Training a Cat Not to Bite

My kitten not only bites me for attention, but if he is upset with me he will bite me. Thanks for your other comments on biting for attention. Any help here? He is a 9 month old, sweet, neutered male, otherwise.
Thanks again.

By Frankie

Answers: Training a Cat Not to Bite

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By 03/21/2011

I have used a spray bottle of water to train my cats not to scratch, fight, etc and I think it would work as well for biting, with a strong NO! A black cat who adopted us around Halloween last year has a bad habit of biting and I smack him softly with a strong No! and he seems to be getting the idea. He is just playing but bites too hard.
Pat

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Training a Cat Not to Bite

We have a 2-1/2 old female rescued cat that will attack and bite my 9 year old daughter. The cat only attacks and bites her, no one else in the family. When my daughter walks through the house, the cat will attack her legs and when she is sitting on the floor, the cat will bite her, sometimes really hard for no reason. Can anyone explain why the cat does this? She gets a lot of exercise by chasing strings and laser lights around the house. So, why does she do this?

By Linda

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By Anonymous 12/05/2011

Spraying with water and/or sternly saying 'no' (without yelling) is a good idea to stop the behavior. I'll tell you that my Rachel gives these sort of love bites once in awhile to be playful or to get attention and it doesn't mean it as an attack. She's just trying to tell me she wants my attention. Actually, with Rachel sternly saying 'ouch, that hurt' and then giving her a sincere slow stroking pet makes more of an impression with her. Just like with people some things work better than others ;-)

Training a Cat Not to Bite

I just got a 5 month old male cat this week. The people I got him from said that he would bite your ear. It is not just the ear he bites how do I keep him from biting?

Raylene

RE: Training a Cat Not to Bite

Here's what has worked; keep a squirt-spray bottle with you at all times. Mine came from the section for small toiletry items used in taking short trips. This one has an adjustable nozzle for a thin stream or wide spray. See which one your cat hates the worst. Use that one. An older kitten moved in here within the past year. It's taken about 6-8 months for this stubborn kitty to learn what he's not supposed to do. When he does it, he gets squirted, plain 'n simple. Some How-To websites suggest you aim for their nose or between the eyes; just aim for it's head or body and spray. One bottle has straight water, another one has some white vinegar in it. Squirted with the latter gets him moving faster. Now he responds quickly even to a gentle spray, with the nozzle fully wide. When he doesn't, it's back to the squirt. All that's hurt is his pride and he'll get over it, eventually. (08/14/2005)

By gator10tx

RE: Training a Cat Not to Bite

The squirt bottle method does work eventually. Cats have their own pace, lol. Please be careful with the amount of white vinegar added to the squirt water, and not to get it into the cat's eyes. It does get a quicker response than plain water. Also, if you catch the cat doing something "bad" you can put a cloth dampened in water/vinegar mix over his nose for a few seconds. While this sounds cruel, if done carefully, (avoid eyes) it teaches the cat to associate the "bad" behavior with the awful vinegar, thus stopping the behavior. (08/15/2005)

By kidsNclutter

RE: Training a Cat Not to Bite

Before Felix went to kitty heaven, I tried the squirt bottle, rolled up newspaper, and finally I put a few coins in a soda pop can and sealed the can and would shake it at him when he did something wrong. He would run and hide when he saw me have the can in my hand or if I would shake it at him. Cats don't like the sound. Good luck. (08/15/2005)

By Allenafd5