Content
- Why does my cat bite me and kick me?
- My cat bites me and kicks me when I pet
- aggressive cat
- What to do when the cat bites you and kicks you
- 1. Be quiet.
- 2. Don't talk to him
- 3. Understand your cat
- 4. Let him get close to you, not the other way around.
- 5. Caress only the head and back
Anyone who has ever lived with a cat knows how extremely affectionate and a good companion it is. Yet despite this, it's certainly not the first time you've been petting your cat in silence and it starts biting you, gripping your hand tightly with its claws and kicking you furiously, like it's a fight.
This situation creates a lot of confusion in many pet owners, and makes arguments in favor of those people who believe that cats are unloving animals. However, as you will see in this PeritoAnimal article, there is an explanation for "why does my cat bite me and kick me?", and understanding this behavior will be vitally important for a harmonious coexistence with your furry.
Why does my cat bite me and kick me?
Biting, in addition to kicking, is part of natural behavior of the cat since its puppy. This behavior, which puppies exercise while playing, serves as training for when they are adults and have to hunt and defend themselves. Therefore, during this step, it is neither more nor less than a joke and therefore not aggressive behavior, as we also explained in the article Why does my cat bite me?
But what happens when this behavior goes on for a long time? It is not uncommon to see domestic cats playing or exhibiting this behavior even if they are not kittens, as play provides them with a necessary stimulus similar to what they would get from hunting in the wild. In a way, domestic cats that have been bred with humans from an early age retain many of the behaviors of a puppy., like playing or asking for food the same way they would ask their mother.
However, when the cat bites and kicks painfully and without warning, it is certainly worrisome, as many owners wonder if their cats don't like them or if they are aggressive. The truth is that, most of the time, we are facing a learning problem.
That is, when this behavior becomes problematic, it usually happens because the way to act with your cat when he was a puppy was not the most appropriate, it was not taught to inhibit the bite, it may even have been urged to play this way, because being a puppy, it's funny. However, now that the cat is an adult, the bites and kicks that used to be funny and harmless have become a problem. In addition, an aggravating factor is often the fact that the cat has been prematurely separated from the mother and siblings because, thanks to interaction with them, the puppy learns not to bite disproportionately, gradually realizing that he is hurting.
My cat bites me and kicks me when I pet
In some cases, you may be stroking your cat in a relaxed way and, without warning, it becomes uncomfortable and starts attacking you angrily, biting and scratching you with its hind legs. In this unexpected situation, your cat may have been upset because you've crossed the line as to what he can and cannot tolerate. That is, it is possible that your cat was calm and that, suddenly, you touched some part of your body he doesn't like, like the belly, as it is a very vulnerable area for them. It's worth noting that if your cat has never had this behavior before when you've touched an area of his body, but you've now noticed that he gets particularly aggressive, it could mean he's in pain (as well as if you notice other strange behavior or habit changes). In that case, it is advisable to take him to the vet.
It's also not uncommon that if your feline is at ease and wants to be alone, it will be uncomfortable if you touch it. That's why it's important to understand cats' body language, as they've probably already gave signs that you want to be left alone. otherwise if you don't respect the limits from him, the conflict can begin.
aggressive cat
Usually, the cats are not aggressive. When we're dealing with a cat that bites, kicks and hurts, it hardly means that he's aggressive. As we have seen, this is often due to lack of proper education or understanding of the subject.
However, aggressive behavior can be due to fear, especially if your cat has not been properly socialized with people since childhood and is not familiar with affection. Fear also has a strong genetic predisposition, which can be fueled by the environment in which he grew up and his experiences, such as if he has ever experienced pain through human contact (when being hugged or caressed in a sensitive area).
Finally, it would not be uncommon for a cat to behave aggressively with only one individual in the house for having had negative experiences with that person, or because the feline is attached only to its caregiver and is afraid of others.
If you feel that your cat's behavior has changed, you can check out this other article from PeritoAnimal on Aggressive Cat - causes and solutions.
What to do when the cat bites you and kicks you
Regardless of any situation presented in this article, you must understand that the cat does not carry out the aggression with malice. In other words, if he has learned badly, he shows this attitude because he doesn't know that it hurts you. And if the aggression is done because he's angry or afraid of you, he does it with the intention of getting away from him, and he'll probably leave if he's not cornered. Therefore, we must insist on NEVER scold or physically punish your cat, because besides being cruel, it will only make him afraid of you, seriously aggravating the problem.
1. Be quiet.
If your cat bites you and kicks you with its back paws, you must be patient and remain completely still. However, any move you make will only make him more excited and invite him to keep playing or accept it as a threat if he's scared.
2. Don't talk to him
Also, it will be contradictory for you to talk to him, because he may take this as a positive thing, let alone caress him. In this case, the best thing to do is to react by saying "ouch" and stop the game, this way he will learn that, every time he bites hard, the fun is over, and he will learn to play in a more proportional way as he would learn from his mother and their little dog brothers, because when they play with each other and bite too hard, they react quickly by showing pain and walking away.
It is necessary to indicate that it is not recommended to play with the cat with your hands, because it has to be all the time measuring its actions. For this reason, you should offer your cat toys with which he can perform this behavior at will and expend his energy, such as stuffed animals or sticks, so that he is no longer tempted to do it with you. Here is an article about the best cat toys.
3. Understand your cat
If your cat bites and kicks when because he can't stand being petted, because he prefers to be alone, or because he's afraid of you, it's important that the tutor knows how to interpret his body language so you can identify when he's more or less receptive. If you start by knowing his limits and avoiding excesses, you will have already taken a very important step, as many cats in the long run can become really brutish and reluctant to human contact if we don't know how to understand them and if we treat them, literally, like stuffed animals.
4. Let him get close to you, not the other way around.
Next, you will have to change your usual way of interacting with him. So, to start building trust, let your cat initiate interaction with you, so you know that when he approaches you of his own free will, he's really interested and pay attention to you. You can even try to motivate her with a reward by working on positive reinforcement in cats, as she will associate the reward with something positive and will let go of any negative experiences she may have had in the past.
5. Caress only the head and back
Finally, when petting your cat, you should always do it gently and slowly, avoiding areas that don't like to be touched, such as the belly or legs. Preferably stroke the top of his head and gradually (as you see that your cat doesn't mind human contact) move towards his back, as this is where most cats like to be stroked.
In this other PeritoAnimal article, we explain in more detail how to massage the cat.