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From what you've described, it sounds as though Charlie is easily over-stimulated and hasn't learned what is (and isn't) appropriate play behavior. The nipping and scratching your hand seems to indicate they she sees your hands, and maybe the rest of you, as a play object. You might try this- whenever she does the biting, scratching, jumping at you, etc., remove yourself from the situation with a firm 'No' and ignore her for a while. You could also re-direct her with a play session, and use a wand toy or something that separates you from the play object.
I have a very loving girl cat that loves attention, but has a short fuse when it comes to over-stimulation. She can go from half asleep being petted in my lap to clawing & bunny-kicking my hand in a split second if I'm not paying attention. I always just remove my hands & totally ignore her for a minute or 2 until she calms down.
Some cats are just like that. Lucky doesn't have a mean bone in his body, but Daisy is feisty and sometimes will nip you when you are petting her, not a mean nip, just a love bite. When that happens I do what a Mama cat would do, I tap her firmly on the nose and say NO ! She gets the idea and backs off.
Charlie is often very affectionate with me, she licks my face/hands/arms whenever possible, although sometimes after licking me for a while she will bite me (sometime gentle 'love bites' and sometimes hard).
However she will bite me, as already mentioned, and scratches my hands if I have them loose in my lap when I'm sat at the computer, and she sometimes jumps at me as if to attack me, trying to reach my face (she usually does this after I shut a door she was intending on going through, or I remove her from my daughter's room after bedtime, but sometimes she does it for seemingly no reason)
She likes being around me, wants to play fetch every evening, cuddles up against my neck on the back of my chair at dinner time but she also attacks me more than anyone else in the family.
Okay,
I think most of us cat owners will confess that scratching / biting is pretty normal behavior for playful kittens; however, there may be ways you can modify this.
First, does she have enough space and something to keep her occupied outside of interacting with family members? Cats are okay with alone time. They're perfectly capable of entertaining themselves. Have you tried creating a cat run and some interactive cat toys, like the mice?
Licking is sometimes a sign of distress in cats. What are you doing to stress her out so much? Cats are extremely territorial creatures. Are you letting her have enough room to run around and hide when she's feeling stressed? Also, as others have mentioned, she might be misinterpreting your actions. Do you engage in really energetic play with her? If so, as other posters have mentioned, you might be over stimulating her. Cats, especially kittens (which is what yours is), are wired to chase and grab moving things. Your hands and feet can become "toys" like anything else, especially since you've allowed her to nip at you and use you as a cat toy in the past. Then again, pay attention to your position. Most cats seem to have a natural reflex to grab anything that touches their bellies. Cats usually extend their claws when grabbing, so it can be a painful experience.
One of my cats used to attack my feet under the covers. He was trying to get into bed with me! I started relaxing when he jumped on me and not moving my feet around, and the behavior eventually stopped. He was just following instinct to catch the strange moving things (my toes!).
Also, is your cat intact? Intact cats can sometimes show more aggression than spayed / neutered cats.
Observe your cat during your interactions. Learn her signals and what they mean. (This is a general guideline. Some behaviors may not apply to all cats.)
Is her tail twitching or swooshing around, like a mildly excited dog? She is NOT happy. Back off until the tail's barely moving (or not moving at all). She's not sure about something. It's making her anxious.
When she's licking you and you pull away, does she go for her paw? Paw licking is a sure sign of distress. They'll act like they're grooming but only clean the paw and then stop. She's trying to calm herself down.
Of course, there are other more obvious signs that the cat is upset. Does she pull her ears back, even slightly, stare at you when you try to pet her, or make a low growling sound? Obviously, she's not happy.
Does she ever stop purring while you're petting her? She wants to stop. If you're interacting with the cat, and the cat's not purring, it's not a good idea to continue whatever you're doing.
Does she eye you hungrily, tail twitching, like a cat watching a squirrel or bird? She wants to play! That's not great news, though, if she has a habit of mistaking parts of your body for her cat toys.
I'm thinking she's probably just overstimulated at times and sees you as a giant cat toy. You can modify this behavior by either giving her something more interesting than you to play with or establishing a new routine for the cat by responding appropriately to the signs that she's going to scratch or bite you.
If all else fails, you could start getting her claws filed or capped. Please try other things before this. Behavior modification works. Cats are pretty simple to learn how to respond to. Please don't resort to declawing, unless it's an absolute last resort. (and if you do it, get her partially declawed so that she can still use her back legs to climb and defend herself if she has to. They usually only use their front paws in play.) This is just kittenish behavior that she will probably grow out of. Next time, do not play rough with a kitten and give it the idea that it's okay to scratch and bite parts of your body. Offer it cat toys, instead.
She has a lot of hidey places to go when she wants to be away from us, the sauna is her room and none of us go in there when she is in there. She's been spayed.
Sometimes her tail is twitching/waving slowly when she scratches or bites, sometimes its not, and sometimes she does lick her paws after licking me but not always. Often its just that I'm sat on the sofa and she'll come up and rub her head against me, lick my face and then sometimes suddenly bite my cheek, or I'm passing by and give her a stroke and she'll lick my hand/fingers. Most of the time she doesn't bite after licking but sometimes. No growling noises and her ears aren't pulled back.
Does seem like she is getting overstimulated. Won't get her declawed, its illegal and I don't like it anyway. We trim her claws but of course they sharpen up again quickly.
Barbra Ann had a very low touch tolerance. She would get in my lap and all cuddly and purring while I pet her and then....BAM she would bite the stew out of me and fly away. I soon learned to watch for the signs like the twitching tail. She wanted affection and to be close to me but too much would send her over. I've heard of this more with female cats than male cats.
langley is a biter. But only me and only in the most playful mouthing kind of way. He doesn't draw blood and it doesn't really hurt. Sometimes I offer him a knuckle to mouth and that seems to keep him happy. Every cat has their own personality and unique ways but no cat should be allowed to hurt humans.
Barbra Ann had a very low touch tolerance. She would get in my lap and all cuddly and purring while I pet her and then....BAM she would bite the stew out of me and fly away. I soon learned to watch for the signs like the twitching tail. She wanted affection and to be close to me but too much would send her over. I've heard of this more with female cats than male cats.
langley is a biter. But only me and only in the most playful mouthing kind of way. He doesn't draw blood and it doesn't really hurt. Sometimes I offer him a knuckle to mouth and that seems to keep him happy. Every cat has their own personality and unique ways but no cat should be allowed to hurt humans.
Touch sensitivity might be another thing to consider. Again, look for the signs. If the cat says it's enough; it's enough.
Barbra Ann had a very low touch tolerance. She would get in my lap and all cuddly and purring while I pet her and then....BAM she would bite the stew out of me and fly away. I soon learned to watch for the signs like the twitching tail. She wanted affection and to be close to me but too much would send her over. I've heard of this more with female cats than male cats.
langley is a biter. But only me and only in the most playful mouthing kind of way. He doesn't draw blood and it doesn't really hurt. Sometimes I offer him a knuckle to mouth and that seems to keep him happy. Every cat has their own personality and unique ways but no cat should be allowed to hurt humans.
My girl Gypsy that I spoke of in my earlier post is the same way. But it's not so much a 'low touch tolerance' as it is a time limit thing. She loves full on petting/stroking/ear scratches, etc., but only for a few to several minutes and that's it. She's very good at giving signals when she's had enough, but unfortunately I'm not always as good at picking up on them... like if I'm watching tv or reading. Every time she's had to 'tell me to stop', it was my fault for not paying attention.
She has a lot of hidey places to go when she wants to be away from us, the sauna is her room and none of us go in there when she is in there. She's been spayed.
Sometimes her tail is twitching/waving slowly when she scratches or bites, sometimes its not, and sometimes she does lick her paws after licking me but not always. Often its just that I'm sat on the sofa and she'll come up and rub her head against me, lick my face and then sometimes suddenly bite my cheek, or I'm passing by and give her a stroke and she'll lick my hand/fingers. Most of the time she doesn't bite after licking but sometimes. No growling noises and her ears aren't pulled back.
Does seem like she is getting overstimulated. Won't get her declawed, its illegal and I don't like it anyway. We trim her claws but of course they sharpen up again quickly.
Watch what she does when she gets ready to bite you. I ran into a couple of cats like that. They were super friendly, would bound right up to me, not knowing me from Adam, let me pet them for a little while, try to climb in my lap with their tails twitching slightly, and then they would try to bite me, overstimulation reaction. What did I do? I just watched for when they tried to climb in my lap, then I realized they were tired, stopped, and let them go do their own thing. I limited contact with them, and they were okay.
Watch what she does when she gets ready to bite you. I ran into a couple of cats like that. They were super friendly, would bound right up to me, not knowing me from Adam, let me pet them for a little while, try to climb in my lap with their tails twitching slightly, and then they would try to bite me, overstimulation reaction. What did I do? I just watched for when they tried to climb in my lap, then I realized they were tired, stopped, and let them go do their own thing. I limited contact with them, and they were okay.
She is a super friendly cat, goes up to everyone for petting but yeah, must be easily over stimulated, shall watch more carefully for signs
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