Cats are a host of virtues. They are very intelligent animals, and, in general, very affectionate. However, they can present unpleasant behaviors, such as the bites and scratches with which certain kittens treat us while we are playing with them.
Although many cat keepers tolerate these affectionate bites, we must not forget that this behavior can lead to uncomfortable situations with visitors, even more so if children are involved. Therefore, in this article on our site, we give you some tips to teach a cat not to bite
Why does my cat bite?
In this article we will focus on the bites provided during the game, which are a product of the excitement that cats experience at this time. This phenomenon is also known as game aggressiveness.
However, cats can exhibit aggressive behavior towards people that includes biting for other reasons We will briefly review these situations below, to help you distinguish aggressive gaming from other behavior problems. Find out below why cats bite to learn how to teach a cat not to bite:
- Organic causes: There are diseases that can trigger aggressive behavior in felines, such as feline immunodeficiency virus or hyperthyroidism, for example. It is advisable to visit a veterinarian to rule out processes of this type before starting to treat this behavior as a behavioral problem.
- Fear: Cats can sometimes react aggressively when they feel threatened. In these cases, cats tend to adopt a clearly defensive posture, standing on their side, arching their backs and raising their hair on end. Fear can develop during the puppy cat's socialization stage, but they can also acquire fears in their adult stage, due to traumatic experiences, for example.
- Game aggressiveness: This is the one we will talk about in this article, and it is clearly different from the previous cases because the cat bites while he is playing with us, or when he tries to entice us to play and does not show any other signs of aggression. It usually occurs in cats that are not otherwise aggressive or fearful, and do not react violently in those situations.
- Other causes of aggressiveness: Premature adoption of the cat, lack of attention from caregivers or education can also be responsible for feline aggressiveness, without forgetting the character of each individual.
Here are some tips on how to teach a kitten not to bite.
How to teach a baby cat not to bite?
As with most behavior problems, best results are achieved if the problem is corrected early, when the cat is a puppy. Knowing how to train a small cat is not always easy and requires time and a lot of patience.
When they are small, cats are even more playful than in adulthood, and it is also very fun to play with them. On the other hand, at this stage, their bites and scratches are less painful than those of adult cats.
In any case, even if we enjoy the game and it doesn't hurt us, we must be aware that if we don't correct the problem now it will be more complicated to fix later. How to teach a cat not to bite or scratch? It is advisable to cut the game when the kitten bites or scratches us, using any of the methods described below, and never reward or reinforce this behavior
How to prevent my cat from biting?
There are several ways to stop this behavior, however, some are more effective and indicated than others. If you want to know how to teach an adult cat not to bite or what to do if your 2-month-old cat bites a lot, keep reading:
Stop playing with him when he bites or scratches us
The best technique, as usually happens, is the simplest: stop playing with him when he bites or scratches us. To do this, simply hide your hands, for example in your pockets, and ignore him. For a playful cat, ending the game is a severe enough punishment and nothing more is usually necessary.
Reinforce calm play behaviors
Converting a nervous and aggressive game into another relaxed and less harmful is the goal to be pursued. It is important to understand that it may take time to teach and for the cat to understand correctly.
Rewarding him is also very simple and positive. For this we must play with the cat and pay attention to it when it is relaxed, not to bites. Through voice, caresses or a tasty treat we can reinforce calm and positive play behaviors, something that helps them remember better. Through positive reinforcement, the cat is more likely to understand and repeat a behavior.
Avoid physical punishment
Many people also wonder how to scold a cat when it bites. However, physical punishments are highly discouraged, since, in addition to being unpleasant, they are not effective and can be very harmful and can aggravate the behavior.
Grasping a cat by the skin of the neck
As mothers do with their puppies, it's a good way to get a cat to relax. They even sell special tweezers, which do not harm the skin of the animal, which are used for this purpose. However, if your cat is not used to this type of exercise or is already an adult, we do not recommend applying this method.
Use voice
Some people advise emit a high-pitched cry or blow a whistle when the cat performs this behavior, on the grounds that it is a measure that It resembles those that the mother adopts when her kittens bite her, which is none other than giving a scream. Although in principle it is not contraindicated, if these techniques are used they must be done carefully and without abusing them, since they could increase the animal's stress, excitement and nervousness.
Just give a beep or a cry of pain just as the cat bites, without starting to scream or blow the whistle incessantly, getting on the cat's nerves, and, incidentally, to the neighbours.
Play together every day
For this it is advisable, first of all, not to neglect the entertainment of the pussycat, and if time permits, it is highly recommended to dedicate some time every day to play with the animal,between ten and twenty minutes.
It may be interesting to use "fishing rod" type toys or similar to prevent it from hurting us directly, in addition, In this way we can reinforce it whenever we want. It is also a good idea to provide the animal with suitable toys to improve its well-being, such as the kong or intelligence toys.
Ambient
As an extra trick, we can make sure to improve the environmental enrichment of the home and even make use of synthetic pheromones.
