aggressive....

Cats will occasionally "mouth" their humans for chemosensory reasons. This isn't really nipping, although it can be interpreted that way. They can bite down fairly hard sometimes.

Some of my Siamese cats in particular will occasional bite, but it is almost always a gentle warning. I'd much rather be nipped than scratched, so if the claws stay in, it's generally not serious. If they really want to hurt you, it will be with their claws, which is far safer for them. If I pay attention, I can usually tell when a bite is coming so I can stop doing whatever they object to.

Generally speaking, my attitude is that the kitty is always right.

[brewens]

29. I guess I've been doing it wrong. I always wrassle with my cats and they always nip! Before I got

my cat a huge cat condo, the computer chair fights were epic! I'd get up and she would take over the chair and damn well plan to hold it! I actually had leather gloves for the battle to come! I'd glove up and it was on!

Now when she's in the riled up mode, she calls me out to fight over the top cylinder of her condo. There is no way she's not having fun.

[braddy]

31. A high pitched scream? then I'm out of luck.

[politicat]

32. Some cats react very badly to certain scents on their humans. Bleach especially

But other scents can trigger it. I had one who would get aggressive and nip my fingers after I got home from a work shift but would mostly calm after I had a shower. She reacted to the sanitizer solution on my hands, which is a 5% bleach solution. Gods forbid I had to bleach laundry; she attacked those clothes.

They have extremely sensitive noses.

[Bayard]

33. I have an older cat that will bite

But its very gentle, we call it "love bites". She is also a major stropper (Strope--where they kneed you the way they did to get milk from their moms). She is just VERY affectionate.

[Dismade]

34. Nipping can often just be play.

They don't realize that you aren't protected by fur like their litter mates.

Or it can be a sign of stress or irritation.

The best solution is a spray or sprinkle of cold water. Keep a spay bottle handy andgive a light spritz in the face accompanied by a firm but calm "NO" command. Use the same command each time, they can learn simple language.

Screaming or shrieking is a BIG mistake. It will make them fearful and they'll either avoid you or, frequently, become more aggressive.

Try not to pull your hand away, the fangs are curved and you can cause a serious injury to yourself if you react too quickly or strongly.

Be patient.