Cat behaviour issues. Advice appreciated

madmish00

About 3 months ago we adopted a neutered male cat approx 15-18mths old after losing our old cat to kidney disease. It was a home to home adoption through a local rehoming charity. It sounds like he had a bit of a rough start in life as he was living with an old gentleman who died and was taken in temporarily by a neighbour who left him outside from 7am - 7pm and didn't want to keep him as she was pregnant and wanted him rehomed before baby arrived. So it doesn't sound like he was overly socialised as a kitten.

He was advertised to us as a "complete love machine" by the charity but how wrong they were! He does nothing but bite me and rip up the carpets!

He will come to me and cry to sit on my knee but within about 2 minutes he grabs hold of my arm and starts biting me and rabbit kicking. I pull my arm away and wait for him to calm down but if I move my arm even a millimetre he will jump at it and start biting me. I have to wrestle him off my arm and put him on the floor. Sometimes when he is biting he is still purring other times he looks scared with wide eyes and ears back.

I have tried playing with him as much as possible to tire him out as he is a little ball of energy but nothing seems to work.

Any advice on training him to stop biting would be great

Thanks

[Deleted User]

I can't really offer a huge amount of advice, but suggest that patience will help.

We adopted two rescues 4ish years ago.

One was relatively young 5 months or so, and apart from being super shy of strangers is the most docile friendly cat ever (although also has a hyperactive side).

The other was very different in personality and temperament. When we first got her at (rare) occasions she would come over to us for some attention but generally kept herself to herself and attacked if anyone went near her. Her instinct seemed to be fight first, think later.

Now four years on we are able to pick her up, pet her, get close to her and she even sits on our knees and purrs. It took a long time to get to this point and it was by giving her little bits of attention often and slowly coaxing her to to spend more time around people. the more she did this the better she got...but it has taken a long time.

ailurophile1990

Sounds like play/frustration behaviour...is he an indoor only cat?

meritaten

I may be wrong but my first cat used to do this. and he wasn't neutered at the time. I came to the conclusion this was 'lovelust'. he got overstimulated by stroking. when he was neutered we still had to be careful - he would 'invite' tummy rubs' then bite and 'rabbit kick'. and yes he did look 'scared stiff' at the time.
this was a cat we had from a 12 week old kitten. but his human socialisation I think left a lot to be desired.
try not stroking him and just let him sit on you if he wants contact. (hard I know - all that lovely fur).
experiment when he is relaxed. does he like his head stroked? does he like his throat stroked? be vigilant for any tensing of his body and STOP stroking. don't do belly rubs!
I don't think its anything to do with being an indoor cat - THIS first cat was definitely an 'outdoor' cat. in fact the two 'indoor' cats I have had since have been far more tolerant.

mcja

We rescued a cat 2 years ago, and he's only just started sitting on the sofa next to me. Took a lot of bribery and he will only climb on me, but will now sleep on the end of his little owners bed (he's such a lump he stops ds pulling up duvet!!).

madmish00

Thanks for the replies. They really do have their little quirks cats don't they!

He is not an indoor only cat. He had been predominantly an outdoor cat with the previous owner so I do let him out. He probably spends a couple of hours a day outside.

I wondered if it was to do with his age because we adopted our last cat as a 4 year old and haven't had a cat this young before thought his behaviour may be because he is still really a kitten and hasn't had much attention up to now.

I'm hoping he will begin to mellow out a bit as he gets older.

donnac2558

How do you play with him?

If you are using fingers and hands, he could see these as prey to play attack.

Its sounds like rough play as two kittens and even older cats to the biting and rabbit kicking with each other when they get over excited about the game. He is a teenager and all about the rough and tumble.

lisajane8482

Our older cat used to do that when he was a kitten to me, he never did it to hubby or DD.

It was a form of play for him and he did eventually grow out of it although he still does it from time to time. When he used to do it, I used to put him down and then play with a dangler toy.

He was a indoor cat and at the time he was the only one we had so I always thought it was down to not having any siblings to play with. My arms used to look awful from all the scratches I had off him.

I must add that he was and still is an absolute softy and loves snuggles. He prefers me over the rest of the family and has done since we got him. He used to suckle my neck when he was a kitten and he now sleeps with his head tucked in my hair. My friend who resuces cats and who we got him off said that his behaviour (the biting/rabbit kicking and the suckling) was down to him accepting me as his mum and carrying out his kitten/mother instincts with me, not sure how true this is though.

Mrs_Z

Our 1st cat used to play this game. She was very intelligent and tried to be very careful not biting properly as not to hurt us but it was still rather painful. Then I thought of putting on my leather glove and her eyes just lit up - she realised that she could play a bit harder and do the rabbit kicks properly. It was one of her favourite games. And every time the leather glove came out, she knew it was playtime, rough & tumble.

cavework

1st cat I ever had did this. He was 18 months old and had gone a bit feral before we adopted him..
OH had a motorbike and I used to have to play with him wearing OH,s leather gauntlets!
It lasted about 6 months..he loved it but grew out of it

katiefinger

Both our cats are prone to this behaviour when they're over-stimulated/excited. We have a Kickeroo which makes an excellent substitution for an arm! They love it because it doesn't squeal in pain or tell them off for their biting/kicking behaviour.