i just rescued a cat (about a year and a half old, they tell me) from a shelter about a week and a half ago. this is my first cat, and i was really exctied for the prospect of having a pet around. when i went to the shelter, he chose me: he came right up to the door of the cage, rubbed up against my hand, and when i opened the door, he jumped right out onto my lab and kissed my nose -- he didn't want to leave. so i had to take him home right there. i was so happy with him...
well, now a week later, i am concerned. he can be the most loving, cuddly, purring cat ever, but every so often, he'll go a little nuts and attack my hands - scratching and biting them, hard! i have tried the 'no!' thing, and the pennies in a can, but it doesn't seem to stop the behavior for more than a few seconds. he has more toys than you can imagine, and an awesome scratching post that i built myself that he absolutely loves, but no amount of playing with him or anything else seems to stop him from going after my hands.
does anyone have any ideas why he would be doing this? or any suggestions on how to stop him?
thanks!
help with biting
Re: help with biting
Sounds like at some point, he's been taught that hands are toys. We had some similar problems with our kitten. We got her when she was like 5 weeks old, and at the time, her biting and playing with our hands was cute, but then she got bigger . . . she got so rough that she was really hurting us.
We decided that we needed to tame her down a little . . . so when she latches onto our hands now, we get her loose, and either get away from her or put her down and ignore her, or GO AND GET HER TOYS for her. If she thinks that she can play with us, she won't bother her toys. We have to put them in front of her. She's really not as wild anymore. The less that you're rough with them, the less they'll be rough with you.
And a tip for getting loose once they latch on . . . if you pull away from their grips, they'll latch on harder (instinct). Push toward them with your hand and they let go, they have no control and it confuses them.
Good luck!
We decided that we needed to tame her down a little . . . so when she latches onto our hands now, we get her loose, and either get away from her or put her down and ignore her, or GO AND GET HER TOYS for her. If she thinks that she can play with us, she won't bother her toys. We have to put them in front of her. She's really not as wild anymore. The less that you're rough with them, the less they'll be rough with you.
And a tip for getting loose once they latch on . . . if you pull away from their grips, they'll latch on harder (instinct). Push toward them with your hand and they let go, they have no control and it confuses them.
Good luck!
christa
"Dogs have owners, cats have staff." - Unknown
"Dogs have owners, cats have staff." - Unknown