Stop your cat biting you in play by screaming!

Gabriel likes to climb

This will be extremely brief! If you have a young cat who bites you too hard when he plays with you, you can stop him or make him take notice by pretending to be hurt. This means screaming a little. Doesn’t have to be too loud. It can be a pretend scream. This replicates what happens when kittens play and play too hard. The cat who is unhappy about the play because it is getting too rough, screams. This is the way kittens learn how hard to bite.

That is my theory. I use the technique with Gabriel as he likes to nibble my hand when we play. He can become excited and bite too hard. It isn’t that hard but too hard so I pretend it hurts by making the appropriate sound. He stops.

You may well think this is a failure and stupid but I find it reasonably effective. I believe it is a decent technique. And it is a gentle technique, effectively a request.

The photo is Gabriel enjoying climbing outside in the evening sun. He is athletic. I am a bit anxious about him but so far it is working out nicely.

9 thoughts on “Stop your cat biting you in play by screaming!”

  1. The author of the best comment will receive an Amazon gift of their choice at Christmas! Please comment as they can add to the article and pass on your valuable experience.
  2. First of all about the photo of Gabriel, he is gorgeous looking cat/ kitten. <3

    and about This phenomenon, about a "slight scream" is quite practical and work out properly with cats and kittens both. I read it online in an article of a vet woman, as I can remember in 2008.

    Agreed with you, thank you for sharing the knowledge 🙂

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  3. I usually yell “OW!” also, and that usually works.
    Also, it helps not to pull your hand or arm away, which seems counter instinctive, but to stop moving.

    Gabriel has the look of a beautiful true wild cat. I hope he remains safe in his outdoor adventures.

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    • I love the near wildcat appearance of Gabriel. Very natural. He is cautious and sensible but there is always a risk. On his behalf I have reluctantly taken that risk. I am not totally convinced I am correct but he more or less made the decision for me. He literally begged to be let out.

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  4. That works for my cats as well. And after the initial loud “OW!”, if my cats continue to bite hard, I hiss at them and immediately stop playing. It seems to work.

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  5. Thanks so much for this idea Michael. We have a feral my husband has become fond of and care for. He will play a little and then bite him ; even though Stan is gentle and patient.
    We do not retaliate with our cats so aside from spraying with a water gun I think your idea of a cry in pain technique might work *
    A mother cat is verbal as are all wild animals. They communicate with their body language and vocalisations.

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    • Hi Eva, I hope works for you. It does for me and it makes sense because cats do have a good vocal range and communicate vocally. Also when you watch kittens play hard the recipient cries out if he doesn’t like it. The perpetrator then stops (eventually!).

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  6. yeah, i do it too, & it does work. once my kids got the hang of it it stopped a lot that overexcited biting. we tell our kids “no” forcefully, right? that helped mine see that it was ok in the right situations. btw, Gabriel is a BEAUTIFUL kitty!

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    • Thanks Ed. Glad we agree. And Gabriel says thanks too. He is a semi-feral rescue cat (originally). He is now coming up to 6 months of age and nicely socialised. I can call him a domestic cat now. I raised him from 6 weeks of age.

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