odd feline behaviour

[Gurgie]

ok folks. I have a cat, large med. hair male, mutt basically, but cool as hell. so anyway, he's about 15 pounds or so and all muscle.

2 questions....

how do you break a cat from biting? its not too bad anymore, but he still bites as a warning sign that you are ticking him off. anything anyone can think of to stop him? the vet told me to flick him in the nose, but I dont like that idea and would like somehting more humane. we trained him to a squirt bottle, and he listens better than our oud guys ever did, except for the biting. he bites my little girl hard enough to leave dents in her skin, but doesnt usually break the skin.

second....

same cat, different question. for some reason, when Jack (my cat) is getting good pets and relaxing, he DROOLS!! LOL

I dont mean a little bit of slobber, I mean you can watch the drops form at his mouth and slide down his fur. nothing like having kittie company when you lay down to go to sleep and petting and winding up with a hand full of slobber. is this normal? I've never seen a cat slobber before. I think it s hoot,

thanks in advance for any replies

[tigerlily]

You may want to look for other visual cues that he's getting a bit peeved, or try the nose flick. It's not any worse that smacking a child's hand. In either case you want the consequence to happen immediately after the bite. Some animals just aren't as quick to catch on, or just don't care. I have one cat that is moody as all get out. She's a real PITA. She's sweet and purring one second and psycho kitty the next.

I have never seen a cat drool when relaxed. I have no clue about that one, other than to advise putting burp rags under her.

[Gurgie]

yeah, the doc said a nose-flick wont hurt him, but i dunno...I dont like hitting anything for any reason lol

he does have some tells, but sometimes he lets you know and then bites all in a matter of seconds, so i cant always put him down when I see he's getting cranky.

Jack is the ONLY animal I have ever seen who drools. the first time he did it, I thought "OH my god he's bleeding" so I rush him into the bathroom, and he looked at me thinking, "ok so now I KNOW you're weird".

he is so very opinionated...and an oddball as well, but a cuddly oddball

[tigerlily]

If you're really not comfortable with the nose flick, then I would keep the water bottle in hand when he's on your lap then. I don't mind a quick swat for whoever in the house needs it. Of course I usually hit everyone where it hurts. My son loses his monster trucks when he's in trouble, and my daughter gets isolated. It's whatever they hate most at the time. Now for the hubby there's all sorts of torturing options available. And the animals don't try most of their stuff with me, since I'm a big meanie. The water bottle works great with my cats, and I'll crate the dogs when they are having issues. You just gotta figure out what works for you.

[cassandra]

In my experience, if an adult cat has a biting habit, then the cat has a biting habit. They don't "learn" well - just keep neosporin and bandaids handy. =)

The drool problem I think may be fixable by some minor facial surgery. I had a friend who's cat drooled all - the - time. She took him and they were able to do a little tuck to his lips or something and that helped keep the saliva in his mouth. So...I recommend asking your vet if there's anything that can be done.

[SatanicIntention]

No need for surgery... Some cats drool when they are happy, it's just a normal reaction with some of them. We have one at school who drools when he's being brushed. If they drool, they drool. It's fine.

The squirt bottle is a good idea(mixing some listering with water helps even more), but I've always swatted them on their nose or the top of their head, as well as scruffed them and removed them from the area. Being petted is NOT their decision, it is ours. They don't get to decide when they get petted or not, and we don't have to pet them when they are in our faces. Just remove the cat from the area via scruffing or just pick them up. Don't tolerate biting, as it can lead to some very nasty habits. Nip it in the bud right here and now so it doesn't escalate into anything further(such as drawing blood and using claws just because the cat can).

This really isn't something you should tolerate, especially with a young child in the house. Your child could get seriously injured by that cat because you haven't told the cat he's not allowed to bite. Think about what mother cats would do if their young acted that way. They would pick them up by the scruff and remove them, or smack them on the head with her paw. Those are things cats understand. They don't understand English too well, LoL.

[frankykeno]

I totally agree with Becky. I've had cats for years and some stubborn neutered toms but they can be trained. They just try to convince you they can't LOL. One of ours (a big male with massive teeth and claws) liked to think he was allowed to bite when he felt like it. Not in my house buddy boy LOL.

Deal with him in his own language. He's a cat, a feline and he will get your point if you make it firmly and consistently. It will not hurt him to be nose flicked...it's not hitting...it's flicking. Also you can take an empty small can...fill it with small pebbles and reseal it. Shake it sharply at him when he acts out. Cats do not like this sound and will associate it with poor behaviour. Water guns work. I always found a very loud hand clap followed by a strong NO BAD CAT! got my point across. With the really stubborn male I actually found out by accident that me making a deep cat growl sound at him really got his attention. After awhile if he was starting to do anything I didn't like I'd just growl at him and he'd get the point that I was in charge LOL.

It isn't hurting any animal to train it or discipline it appropriately. All creatures need to know their place in the home and when it comes to small kids they must know they are not allowed to bite or scratch. Your kids of course need to know as well not to harrass the pets and to not use discipline unless it's warranted. I would however include the kids that are getting nipped in the discipline program so kitty gets the point that the kids are above him in status in the household.

Your cat won't enjoy the new deal. That's okay he's not supposed to. He and your family will however enjoy the results.

[Gurgie]

so I'll trust you all and try the nose flick again. he doesnt bite just to bite though, so maybe I'll have some luck to get it out of him. lol

he is a character though....demanding when he is feeling cuddly and arrogant when he doesnt want to be touched. he's not always a big nasty


but thanks, I will try the nose flick, and keep my squirt bottle handy and hope my mister will behave

(Jack's full name is Mister Travelin' Jack Sawyer, thus the 'mister')

[frankykeno]

Our male was like that....a big softie but a bit tempermental. It did take some consistent discipline and also reminding the younger kids to watch his tells for when they were pushing his limits. For some reason toms often don't like their tails or the base of their tails touched, it can trigger an aggressive reaction.

Oh and Barney did sometimes drool too. Not really often but occasionally he'd slobber away happily.

Geesh I have to stop posting about cats. Barney passed last year at age 16+ and Miss Puss Puss passed away the year before at age 18. I swore no more cats but now I'm getting the old "a kitten would be sooooo nice" feeling....ack! Time to lock myself in the bathroom till it passes LOL.

[Beauty the BP]

instead of the nose flick i use the ear flick. Right on the tip and my cats get the message.

As for drooling. it is a normal response to good stimuli. it means you have found just the right spot. i had a cat that did it everytime i massaged her ears. she only had 3 legs and just couldnt reach that ear so i did it for her. and drool would pour from her.

between the ear flick and spray bottle mixed with water and orange oil ( citrus is a smell cats hate) it worked a charm.

Beauty the BP