Cat Health: Biting Cat

Cat Biting Problems

Having a pet cat, or more than one pet cat, is a common occurrence in many homes everywhere. Cats make great pets for families and single people alike by providing companionship and entertainment to their owners. As with any pet, owning a cat is not without its issues from time to time. One of the common issues of owning a cat is often cat biting. Cat biting is unacceptable and can be dangerous in that it is painful and germ-laden. Cats bite for various reasons and there are ways to deal with it effectively.

Cat biting happens when the cat, for whatever reason, is not happy with the situation at hand. This can be caused by a variety of factors, sometimes even more than one factor at a time. The biting might be intentional or it could also be unintentional, depending upon the situation. There are several common reasons why cats that are tame family pets might bite:

• Play aggression - batting, pawing and biting are part of normal cat play with other cats. Therefore it is natural for a cat to bat, paw and attempt to bite in aggressive play with people if that play escalates and causes overstimulation of the cat. Winding up the cat in intensive play easily over stimulates them and can lead to undesirable behaviors such as biting. The way to deal with this is to simply not allow that level of rough play. If the cat instigates such, simply refuse to engage or remove the cat to a quieter space to calm down.
• Fear - cats will bite when they are afraid. A sudden loud noise can startle the animal and cause them to react by biting the person nearest to them. Cats will blame their fear on whoever is closest if they are not immediately aware of where the threat is coming from. Strange smells can also beget fear in cats.
• Force - forcing a cat to do something against his or her will can also lead to biting, understandably so. Never force a cat to be held or petted if they are clearly finished with the interaction or not in the mood at the moment. If you must force your cat to do something, such as be put into a carrier for a vet visit, take appropriate restraining actions such as wrapping the cat in a beach towel.

Cat biting typically has a cause that can be dealt with. If a cause such as fear or overly aggressive play is not evident, a visit to the vet might be necessary in order to determine if the cat suffers from an illness. Finding the cause of the cat biting is the key before measures can be taken to fix the problem and the pet can be enjoyable again.