Anyone have advice for a biting cat?

LOl, thankfully not one of my brood of 9, but my neighbors, who have only one cat(lucky SOB's) :lol:, have asked me if I knew how to train their 1 year old to stop nipping at their feet and arms etc, even when he claims to want to be playful. He is declawed and I am wondering if that has some correlation to it..he will roll over as if wanting you to rub his belly but then he goes to bite you, not in hiss mode, but enough to sometimes cut the skin. I myself while cat sitting him a few weeks ago have tried the finger pop to the snout trick with a stern NO but that seems to be of no help. I suggested this method in repetition might eventually help but they say so far it has not. He even sometimes tries to bite when you go to pick him up.
Anyone with better ideas welcome to chime in.
UPDATE ON MY JUNO cat I took in last month with the Upper respiratoy..she's doing well altho still sometimes gets runny eyes(clear fluid), not sure why this is persisting..., very friendly,playful, enjoys the quarantine room sometimes versus mingling with the others, which now is no longer as much the hissfest it was when I first allowed her with the others.

 

I love your kitty names - Mayo, Juno, Augusto. He, he. Glad to hear that Juno is doing well. Rene and Pumpkin gets a lot of clear running eyes as well. It's probably from regular household allergies. As for your neighbors nipping, don't rub its belly or pick him up. When he's in a biting mood, use toys to distract him?

 

hi disneeworld...well...max does that too...i think it is age...but then it becomes habit. i keep the water bottle right next to me...i try to stay away from getting too stern with him, because he would get more aggressive when i sternly said "NO!" it seemed to provoke him more. :mrgreen: so...i use a go between, like his mouse, the tv changer, the telephone...something to distract him.

but....he still gets overstimulated..so he ultimately goes to time out!! :m39: and he goes to time out about four or five times a day. :m13: then he settles down and is very loving. i have teeth marks all over my hands. but...i dont really worry about it. he is not a mean cat...just gets worked up.

the water might work really well. it seems to calm max. then right after i spray him, i pet him while he is calm... :m10: if he starts to rev...i spray him again, then pet him. so he can see that i am just trying to love him...

works for me at least...but all cats are different. good luck to your neighbor!! :m29:

 

the declawing properly has a lot to do with it. My declawed Tilly (done by her former owner) was a biter when we first got her...we just ignored her when she started to bite. And slap...that cat could slap a slap hard enough to make a sound. She enjoyed sitting up high and waiting for my son (then 10) to walk by and she'd slap him upside the head - now Tilly is his favorite cat.

But we would walk away from her after giving her a stern "no". It took awhile but she learned that the attention stopped when she started to bite. She still does this once in awhile...

 

Thanks for the advice and comments, will pass along...... :y_the_best:

 

Stuffed Animal

Sounds like this cat wants to play aggresivly but doesn't have an outlet. Find a stuffed animal just a bit smaller than the cat. They especially like things that have areas thin enough to get thier mouth around.

Whenever the cat starts biting get the toy in there. When he does that "I'm on my back, rub my belly so I can close up like a clam and chew your hand off game" drop the stuffed animal onto his belly. When hes being playful or aggressive taunt him with the toy. He'll get mad at attack it, bite it, wretsle with it. He's wrestle with it after several months of this he'll start going to the toy to bite and wrestle.

I did this and now Footsie's duck is well used and well worn. It takes a while, but it does work. He carries it around in his mouth. He'll play fetch with it if he's in the mood. He bathes it. But most of all he "kills" it.

 

When cats are playing, they do bite...nip whatever you want to call it. Having had the cat's claws taken out may have something to do with the aggression.
I've never had my cats declawed, but I have always allowed my kitties to play bite my hand and arm. Hunter used to do it hard...and just by way of me taking my arm aways, saying "NO" and then ignoring him for a moment has taught him not to bite hard when he is playing. He actually had now gotten to the point that if he starts to play bite, he'll then lick me instead, Kinda like he things "Hey, that's mommy, I don't want to bite her".

Water bottles and a quick loud "NO" I think are helpful, also ignoring the cat when they are being bad and then overly praising them when they do something really good, like licking instead of biting.

 

:m30:
I love my Stewart, but he can play rough. He can go crazy and start biting when he plays. He doesnt seem to like his belly rubbed because he will start biting if you do it to him, altho he will roll over and act like he wants you to rub his tummy. When kittens play together they always seem to bite, maybe its jsut the kitties way of playing with us like a fellow cat. :?: who knows :?:
:m33: