Jazzy (the mom) cat has started biting us. She is not doing it out of anger
and seems to be very concerned when she does it. The first time she did it,
Angela was on her stability ball and began to lose her balance. She
shouted, "Help! Help!" Jazzy jumped up on her back, bit the butt of her
sweat pants and tried to pull her. It was all very comical.

But since then she has been biting us in bed. She usually bites Angela on
the leg or foot. And me mostly on the elbow but last night it was the calf
of my leg. She doesn't draw blood but it does hurt pretty badly. When she
does it, she has an extreme look of concern on her face.

I do have sleep apnea and I thought maybe once or twice I had stopped
breathing. This would make sense. But the other times we were awake. Once
I was really sleepy and not petting her. So I thought maybe she just wanted
attention. But Angela seems to think that she thinks she is somehow saving
us. And from the look on her face, it does seem so.

We don't know much of her background except that she was found in an
abandoned house with a litter of kittens when she was about age 2. They
adopted out all of the kittens but the last one, Ballerina. She was very
overprotective of her so they made it so that they had to be adopted
together. Bali (Ballerina) was considered feral since she had no contact
with humans prior to going to the shelter. She has gotten a lot better with
us and even my husband. She seems to prefer having Angela pick her up if
she needs to be picked up. Once in a while she will let me do it. But
normally she stiffens up and protests.

There is a pattern to her biting. She does it three times, each time. Of
course we immediately tell her "no" and she responds very well to this word.
Whoever had her before had trained her well. She generally doesn't do any
bad things at all. Now Bali on the other hand has pretty much found every
kind of trouble a little cat could find. She goes everywhere and does
everything.

Anyway... The only thing I can surmise is that something happened to her
former owner and she saved them by biting them. Or at least she tried to.
Can anyone else think of any other reasons? It's just really weird because
we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting in the
last 2-3 months.

"Julie Bove" > wrote in message
...
> Jazzy (the mom) cat has started biting us. She is not doing it out of
> anger and seems to be very concerned when she does it. The first time she
> did it, Angela was on her stability ball and began to lose her balance.
> She shouted, "Help! Help!" Jazzy jumped up on her back, bit the butt of
> her sweat pants and tried to pull her. It was all very comical.
>
> But since then she has been biting us in bed. She usually bites Angela on
> the leg or foot. And me mostly on the elbow but last night it was the
> calf of my leg. She doesn't draw blood but it does hurt pretty badly.
> When she does it, she has an extreme look of concern on her face.
>
> I do have sleep apnea and I thought maybe once or twice I had stopped
> breathing. This would make sense. But the other times we were awake.
> Once I was really sleepy and not petting her. So I thought maybe she just
> wanted attention. But Angela seems to think that she thinks she is
> somehow saving us. And from the look on her face, it does seem so.
>
> We don't know much of her background except that she was found in an
> abandoned house with a litter of kittens when she was about age 2. They
> adopted out all of the kittens but the last one, Ballerina. She was very
> overprotective of her so they made it so that they had to be adopted
> together. Bali (Ballerina) was considered feral since she had no contact
> with humans prior to going to the shelter. She has gotten a lot better
> with us and even my husband. She seems to prefer having Angela pick her
> up if she needs to be picked up. Once in a while she will let me do it.
> But normally she stiffens up and protests.
>
> There is a pattern to her biting. She does it three times, each time. Of
> course we immediately tell her "no" and she responds very well to this
> word. Whoever had her before had trained her well. She generally doesn't
> do any bad things at all. Now Bali on the other hand has pretty much
> found every kind of trouble a little cat could find. She goes everywhere
> and does everything.
>
> Anyway... The only thing I can surmise is that something happened to her
> former owner and she saved them by biting them. Or at least she tried to.
> Can anyone else think of any other reasons? It's just really weird
> because we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting
> in the last 2-3 months.
>

"Julie Bove" > wrote in message
...
> Jazzy (the mom) cat has started biting us. She is not doing it out of
> anger and seems to be very concerned when she does it. The first time she
> did it, Angela was on her stability ball and began to lose her balance.
> She shouted, "Help! Help!" Jazzy jumped up on her back, bit the butt of
> her sweat pants and tried to pull her. It was all very comical.
>
> But since then she has been biting us in bed. She usually bites Angela on
> the leg or foot. And me mostly on the elbow but last night it was the
> calf of my leg. She doesn't draw blood but it does hurt pretty badly.
> When she does it, she has an extreme look of concern on her face.
>
> I do have sleep apnea and I thought maybe once or twice I had stopped
> breathing. This would make sense. But the other times we were awake.
> Once I was really sleepy and not petting her. So I thought maybe she just
> wanted attention. But Angela seems to think that she thinks she is
> somehow saving us. And from the look on her face, it does seem so.
>
> We don't know much of her background except that she was found in an
> abandoned house with a litter of kittens when she was about age 2. They
> adopted out all of the kittens but the last one, Ballerina. She was very
> overprotective of her so they made it so that they had to be adopted
> together. Bali (Ballerina) was considered feral since she had no contact
> with humans prior to going to the shelter. She has gotten a lot better
> with us and even my husband. She seems to prefer having Angela pick her
> up if she needs to be picked up. Once in a while she will let me do it.
> But normally she stiffens up and protests.
>
> There is a pattern to her biting. She does it three times, each time. Of
> course we immediately tell her "no" and she responds very well to this
> word. Whoever had her before had trained her well. She generally doesn't
> do any bad things at all. Now Bali on the other hand has pretty much
> found every kind of trouble a little cat could find. She goes everywhere
> and does everything.
>
> Anyway... The only thing I can surmise is that something happened to her
> former owner and she saved them by biting them. Or at least she tried to.
> Can anyone else think of any other reasons? It's just really weird
> because we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting
> in the last 2-3 months.

Here is a pretty succinct and accurate analysis of cat biting:

Excerpt: "It may be difficult to believe that biting is a form of
communication --
especially after your cat has nipped at you during what you thought was a
nice petting session -- but it is."

http://www.catsplay.com/thedailycat/...ng/biting.html

pavane

In article >,
"Julie Bove" > wrote:

> It's just really weird because
> we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting in the
> last 2-3 months.

A formerly gentle cat biting can be a number of things:

- Displaced aggression: Something is going on outside (another cat
around, for instance) which is setting her off and she'd biting the
closest living thing. I've been scratched by cats when they got upset
about a stray walking around outside.

- Response to declawing.

- Trying to get your attention to something. Is she possibly in pain in
some way?

- Saying, "No!" One of my cats will nip to say, "No! Stop that!"

PP

"Peppermint Patootie" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Julie Bove" > wrote:
>
>> It's just really weird because
>> we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting in the
>> last 2-3 months.
>
> A formerly gentle cat biting can be a number of things:
>
> - Displaced aggression: Something is going on outside (another cat
> around, for instance) which is setting her off and she'd biting the
> closest living thing. I've been scratched by cats when they got upset
> about a stray walking around outside.
>
> - Response to declawing.
>
> - Trying to get your attention to something. Is she possibly in pain in
> some way?
>
> - Saying, "No!" One of my cats will nip to say, "No! Stop that!"

She's not declawed and I don't think it is one of those other things.
Angela really seems to think she thinks she is saving us. She will thank
her and then Jazzy will stop and look really happy! You would have to see
the look on her face to know what I mean. She looks super concerned and
worried while she is doing it. She sort of bites lightly but pulls on my
elbow or Angela's foot.

In article >, "Julie Bove" >
wrote:

> "Peppermint Patootie" > wrote in message
> ...
> > In article >,
> > "Julie Bove" > wrote:
> >
> >> It's just really weird because
> >> we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting in the
> >> last 2-3 months.
> >
> > A formerly gentle cat biting can be a number of things:
> >
> > - Displaced aggression: Something is going on outside (another cat
> > around, for instance) which is setting her off and she'd biting the
> > closest living thing. I've been scratched by cats when they got upset
> > about a stray walking around outside.
> >
> > - Response to declawing.
> >
> > - Trying to get your attention to something. Is she possibly in pain in
> > some way?
> >
> > - Saying, "No!" One of my cats will nip to say, "No! Stop that!"
>
> She's not declawed and I don't think it is one of those other things.
> Angela really seems to think she thinks she is saving us. She will thank
> her and then Jazzy will stop and look really happy! You would have to see
> the look on her face to know what I mean. She looks super concerned and
> worried while she is doing it. She sort of bites lightly but pulls on my
> elbow or Angela's foot.

so what did your vet say when you called them with this question. you do realize
that sudden changes in cat behaviour are often associated with something
physically wrong with them...the fact that she may stop and look calm may be
only due to the fact that you have soothed her temporarily

"pavane" > wrote in message
...
>
> "Julie Bove" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Jazzy (the mom) cat has started biting us. She is not doing it out of
>> anger and seems to be very concerned when she does it. The first time
>> she did it, Angela was on her stability ball and began to lose her
>> balance. She shouted, "Help! Help!" Jazzy jumped up on her back, bit
>> the butt of her sweat pants and tried to pull her. It was all very
>> comical.
>>
>> But since then she has been biting us in bed. She usually bites Angela
>> on the leg or foot. And me mostly on the elbow but last night it was the
>> calf of my leg. She doesn't draw blood but it does hurt pretty badly.
>> When she does it, she has an extreme look of concern on her face.
>>
>> I do have sleep apnea and I thought maybe once or twice I had stopped
>> breathing. This would make sense. But the other times we were awake.
>> Once I was really sleepy and not petting her. So I thought maybe she
>> just wanted attention. But Angela seems to think that she thinks she is
>> somehow saving us. And from the look on her face, it does seem so.
>>
>> We don't know much of her background except that she was found in an
>> abandoned house with a litter of kittens when she was about age 2. They
>> adopted out all of the kittens but the last one, Ballerina. She was very
>> overprotective of her so they made it so that they had to be adopted
>> together. Bali (Ballerina) was considered feral since she had no contact
>> with humans prior to going to the shelter. She has gotten a lot better
>> with us and even my husband. She seems to prefer having Angela pick her
>> up if she needs to be picked up. Once in a while she will let me do it.
>> But normally she stiffens up and protests.
>>
>> There is a pattern to her biting. She does it three times, each time.
>> Of course we immediately tell her "no" and she responds very well to this
>> word. Whoever had her before had trained her well. She generally doesn't
>> do any bad things at all. Now Bali on the other hand has pretty much
>> found every kind of trouble a little cat could find. She goes everywhere
>> and does everything.
>>
>> Anyway... The only thing I can surmise is that something happened to her
>> former owner and she saved them by biting them. Or at least she tried
>> to. Can anyone else think of any other reasons? It's just really weird
>> because we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting
>> in the last 2-3 months.
>
> Here is a pretty succinct and accurate analysis of cat biting:
>
> Excerpt: "It may be difficult to believe that biting is a form of
> communication --
> especially after your cat has nipped at you during what you thought was a
> nice petting session -- but it is."
>
> http://www.catsplay.com/thedailycat/...ng/biting.html
>
> pavane

Yes, I know about that but that doesn't seem to apply here. Maui used to
bite like that but she always gave a warning first. Jazzy isn't aggressive
at all and looks extremely concerned when she does it.

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Julie Bove" > wrote:
>
>> Jazzy (the mom) cat has started biting us. She is not doing it out of
>> anger
>> and seems to be very concerned when she does it. The first time she did
>> it,
>> Angela was on her stability ball and began to lose her balance. She
>> shouted, "Help! Help!" Jazzy jumped up on her back, bit the butt of her
>> sweat pants and tried to pull her. It was all very comical.
>>
>> But since then she has been biting us in bed. She usually bites Angela
>> on
>> the leg or foot. And me mostly on the elbow but last night it was the
>> calf
>> of my leg. She doesn't draw blood but it does hurt pretty badly. When
>> she
>> does it, she has an extreme look of concern on her face.
>>
>> I do have sleep apnea and I thought maybe once or twice I had stopped
>> breathing. This would make sense. But the other times we were awake.
>> Once
>> I was really sleepy and not petting her. So I thought maybe she just
>> wanted
>> attention. But Angela seems to think that she thinks she is somehow
>> saving
>> us. And from the look on her face, it does seem so.
>>
>> We don't know much of her background except that she was found in an
>> abandoned house with a litter of kittens when she was about age 2. They
>> adopted out all of the kittens but the last one, Ballerina. She was very
>> overprotective of her so they made it so that they had to be adopted
>> together. Bali (Ballerina) was considered feral since she had no contact
>> with humans prior to going to the shelter. She has gotten a lot better
>> with
>> us and even my husband. She seems to prefer having Angela pick her up if
>> she needs to be picked up. Once in a while she will let me do it. But
>> normally she stiffens up and protests.
>>
>> There is a pattern to her biting. She does it three times, each time.
>> Of
>> course we immediately tell her "no" and she responds very well to this
>> word.
>> Whoever had her before had trained her well. She generally doesn't do
>> any
>> bad things at all. Now Bali on the other hand has pretty much found
>> every
>> kind of trouble a little cat could find. She goes everywhere and does
>> everything.
>>
>> Anyway... The only thing I can surmise is that something happened to her
>> former owner and she saved them by biting them. Or at least she tried
>> to.
>> Can anyone else think of any other reasons? It's just really weird
>> because
>> we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting in the
>> last 2-3 months.
>
> Ours came from my mother-in-law, and she was "Hell-on-Wheels, the cat,
> not the MIL. She would snarl and bite when she was unhappy, which could
> happen while she was being petted. MIL wasn't mean to the cat, but I'm
> sure the cat was neglected emotionally.
>
> Finally, I decided to pet her 3 -5 strokes, and then stop. I would wait,
> and then pet her again. If she seemed upset, I stopped. Then she started
> nuzzling my hand when she wanted more petting, which would be doled out
> in 3 - 5 strokes, and then I would wait for her to re-initiate the
> petting. Odd thing was, she started putting her teeth on me as a form of
> affection, with no sign of aggression. I noticed last night that I could
> feel her skin ripple with tension (I don't know how else to explain it.)
> when I petted her, but she would relax, if I just put my hand on her. If
> she moves, I raise my hand so that she knows she can leave, if she
> wants. In any event, the nervousness went away with just skin contact,
> and no petting. Now, she likes to curl up against me, or on me when I'm
> in bed.
>
> So anyway, the point of this psycho-babble is to give your cat some
> space, and let it initiate your interactions.
>
> The MIL cat was an apartment cat, and she still snarls when she is put
> outside, but she doesn't bite, or scratch.

But the cat *is* initiating by biting. She doesn't do it when she is being
petted. Clearly she is trying to tell us something.

"Billy" > wrote in message
...
> In article >,
> "Julie Bove" > wrote:
>
>> "Billy" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > In article >,
>> > "Julie Bove" > wrote:
>> >
>> >> Jazzy (the mom) cat has started biting us. She is not doing it out of
>> >> anger
>> >> and seems to be very concerned when she does it. The first time she
>> >> did
>> >> it,
>> >> Angela was on her stability ball and began to lose her balance. She
>> >> shouted, "Help! Help!" Jazzy jumped up on her back, bit the butt of
>> >> her
>> >> sweat pants and tried to pull her. It was all very comical.
>> >>
>> >> But since then she has been biting us in bed. She usually bites
>> >> Angela
>> >> on
>> >> the leg or foot. And me mostly on the elbow but last night it was the
>> >> calf
>> >> of my leg. She doesn't draw blood but it does hurt pretty badly.
>> >> When
>> >> she
>> >> does it, she has an extreme look of concern on her face.
>> >>
>> >> I do have sleep apnea and I thought maybe once or twice I had stopped
>> >> breathing. This would make sense. But the other times we were awake.
>> >> Once
>> >> I was really sleepy and not petting her. So I thought maybe she just
>> >> wanted
>> >> attention. But Angela seems to think that she thinks she is somehow
>> >> saving
>> >> us. And from the look on her face, it does seem so.
>> >>
>> >> We don't know much of her background except that she was found in an
>> >> abandoned house with a litter of kittens when she was about age 2.
>> >> They
>> >> adopted out all of the kittens but the last one, Ballerina. She was
>> >> very
>> >> overprotective of her so they made it so that they had to be adopted
>> >> together. Bali (Ballerina) was considered feral since she had no
>> >> contact
>> >> with humans prior to going to the shelter. She has gotten a lot
>> >> better
>> >> with
>> >> us and even my husband. She seems to prefer having Angela pick her up
>> >> if
>> >> she needs to be picked up. Once in a while she will let me do it.
>> >> But
>> >> normally she stiffens up and protests.
>> >>
>> >> There is a pattern to her biting. She does it three times, each time.
>> >> Of
>> >> course we immediately tell her "no" and she responds very well to this
>> >> word.
>> >> Whoever had her before had trained her well. She generally doesn't do
>> >> any
>> >> bad things at all. Now Bali on the other hand has pretty much found
>> >> every
>> >> kind of trouble a little cat could find. She goes everywhere and does
>> >> everything.
>> >>
>> >> Anyway... The only thing I can surmise is that something happened to
>> >> her
>> >> former owner and she saved them by biting them. Or at least she tried
>> >> to.
>> >> Can anyone else think of any other reasons? It's just really weird
>> >> because
>> >> we've had them a year as of May. But she only started the biting in
>> >> the
>> >> last 2-3 months.
>> >
>> > Ours came from my mother-in-law, and she was "Hell-on-Wheels, the cat,
>> > not the MIL. She would snarl and bite when she was unhappy, which could
>> > happen while she was being petted. MIL wasn't mean to the cat, but I'm
>> > sure the cat was neglected emotionally.
>> >
>> > Finally, I decided to pet her 3 -5 strokes, and then stop. I would
>> > wait,
>> > and then pet her again. If she seemed upset, I stopped. Then she
>> > started
>> > nuzzling my hand when she wanted more petting, which would be doled out
>> > in 3 - 5 strokes, and then I would wait for her to re-initiate the
>> > petting. Odd thing was, she started putting her teeth on me as a form
>> > of
>> > affection, with no sign of aggression. I noticed last night that I
>> > could
>> > feel her skin ripple with tension (I don't know how else to explain
>> > it.)
>> > when I petted her, but she would relax, if I just put my hand on her.
>> > If
>> > she moves, I raise my hand so that she knows she can leave, if she
>> > wants. In any event, the nervousness went away with just skin contact,
>> > and no petting. Now, she likes to curl up against me, or on me when I'm
>> > in bed.
>> >
>> > So anyway, the point of this psycho-babble is to give your cat some
>> > space, and let it initiate your interactions.
>> >
>> > The MIL cat was an apartment cat, and she still snarls when she is put
>> > outside, but she doesn't bite, or scratch.
>>
>> But the cat *is* initiating by biting. She doesn't do it when she is
>> being
>> petted. Clearly she is trying to tell us something.
>
> If she isn't drawing blood, I'd suspect that she is just being
> affectionate, or just assertive. Sometimes when petting our cat
> (Ginger), she will lightly bite me, with no aggressiveness.
>
> Seeking you out to bite you is different for me. Does she respond to
> petting after she has bitten you? Does she growl when she bites? If no,
> then I would guess it is some insecurity. If yes, then I think you have
> a problem.

No growling and she wants to be petted and thanked and told that she is a
good cat.
>
> I did a quick search (cat behavior, biting), and came up with the
> following.
>
> "Scruff Him"
> This is one of the most effective forms of discipline of cats. It mimics
> the punishment given a kitten by his mother when he became unruly. Grasp
> him by the scruff of the neck and firmly push him groundward, while
> saying "No!" in a firm tone of voice. Hold him in this position for only
> three or four seconds and release. Chances are, he'll slink away,
> thoroughly chastened, to bathe and recover his dignity. But he'll
> remember this lesson for a long time.
> <http://cats.about.com/cs/behavioralissues/a/bite_scrat.htm>

Thanks!
>
> Punishment never works in curbing aggression in cats. It simply makes
> the problem worse. Your cat will become fearful or turn its resentment
> toward you and the other cats. Instead, simply withdraw your affection
> as soon as an incident occurs. Cats quickly learn that life suddenly got
> more boring after they became aggressive.
>
> Aggression Toward Humans a
>
> The Problem:
> Cats that threaten their owners usually have star-crossed beginnings. If
> they were not adequately handled, petted and socialized when they were
> between five and twelve weeks of age they may grow up to be fearful,
> wary of people or easily upset and angered.
>
> Cats that are frightened assume a characteristic position. They crouch
> with their ears laid back, their tails curled inward and they tilt their
> bodies away from the perceived threat. They will likely lash out and
> claw or bite anything that approaches them. This behavior often occurs
> when the cat is in new surroundings or being approached by a stranger.
> The cat¹s eyes often dilate and they may hiss and show their teeth.
> Their hair may stand on end.
>
> The Solution:
> Begin to correct the problem as soon as it first occurs. Do not wait
> until the behavior is ingrained in the cat¹s personality. The best time
> to get cats used to owners, strangers and children is when they are
> still kittens. Take time to get kittens used to being touched everywhere
> and introduce them to dogs and other cats while they are still young.
>
> To accustom a cat to be touched, begin when the cat is relaxed and
> content. Start off scratching and rubbing its head. Make no sudden
> moves. Progress to stroking its back and the base of the tail. Talk to
> the cat while you are doing this and watch for any signs that the cat is
> becoming agitated. Finish this short lesson with a food treat.
> Eventually the cat will enjoy being touched and handled.
>
> Fear aggressiveness in adult cats present a much harder problem. When
> they feel threatened by strangers or a new owner it takes much longer to
> overcome the problem.
>
That doesn't sound like her. She is obviously trying to pull us. I think
maybe she thinks of us as her kittens. She used to try pulling her baby by
the scruff of the neck when the baby was far too large to have this done to
her. She would get an exasperated look on her face when it didn't work. It
was kind of sad and funny.
> Dominance-based Aggression
> (This is Ginger.)
>
> The Problem:
> A few cats treat owners like another cat in the household and attempt to
> dominate them in a peck order or hierarchy. These cats may growl or hiss
> when you join them on the bed or attempt to move them.
> -----
>
> The Vet (Ron Hines DVM PhD ) who wrote this article also suggests that
> the use of a pheromone mist around the house can be very helpful. I've
> never heard of this.
> <http://www.2ndchance.info/aggressivecat.htm>
>
> Good luck.

Clearly no anger or aggression when she does it. Thanks!