Cats may not chew their food, but they certainly do seem to chew a lot of things besides.
Take plastic, for instance. A lot of cats really like to gnaw and chomp on a variety of things made of plastic – from plastic shopping bags to pen butts, even plastic toys sometimes end up being used for chewing and gnawing.
Then there’s that common, but confusing behaviour where some cats lick then bite their owners, or do the same in reverse.
It’s similar to purring insofar as there isn’t one simple explanation behind it, since cats can perform this same action, but by it mean many different things.
The reason adult cats and young kittens bite, chew, nibble, and gnaw on human fingers is also the same.
There are a variety of reasons that explain away why cats choose to nibble or nip their humans’ digits.
While it may be a bit of a mystery knowing how to interpret your particular cat’s behaviour at first, there are simple ways of figuring out why your cat – in the moment – is choosing to give you a little nibble or bite, then simple ways to change this behaviour in case you’d prefer it to stop.
Some cats will bite and/or nibble fingers for multiple reasons, others for the same one over and over, and many adult cats (especially if trained as kittens not to bite) will pretty near never do it at all.
Here are the explanations behind why cats sometimes bite or chew their owners’ fingers, and how to test which reason is leading your cat to chomp.
Why Adult Cats & Kittens Chew, Bite, Nibble, & Gnaw on Fingers
1. Your cat enjoys the sensation of chewing your fingers.
As I mentioned, a lot of cats really like the sensation of chewing plastic, and who can blame them when chewing on the butt of a pen or the back of a pencil is pretty enjoyable for a large number of humans, too?
When it comes to nibbling on our soft, fleshy fingers, it would make a lot of sense that this sensation is likely one many cats would enjoy.
How to tell if this explains your cat’s chewing:
Right when your cat starts nibbling on your fingers, give your kitty a nice little chew thing to nibble on instead.
There are chew toys like the Petstages Breath Mint and chew sticks made out of Matatabi/Silver Vine twigs out there, and those are perfect to do this with.
If you hand over a chew toy, yet your feline continues to gnaw away at your fingertips, especially if it’s more than a quick bite, chances are reasonably good your kitty’s a chompin’ because it feels nice to gnaw on your fingers in particular.
Can I change this?
Need to train your cat to stop chewing on you? Shout, “No!” or “Ow!” – immediately take away your hand, showing your cat you’re in pain visibly when he/she bites.
This way your cat will understand his or her action is causing physical harm, and isn’t just an okay-for-you, okay-for-them kinda deal.
Once you shout “No!” to express your physical pain, try to replace the bad, undesirable habit of biting your fingers with a good habit – gnawing or chewing on cat toys.
You can do this by immediately handing over a chew toy (here’s a bigger list of options).
Your cat should begin to make the connection that chewing is not the problem – it’s chewing your fingers or essentially, what he or she is chewing, that’s the issue at hand.
Hopefully, he or she will begin to turn to the chew toys on the floor on his or her own the next time the urge comes up, rather than going straight to your hands for a gnaw or nibble.
2. Your kitten is teething.
Kittens absolutely do teethe, just like tiny humans. We all know how nice it feels for a baby who’s in pain due to teething to chew on a pacifier when the pain gets really bad.
If your kitten’s chomping away at your fingers, there’s a good chance your fingers are acting in place of a binky.
How to tell if this explains your cat’s gnawing:
If your kitten is getting quite busy biting at things all over the place, and just so happens to use your fingers as one of the things he or she gnaws on when it’s available – chances are pretty darn high your kitten’s hankering to bite is plainly down to teething.
Have a baby’s pacifier lying around the house? Try offering it up to your kitten.
Have a piece of cardboard or some other okay-to-bite object lying around that you know your cat likes to chew on (maybe as evidenced by bite marks that exist already?).
Offer that up, and if your cat is happy to chomp away at any other object besides your fingers, you’re really likely to have a teething kitten on your hands.
Can I change this?
Just like with cats who enjoy chewing – to train your cat to teethe on appropriate objects, grab a chew/teething toy or two, preferably one in every room your cat spends a lot of time in.
Them, whenever your cat gives you a little chomp on a finger, shout “No!” or “Outch!” and pull your hand away to show you’re hurt.
Finally, hand over the nearest chew or teething toy so that your kitten learns – it’s perfectly fine to chew and bite – just not on your finger!
A few repetitions of this process and your teething kitten’s sure to get the picture: bite the toy, not mom or dad.
In my experience, kittens aren’t all that fussy about which toys you choose to hand over for them to nibble on.
My kitten, Cleo’s, two favourites were probably the KONG Hugga Wubba (Cleo loved grabbing hold of the legs and bunny kicking them, then gnawing away) and the Kong Bobble Mouse Cat Toy (she loved biting on the ears of this thing, especially if I held up the ears to her mouth).
Though being honest, I’m sure even if I grabbed a bit of cardboard or a random catnip toy, it would have done the trick.
She really loved playing with the Kong Kitten Kickeroo as well, and would grab it, hold it, and simultaneously bite and kick it if I held it up to her body.
Again – just based on my experience – it does take a while longer for kittens to learn to stop bad behaviours than adult cats, probably because they’re so young, but also likely because they have so much energy, and they need to be in a calm state of mind (in my opinion) for them to be able to actually choose their behaviour instead of acting on instinct and hyperactivity alone.
Be patient. I know how frustrating it can be with kittens who are ridiculously high energy.
Check out these top kitten toys and these excellent high energy cat exercise toys to play with your cat with if he or she is really hyper (these get out energy better than others since they require a lot of physical movement to play with).
These are toys like Go-Cat Da Bird feather rods and Cat Dancer Rainbow Cat Charmer. They’re nowhere near expensive and they’re really good for making the most of playtime with your cat.
They also include toys like the Petstages Tower of Tracks and the Ethical Pet Cat Spring Toys, two of Cleo’s favourites which are fantastic options to always have around because they don’t require human intervention to play with – cats can play with them on their own, getting some of that energy out without your help needed.
Looking for more like these? Check out this massive list of home alone toys cats can play with on their own.
3. Your cat can’t resist a nibble when your fingers smell of food.
Now, you may think your fingers no longer smell of chicken or tuna just after you washed them, but your cat may know better.
Cats have a very strong sense of smell and many can’t resist lusting after a bite even if the faintest of food smells lingers.
How to tell if this explains your cat’s chomp:
If the only time your cat takes a nibble on your fingers is after you’ve cooked or eaten, there’s a strong chance your cat’s simply unable to resist a bite whenever you smell edible.
Can I change this?
It may be a good idea to grab a scented hand soap for situations such as these.
While you may not be able to get the smell of tuna completely off your hands in a wash, covering that smell up with the scent of lavender – or even better – the smell of citrus like orange, mandarin, or tangerine, which cats typically dread – may be enough to keep kitty off your digits after you’ve eaten an appetizing meal.
While I don’t have a cat who bites or nibbles my fingers all that often, one of my cats, Bjorn, actually went so far as to lick the bar of soap we had in the bathroom – we’re guessing because it tasted like animal fat, which he’d obviously love the taste of.
Our resolution was to switch to liquid hand soap that’s lavender scented, but then after some time, we found a strong-smelling orange scented bar soap and tested him by having him take a whiff before leaving him out.
Definitely a no go – full on backed away from the smell, so we left it out and haven’t had the problem since.
This is why I think the strong smell of citrus scented soaps might work out well enough to cover up food smells to the point where kitties don’t want to take a bite out of your finger, even after you’ve handled some strong-smelling, hard-to-completely-get-off-your-hands-type-smell, delicious food – like chicken wings!
4. Your cat is giving you a love bite – showing affection.
You ever take a look at a cute, chubby baby’s adorable rounded cheeks and want to give them a gentle little pinch or bite?
Apparently this is whole shebang of wanting to bite cute things is a completely normal psychological phenomenon called “social biting” – and as I’m sure you’ve guessed – it’s common amongst humans and animals.
It’s not really like biting to eat at all. It’s more or less a sassy show of trustworthiness:
The researchers think the monkeys may be testing their social bonds, sending the message, “I’m so trustworthy, you can stick your finger in my mouth.”
Pretty hilarious message if you think about it!
How to tell if this explains your cat’s nibble:
If you offer your cat a chew toy after a love bite and he or she doesn’t seem to be interested in chewing or nibbling it, you probably just have a love biter on your hands.
Other ways of telling if this is your cat? If kitty only seems to give you a nip when you’re snuggling, cuddling, being affectionate, and if he or she’s being petted.
Bonus points if your cat is also indicating he or she wants to continue to be petted, because that rules out the next option (#5).
Can I change this?
If your cat’s being aggressive about his or her love bites, or you want to nip this habit in the bud because you’re worried about escalation, you may want to use the word “Outch!” then dramatically take away your hand after a love bite.
Your cat should begin to understand that he or she is hurting you, even with a gentle nip, and that you’re not a fan. Your cat is likely to quickly learn not to bite as a sign of affection anymore.
You can definitely escalate to using the word “No!” with an especially loud voice if you need to, especially if the love bite happens to really hurt.
5. Your cat is giving you a warning bite – because of over-stimulation.
Cats get overstimulated relatively easily if you’re petting them intensively or aggressively.
As much as they may love their cat massages, they still need a break from back rubs and petting every once in a while.
If your cat feels like he or she needs a break from the petting, and you haven’t picked up on that yourself, he or she’s likely to give a gentle bite to tell you to stop.
If you continue to pet past this, you might get a harder bite.
How else could they explain the urgency? Typically, by walking away. So if you see this pattern often, chances are they’re give you a little chomp to communicate they need a break.
How to tell if this explains your cat’s nip:
If your cat gave you a nip while you happened to be petting him or her, then immediately appeared to be done with cuddle time, chances are very high your cat was telling you, “Okay, I need a break now.”
Remember your cat may very well have loved the petting up until that point, but sometimes the physical affection gets to a point where it’s too much for cats, which is why you should never take a warning bite as an insult or any sort of indication your cat didn’t enjoy the snuggles prior to the bite.
Can I change this?
If you want your cat to stop giving you warning bites, say “Outch!” or “No!” loudly, take away your hand, and look very displeased.
Your cat will likely try other ways to show you he or she’s had enough, like showing you his or her teeth instead of giving a full on bite.
Be sure to look out for signs your cat’s getting a bit too overstimulated, so you’ll be able to slow down or stop cuddle sessions before your cat even needs to tell you he or she’s had enough.
Have tips or advice on how to tell if a cat is beginning to be overstimulated? Please leave them in the comments below!
6. Your cat is asking you to play.
Sometimes cats just wanna have fun. Cats may sleep for the vast majority of the day, but their laziness, followed by a seemingly paradoxical short burst of crazy high, intensive energy, are a completely healthy part of their natural prey drive and hunting behaviour.
Essentially, felines hunt in bursts, as you’re likely to have noticed watching documentaries about lions on Discovery Channel as a kid.
They’ll sleep and laze about all day, then when they need to hunt, BAM – massive energy, high jumps, fast sprints – all to catch their prey and snag their grub in one massive feat of agility.
How to tell if this explains your cat’s bite:
If your cat bites then suddenly runs away from you – or looks like a hyperactive child ready to torment you until you’re happy to play – chances are real good your cat’s intention was to say, “Okay, I’m ready – play with me!”
Need another test? Try playing with your cat right after he or she bites. If your cat very quickly engages, you almost certainly have a kitty who’s using bites to tell you it’s time to play.
Can I change this?
Not pleased about your cat’s nips when he or she demands playtime? Say “No!” and take away your hand when your cat gives a bite.
Your kitty’s likely to try different ways of getting your attention.
My Avery will whine or will give me a swift “tap” then sprint away like a madman to tell me he’s ready to have some fun.
Let me know if your cat does something different, as it’d be interesting to learn a bunch of ways other cats have to communicate they’re ready to play.
Make sure you play with your cat regularly so their aggression levels don’t rise.
Cats need to get their energy out or it ends up building up, which can lead to behavioural issues like consistent meowing or destructive scratching, amongst many other frustrating behaviours.
The best way to help your cat get energy out? Using high-intensity exercise toys, in regular intervals.
You should be playing with your cat as often as he or she needs – for most cats, this is around 20-30 minutes a day, broken up into as many little play sessions as you or your cat prefers.
You can also try grabbing a slew of toys cats can play with by themselves to scatter around the house in case your cat gets a burst of energy and you don’t happen to be around or your cat is happy to play on his or her own.
Cat springs and electronic sound cat toys are great for that kind of thing – as they’re highly engaging in the way they move or sound.
Your Thoughts on Cats Chewing & Biting Fingers?
Has your cat ever chewed or bit your finger? How often did it happen? Did you ever figure out why your cat did this?
Which possibilities do you think are the most common amongst cats? Which do you think are the least frequent to explain away finger bites?
Love to hear any and all thoughts you have on the topic down below!
Hi
My 1 1/2 year old Ginger boy just started licking my left hand, he nibbles a little bit. He does use his teeth when he nibbles, just kinda gums me. I’m thrilled he is showing me more affection. I adopted him and his sister as babies. The person who took in their pregnant Mom kept them confined the Mom and her kittens in the basement. Because of that, both of them are very skittish. They are very spoiled and love me. They will get on my lap for loving, especially the girl, Tessie. But, the boy, Buddy will not get on my lap. He just lays beside me on my chair. Well he has started getting my lap now. But, only when I’m still in bed. And now licks and nibbles(a little) also only while I’m still in bed. So, I see this as a good sign that he may be getting closer to me. I should mention he is fixed.
My male cat’s best friend (another male) died a month ago, they basically slept curled up together every day. Up until today he has kept himself to himself (he did see his dead friend) but I could see that he is missing his friend. Today he got onto my bed and started licking and biting my hands and fingers, just the way he would groom his departed friend.
I feel so sad for him.
i have a 6 year old cat that my oldest daughter was her mom( cat was abused pretty much from birth) had the end of her tailo broken as a small kitten. and since her human mom has grown up and left home and left her with us, she has taken to me her grampa.lol… she does like to chew on my fingers and has little to with just food as she will do it right out of the shower.and have done the oww and scoleded her for it and still she does it, it seems to comfort her so i allow it unless she gets alittle agresive with it.
My kitty will wake me up nibbling on my fingers telling me it’s time to eat. I don’t keep food out so when she is hungry she will nibble. As soon as I move she makes a dash for the food bowl. She has a feeding schedule so if I’m late she reminds me. It’s never hurtful just enough to know she is there.
My cat sleeps soundly by my side but chews my fingers and I know she wants to be fed. I get up but she doesn’t rush downstairs she has a routine every morning running across the furniture on to the tall boy and then strikes a pose. She tries to chew my watch my rings which often involves catching my fingers. I do shout ouch abd she stops but doesn’t give up. None if this is aggressive she is 12 and has been doing this for the last 6 – 9 months
My ginger boy Miles is, like, the weirdest with biting my hands. He will switch between licking and biting, as though he’s grooming me, but then start bunny-kicking. If I try to take my hand away, he digs in all claws. After like a second of kicking, he starts licking me again. It’s so weird.
My little meanie, Levi, must be biting for affection. He loves a good finger to chew on, but sometimes it hurts! This morning I woke up to him purring in my face, so I began petting him only for him to immediately want to bite my fingers! He’s happily purring and being cute but the biting is no fun for me!
I read about that method of showing pain and it has 100% helped him to never pull out claws when playing with my hands, but he’s more stubborn about biting. I’m gonna keep trying 😅
I believe finger nibbling is from being weened too early. My first kitty to display this behavior is our friend with the most personality, a tuxie Callie, who has SO much moxie and is very confident and funny but who was weened a bit too early. When we first brought her home, I noticed that she wanted to be near me as her “mom” and she often purred and licked my fingers and would nibble on them early on as if to try to nurse on them. This behavior has simply continued. I don’t have the heart to change it since I feel responsible for being the one to have created it in the first place. Afterall, it doesn’t really hurt, it’s just her being affectionate with me. And Callie is our queen. She is in charge of the house. Nibble away, Callie. My fingers are all yours!
My kitten actually bites a lots, which can probably be partly explained by the fact that she lived in the street for the first month and a half of her life. It’s mostly the love you / come play kind of bite though, and because she’s very smart it turned out pretty easy to teach her to do it at a non-hurting level.
Other good point: the fact that this is an affectionate thing means it’ll be easier to teach her not to do it to random guests xD
First, our cat has NEVER bitten, nibbled, licked us before and she is 15 years old. She is not a snugger. She does not rub against you. She only wants to be pet on her terms, for 30 seconds at a time, and only if she approves of the smell of your hand.
My husband was sick with a pretty nasty cold and was sleeping on the couch. He woke up in the morning and the cat had been nibbling his fingers all night. He has sores on the tips of his fingers.
That definitely sounds like your cat was trying to alert him of his medical condition. Animals can sense when something is wrong with their human even if it’s a medical one. I’m assuming the cat sensed his medical condition had worsened over the night and was trying to get him to wake up. Especially if your husband didn’t feel the cat knawing on his fingers all night shows something was wrong was with him. Our fingers and toes are the most sensitive part of the human body because of all the nerve endings in them. So the fact that your husband never woke up from the pain the knawing should’ve caused is very worrisome.
My cat likes to gently gnaw on my fingers, my thumbs/thumbnails especially. It happens when she’s cuddly and was already licking my hands while I pet her.
She’s very VERY gentle about it. She used to be more rough, but I’d tell her “ouch!!” every time it actually hurt and now she’s very careful.
I think it’s a bit of a mutual grooming thing. She only does it when she’s in a licky mood, grooming herself and my hands while I pet her. She likes to try and bite on the edges of my thumbnails so I think she’s just trying to clean it up, much in the way she does to her own nails when they get too long.
Your advice about saying ouch and moving away is very good and I hope people who find this post take it to heart because it’s seriously the best way to train a sweet cat to not cause pain when they don’t mean to. The same method is why she’s so careful with her claws around skin.
Good article detailing the kinds of nipping and biting cats will do.
I have a love biter. When she snuggles with me she likes to lick my fingertips and sort of nibble and gnaw on my fingers as she purrs. She’s pure sugar.
I’ve got another cat who gets in my lap asking for pets, and if I get distracted and stop petting she will nip my chin to get my attention back to her.
Again, enjoyed your article. Thank you.
My Sammy is almost 3, he is a talker and a biter. There is not a specific time that he bites it could be any time. When I’m on the computer he bites, watching TV, walking by him, asleep etc. It really doesn’t matter. He usually doesn’t hurt me most of the time he is gentle and nibbles. If I pet him sometimes he lays down with me and we sit together. Sometimes he wakes me up chewing me. He honestly has never really hurt me though. The rest of the family can’t say that he is rough with them. And he talks all the time, if he wants in or out of my room he will run his mouth till I get up or bite till I get up. I have no intention of breaking him of it. He is a rescue from the pound and I don’t know what he went through before he became mine or I became his. So however he’s content showing affection is fine with me. And he has asthma so I refuse to let anyone upset him. Sammy is my baby.
Hi, My male cat licks then bites my fingers during the night when I sleep. the biting seem as if he wants to eat my fingers and when i put my hands under the duvet he even climbs under to look for them. I then get up to give him food although there is always dry pellets in his feeder so I presume he can”t be starving?. After the feeding he stops until the next night. What is he trying to tell me?. He is keeping me out of my sleep.
It sounds like your cat is in distress at night over his food. If he’s a rescue it could be from lack of food when he was living on the streets. He might want his food bowl full at all times so that he doesn’t have to worry about food. My suggestion is to fill his bowl before you go to bed and then he may not bother you. If that doesn’t work then try scheduled feedings. Once in the morning and once at night. And it has to be the same time every day so that way he feels reassured that he will get food. But if you do scheduled feeding you can’t give in to him at night. So you may have to start sleeping with your door closed untill he breaks that habit.
My cat chews on my fingers at 6 am then leads me to his food bowl. I think he is ordering me around, because he rules over our household, obviously.
I have a 3 month old kitten, lately she has been biting my fingers and even is biting my lip almost constantly. She jumps at my face lately too. I have tried the saying “ouch!” Loudly and it hasnt worked. Could it be because I have to leave her home for a longer amount of time because of work? How do u get it to stop?
I’m not sure it has anything to do with you leaving her home while you’re out at work. It sounds like she may just enjoy biting, and/or want your attention, and need to be trained that you don’t like that kind of behaviour and that it’s not an appropriate way to get your attention.
You might find it useful to say, “Outch!” and “No!” and if she continues to misbehave, give her a time out in a safe room (a room she has litter, scratch post, water, toys, whatever she could want or need in that space). Keep the door closed for around 10 minutes as a time out, then let her out again. If she bites again, back to the room for another 10 minutes until she gets that biting means zero attention and a little boredom as well. Then she’ll hopefully try other ways of getting your attention that are not an issue for you, like pawing at you or rubbing.
She’s just going through the kitten stage. She’s gonna be hyper and rambunctious for quite some time. She’ll grow out of it though. She just has so much energy right now that she doesn’t know what to do with all of it.
Recently a kitten was found at our front door and he was very small, but walked around very confidently and was fairly self sufficient. He is the most confident kitten I’ve ever seen and rarely hides in corners or away from people- in fact he seeks out human interaction. Everything seems great apart from the fact that whenever anyone in our household tries to pet him he immediately tries to start gnawing on our fingers while purring intensely, he seems to also be sucking at the same time. We dont know his age and we dont know where he came from. The veterinary surgery we took him to when we first found him were very unhelpful and the only information they gave us was that he was a Male and they thought he was cute. They took our details in case any owners showed up but nothing else. We did look around the neighbourhood for his true owners however no one came forward. We live across the road from a forest, but he seemed to be kitty litter trained and was most happiest when he was surrounded by people. He also sucks on a blanket and falls asleep sucking and kneading it. He absolutely loves it and I dont have the heart to take it away from him because he absolutely adores it. We want to know how we can stop or calm down the gnawing as we’ve had him now for about 2 or 3 months and his teeth are getting much sharper and it’s beginning to hurt. Everything I’ve read online suggests love biting and the only advice is to yell “No” or “Ouch” and remove yourself from the situation or give him things to play with. We’ve been doing this, but we dont want to deter him from seeking human interaction if we’re co instantly yelling at him for showing affection. Please do you have any advice that we can implement in our home (we have 3 adults and 2 children aged 10 and 5) the children play with the kitten a lot and he is quite playful. We’ve got a strict ‘Cat toys only’ rule in place because I didnt want the kitten falling into a habit of biting fingers and toes. The kitten loves it and is tired out regularly. We try make sure he is approaching the children and they’re not constantly initiating contact.
Cats are clever and in my opinion, he won’t take “No” and “Outch” as indication you don’t want him interacting or cuddling with you, but just don’t want him to bite. If he bites and you say “No” only after the biting takes place, he’ll learn very quickly that it’s the nibbling that makes the “No” happen. I absolutely agree you shouldn’t spook him, but I think it’s the shouting that might be the issue, rather than the scolding per say. When he bites, say “No” gently, pause the cuddling, then after a few seconds have passed, give him another shot by continue to pet and play with him. If he doesn’t understand the first very gentle no, escalate in length “Nooo” and stop for a little longer. Only get louder if he really doesn’t get it, but my guess is he’s like most cats who are very attached to people and very cuddly – he will understand cuddles are good and biting is not.
I’d also suggest talking to him reassuringly and positively during your interactions where you’re petting. That way when he bites, you switch tones, and he understands immediately biting is the thing that’s off, when usually you’re quite happy to interact. Say things like “Good boy” and just straight up chat with him, especially after you stop the short pause and go back to cuddling with him after scolding him for a bite. Be extremely excited audibly when he’s behaving well without nibbles, he’ll likely learn to seek this approval and won’t get carried away with the bites as often.
Also you may want to invest in a chew toy or two in order to have him release his fixation of chewing on something perfectly acceptable to chew.
Hope this helps! Good luck, and let me know how things progress 🙂 Sounds to me like you are absolutely his family now.
I have a 8 week old kitten, she seems like to show me she’s ready to play by biting me then running around my bed, she also bites me randomly when I’m using my phone, not sure if she’s showing me affection, trying to get my attention, or she’s just teething right at those moments..
Sounds like time may tell, especially if the nibbles disappear with age because she’s teething!
If I had to bet, I’d say she’s trying to get your attention when she bites and you’re using your phone. It could absolutely be any of the options, however!
My kitty cat is Cocoa. Shes … I think about a year old now…. I adopted her from my dads neighbors because they decided they didnt want her anymore. She was an outdoor cat at the time, grew up in a little mountain town …. I live in the city and she only goes outside from time to time… Usually with my roommates dogs in the morning. She recently started waking me up in the middle of the night by licking my face and then if I didnt physically get out of bed she will go to town on my fingers. The first time she did it it was because my daughter had her door shut (her litter box and food and water is in her room) and she needed to use her box and couldnt get in … It made sense that she woke me up to let her in … But … Now shes doing it … To just do it is what it seems like. I dont like to kick her out of my room but I’m starting to wonder if maybe its what i need to do to get a full nights sleep….
I would let her into bed/let her into the bedroom and if she starts to lick, immediately kick her out and close the door and go back to bed. That way, it gives her a chance to:
1. Understand you like having her around, but don’t like being woken up, and if you are there will be repercussions (i.e. being kicked out), and
2. Gives her the chance to fix her behaviour each day, as she’ll start off with the opportunity to not wake you up, and if she does, that’s the only time she gets the “punishment” of not being allowed into your room.
Let me know if you give it a try, and if so, if she starts to understand about the licking!
I have a one year old cat named Gerard, and he only recently started this habit. Whenever I pet around his mouth area he opens his mouth and coaxes me to put my finger in, where he then bites gently and sucks. It doesn’t hurt, in fact I find it adorable, but I just needed to know why. I think it might be love-biting. Also, is there a possibility it could be becuse of his recent neutering?
It sounds like it’s more or less a personality quirk of his rather than simply down to the neutering. I think he may have developed it anyway.
Some cats do develop “variations” of common cat quirks like biting & chewing, and it seems your Gerard has a ridiculously adorable one to me! Sounds a lot like a love bite, and like he thinks of you like his mother as well as it being something like sucking on a thumb or a pacifier as a human infant – comforting and soothing.
A lot of good things wrapped into one!
Hi. My cat Molly seems to be a love biter. We curbed this habit when she was young, but it seems to be back full force now that shes getting more attention. I want to tell her not to bite, but I don’t mind it. I don’t want to confuse her about biting (bc it doesn’t bother my dad and I seriously doubt he’ll stop). Is it possible to give her things to chew on or would that just be a waste of time?
I think it’d be a good idea to give her things to chew on considering she may really enjoy it. I feel like it’s stress relief and fun for some cats, and it’s nice to give them something like that and to help them keep busy & mentally stimulated!
If you don’t mind the biting, say since she does it really gently, it shouldn’t be a problem to let her continue. My 2c 😉
I have a two year old boy named Gene. He chews and sucks my fingers every night while we fall asleep. It doesn’t hurt and I don’t mind but do you think it’s weird?
Maybe a little weird, but not too odd! Makes me think of a toddler who still sucks on his or her thumb. The behaviour seems like it would bring comfort/stress relief, and is reminiscent of very young, infant days. Sounds cute to me 😉
I have a 2 year old rescue. She was feral as a kitten and is very young sweet. But also very shy and jumpy. I’ve had her for a year now and finally have gone from never seeing her at all, to being able to call her over and have her jump in my lap for petting. I still can’t pick her up. But I don’t push the issue. I’m letting her go at her own pace. And it seems to be working. My problem is that she thinks my fingers are chew toys. When I pet her she obsessively chews on my. Not hard. But she does bite a little too hard once in a while. I take my hands away and very gently tell her no. My trouble is telling her no in a way that doesn’t scare her. She’s finally.come to trust me and even once in a while she will show herself to be petted when I have friends over. I don’t want to be loud or rough in any way with her as its taken so long to get her to come out of hiding. Any suggestions?
I would definitely say, “No,” gently and then continue to pet her straight after, so she knows it’s just that one action and not everything she’s doing that’s frowned upon. Eventually I feel she’ll understand you’d prefer her show her affection in other ways, and she might start licking instead, or marking, which are both wonderful ways cats show affection that don’t relate to biting.
Completely understand your desire not to spook her, and so I think that and getting her to really trust you and be confident around you should be your priority. I might let the biting problem slide until I got her to be more confident first in your situation, or rather, settle for a very gentle “No” that she may not understand until later, when she gets the hang of what the word means.
I do feel cats try to do what you’d like from them when they finally figure out what you prefer, however, and so I think she may switch things up and start licking eventually. If she does lick instead of bite, congratulate her and give her a lot of encouragement for that, as that’s a really productive step forward from biting.