Without a doubt, being a cat owner is a work of patience and it requires a lot of time to understand how a feline’s mind works. We often see people giving up their cats especially because of uncontrollable scratching and biting. Yes, biting can be dangerous and it’s not a good sign because it shows that your cat is aggressive but as the owner, you need to figure out the reason behind it first.
What most people don’t know about cats is that they are extremely predictable creatures and biting or scratching has always a reason behind it. What you first need to figure out is the type of biting or scratching that your cat is doing. It can either be playful or defensive. If you’ve been living with a cat for a while now then you probably can easily tell why it’s doing it in the first place.
Is Biting And Scratching Normal?
For starters, you need to understand that biting and scratching both are normal for cats, especially kittens because these two are their only means of defence. Naturally, they use these two tactics to hunt down their prey. In other words, cats are basically predators by nature so sometimes, such behaviour from them is normal.
For better understanding, think of when you play “chase the ball” game with your cat. What does it do? It uses two of its most powerful tools (claws or teeth) to dominate and control the ball because that’s how they try to win the game. However, what you must understand as a cat owner is that you shouldn’t ever use your hands as toys for cats. Don’t make your cat think that your hand is no less than a toy because if you do so, your cat will one day start biting your hand with its razor sharp teeth and that can turn into a dangerous situation.
What’s Playful Cat Biting And Scratching Like?
Cat love bites are quite common and as an owner, you can easily tell if your cat is trying to show you some love or trying to be aggressive. One of the biggest signs is that when your cat starts licking and then you feel little teeth on you, that’s more like a playful bite and there’s nothing to worry about here.
Also, if aggression signs like hissing and growling are absent then it’s of course all playful biting and scratching. Here your cat is basically asking for you to pet it a bit or show it some love. When this happens, you should cuddle a bit with your cat or play some games to give it your attention.
What’s Aggressive Cat Biting And Scratching Like?
When your petting session all of a sudden turns into an aggressive clawing or biting session, that’s when you need to start worrying about your cat. Sometimes owners think that such aggressive biting and scratching is because their cat doesn’t like them. Well, it’s not always true because cats experience such aggression due to several reasons. They can be aggressive with you because they might not be feeling well or they might be overstimulated and sometimes they just do it out of fear.
When a kitten bites you, it’s a sign that it’s trying to be playful or is asking for your attention but when an adult cat shows such behaviour, it’s because it wants you to stop doing whatever you are doing. Also, when your cat starts growling, shifting the position of its body or shows narrowed eyes, know that it’s becoming aggressive and it wants you to stop even if you are just petting it.
How To Deal With Your Cat’s Biting Or Scratching Behaviour?
If it’s playful, you have nothing to worry about but if your cat is being aggressive then take a break and stop petting it for a while. Sometimes cats don’t like too much attention and they start getting aggressive so you as an owner should know when and how much is too much for it.
You shouldn’t ever react negatively when your cat bites you, especially never shake, scruff or frighten the cat or else it might attack you even more aggressively.
