Cat guardians know that a purring cat usually indicates a content cat – love that sound – especially when you’re enjoying quality time petting your cat. But when I’m petting my cat –
why does my cat bite me?
petting a cat photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016
The first thing to rule out is pain or sensitivity when your cat is touched in a particular place on his/her body. A visit to your cat’s vet will determine that there is no skin condition, injury or internal disease making your cat understandably react not to pleasure but pain when being petted.
petting a cat photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016
OK, so you’re cat is healthy – yay! But still, why is my cat biting me? We’re having a relaxing bonding moment, he’s purring, I’m petting him behind his ear, which he always likes – then suddenly chomp. We call them love bites, which takes us by surprise, but usually doesn’t really hurt; our cats aren’t trying to hurt us, and they know how to not break the skin. These love bites are just a way for them to communicate that they’ve had enough, it’s their way of saying “thanks, but stop NOW – it’s starting to annoy me.” Experts on cat behavior refer to these love bites as `petting induced aggression‘.
And that means your cat has been telling you that it’s time for you to stop. But you haven’t been paying attention.
petting a cat – flattened ears photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016
This is how your cat has been telling you:
here are body language indicators for aggressive behavior in cats
- Stops purring
- Tail lashing
- Tail thumping
- Skin twitching
- Shifting body position
- Meowing
- Growling
- Ears in airplane mode or even flattened against the head
cat looking at my hand photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016
- Cat looking towards your hand
- Dilated pupils
So if you haven’t been listening to you cat, it’s love bite time!
status induced aggression photo by shari smith dunaif © 2016
Another cat behaviorist term is `status induced aggression‘. This can happen when your cat needs to regain control of your petting session, meaning they are the ones who decide how long they want to be petted, not us.
This, we should all know by now, is typical cat behavior.
Cats rule!
Literally.
