How Do We Stop The Biting?

We adopted our 5 rear old female tabby from a shelter about a year ago. She seems to have been abused in her prior surroundings due to her jumpy nervous disposition. As time went on she calmed down and became extremely affectionate. She cuddles and purrs and is extremely loveable. The problem is when your hand gets close to her face to pet her - she'll bite and run away. These are not love bites. When we first got her, the bites would occasionally break the skin. They don't break the skin anymore but they are extremely annoying. If she is not facing you, you can rub her chin, her neck etc. (all from behind) and she loves it. But the moment you try it from the front, her pupils get large and you know what's coming. We love her very much and won't let the biting get in the way of loving and caring for her. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

29 Oct 1996 08:42:29 +0000 writes: :> :>We adopted our 5 rear old female tabby from a shelter about a year ago. :>She seems to have been abused in her prior surroundings due to her jumpy :>nervous disposition. As time went on she calmed down and became :>extremely affectionate. She cuddles and purrs and is extremely loveable. :>The problem is when your hand gets close to her face to pet her - she'll :>bite and run away. These are not love bites. When we first got her, the :>bites would occasionally break the skin. They don't break the skin :>anymore but they are extremely annoying. If she is not facing you, you :>can rub her chin, her neck etc. (all from behind) and she loves it. But :>the moment you try it from the front, her pupils get large and you know :>what's coming. We love her very much and won't let the biting get in the :>way of loving and caring for her. Any suggestions would be appreciated. :>Bernie

anything to warrant her shying away from a direct approach, yet she does. And she nips, sometimes hard, when you pet from a head on direction. We've come to accept it as part of her idiosyncracies (we humans have them too) and accomdate her dislike of face on petting. So we reach out from the side and from behind. Don't assume your cat's reaction is from an abusive past, it could merely be her preference and dislike of objects larger than her head approaching head on.

Oops, I have to stop, my cat just fetched her favorite stick and plopped it on my feet so I can play with her.

No, she's done it so you *must* play with her.

To the original poster,

I don't think you will ever be able to stop your cat biting. You seem to have found strategies to avoid it as much as possible. It is still possible she will stop of her own accord - cat personalities change and grow throughout their lives, same as for humans. In the meantime, feel happy she has a home where she is loved and cared for, and has no *need* to bite.