Question:
I am the owner of an 8-month-old male kitten who loves to bite. He will be very loving then, all of a sudden, he will attack. I don't do anything to provoke these attacks. I often think he does this for attention, even though it is negative attention that he gets. He is a very smart cat -- he knows what "no" and "no bite" mean, so I don't understand why this behavior continues.I've tried to ignore him when he does this. I've also tried squirting him with a water bottle and making loud, startling noises. None of these methods have done any good. I am at my wits' end, and need to know if this behavior can be changed.Please help. I love my cat (he is sweet most of the time) and I don't want to have to get rid of him, but I'm afraid I may have to if this doesn't stop.
L.H., Las Vegas, NV Oct 30, 2005
Answer:
You didn't mention ever playing with your cat, or how and when he plays. You may be mistaking his "attack" behavior as aggression when all he wants is to engage in rough-and-tumble play with you. Cats learn to be gentle through this kind of play-fighting. When they bite or scratch another cat too hard, they get reprimanded and rebuffed. They also have fun playing together -- chasing, ambushing, wrestling, and giving each other inhibited bites and scratches, and sometimes emitting loud yowls and giving back-arched "Halloween cat" displays of mock terror and rage. In my bachelor days I used to play-stalk my young cat at night, and his sport was to hide, then leap out from behind furniture in full back-arched display, crab-walk toward me, hiss, and leap onto my back and gently bite my ear lobe. Then he would purr in my ear, jump down and start the game all over again.Let your cat wrestle with a stuffed toy that you animate by pulling a string tied to it. Also consider getting another cat a few months younger as
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