'Beware You cat may bite you without any obvious provocation'

... (RSS Feed) -

One common experience of many cat owners is given below. Read ahead for more information. It has been noticed that when the cat is sitting very quietly and calmly on the lap of the owner and the owner is petting the cat by running his or her hand over the ..

Excerpted from Pets (Preview)

Comment #1 Ann (64.76.36.132) -

I think this makes cats seem a bit too scarey. There is a bit difference between a cats bite when it playing and when it is angry.

I don't think you'll ever have a cat bite you in an aggressive, angry fashion without direct provocation (you get what you deserve).

Comment #2 MissyG (64.136.27.228) -

Actually, I've been attacked by a cat without provoking it. My son and I were sitting on the floor in the living room. We weren't bothering the cat, blocking its path or anything, and it attacked us. My son nearly lost his eye, we had numerous bad scratches (one requiring stitches) and the cat bit through my foot.

Comment #3 KateyBate (66.227.233.47) -

I've never had a cat attack me without provocation. The first time we were playing aggressively, and the other was when one of outr cats had babies and I got too close to them for her comfort level. I agree that unless you provoke a cat (whether you know it or not) it's rare for them to attack.

Comment #4 MissyG (64.136.27.228) -

Oh, I do agree that it is certainly rare, but it can happen. People should hardly live in fear of their pet cat though!

Comment #5 Kim (142.166.242.188) -

I have owned many cats over the years and currently I have one. I have never experienced a cat biting you for no reason. If the cat and you are playing then I don't consider it biting. If it ever did bite someone just out of the blue, I would not keep it around.

Comment #6 endora (24.45.126.104) -

My friend was attacked by his cat when he was trying to give it medicine from the doctor. It got really pissy and bite his hand and caused nerve damage. He had to have an operation on his hand.

Comment #7 kabir from around the globe -

My cat also attacked when when i was quitely sitting with my desktop.....................

it just came closer and bit me hard ..................

it was the first time of her behaviour and i never understood for what was the bite......

I think they have something in thier genes responsible for this behaviour..........

:)

Comment #8 gwes from OC -

My old cat sometimes starts running in circles and hissing what is she doing?

Comment #9 tatiana from pensacola, florida -

I was sound asleep and my 8 month old usually loving cat jumped on the bed meowed and bit the blood out of my face. Any ideas?

Comment #10 lily from deep south -

Did you have food on your face? Did you forget to feed the cat? Aniamls can and will bite. I don't see how it is a shock for anyone.

Comment #11 Turtle from Lily Pond -

Yep. That's why pets are to be kept out of babies' rooms. Screens are sold for cribs for just that purpose. Animals are animals. They're unpredictable.

Comment #12 Kimmy from inside my igloo...brrrr -

Wow, I never heard of such a thing. I had a cat that use to bite the back of my ankle when I was walking and he wanted attention, but not because he was mean.

Comment #13 Lee from Montevideo, Uruguay -

There are playful bites which are completely different from bits that would draw blood.

Comment #14 alain from Old Country -

A friend of mine tried to put his 'tame' cat into a cardboard carton so that he could take it in his car to the vet. Everytime, he tried to lower it into the box it spread its legs out and hooked its claws onto the top edges of the box! Very funny watching this! Each time he released one hand to try and push a resisting paw into the box, he got a resounding scratch! He got it in eventually, but I think that the vet may have had to treat him too for lacerations to his hands :) The box had plenty of room and nice little openings in the sides so there was no harm to the cat!

Comment #15 Lee from Montevideo, Uruguay -

Try a pillow case. That is easy to get the cat into. Then you can put the pillow case and cat in a box and let it out of the pillow case.

Comment #16 kristen (199.126.252.236) -

my cat all of sudden is starting to bite the nose. For no reason and she was not doing it in the nice way. She bite my sister and my mom on the nose to and we were just petting her, and she did that. i dont know whats wrong with her

Comment #17 Clara James (67.20.125.156) -

WOW~~ I just read all the stories about cat bites..I have a 12 year old tabby. One evening I was petting him on my lap, and I remembered that my other cat was still outside, and I quickly pushed him down, and started down my hallway, and he attached my leg..made some bloody scratches, and a little bite on the same leg..I immediately put hydrogen on them, and did not have any problem..but I just don't understand why he did that, since he never has....It frightened me alot, and then he kind of was following me around the house, like he was stalking me..I actually was afraid of him..don't know what to do.?

Comment #18 sue (71.233.134.78) -

how can i get my cat to stop hissing at a stray that i have taken in the stray is not aggressive and can i work itself out on it's own.

Comment #19 Jayne (65.190.142.2) -

My Siamese cats (2) both have done the same incident-biting since they were kittens: if I yell Ow Ow Ouch!, because I trip, step on something, stub my toe - in other words have a bit of a hurt - either or both immediately start for my angles to attack! They try biting, and I have to assure them that I am all right...they do stop fairly quickly....it IS very scary when it happens, but from reading, it seems to be from fear...fortunately it doesn't happen often that I yell OUCH, but their biting ankles is rather consistent with the Ouch-word.

Anyone else hear about this kind of biting? J.

Comment #20 MISSG from LOS ANGELES CA -

My cat bite me on the face and drew blood while I was sleeping. I love my cat but now I'm actually scared of her. Has this happened to you and what did you do to stop this behavior.

Comment #21 Mrs O (68.118.66.41) -

Hello all cat lovers. I am a cat lover and I have an odd situation happened to me today.

I was unlocking the trunk of my car when I heard a growl from behind me.. I turned my head to see the neighbors 3 paw cat coming towards me.. In no time at all, he was atacking me for no reason. I turned and yelled his name, but he just keped coming towards me hunchted and growiling. He tried atacking me again and I tried to kick him and he atached my foot. I reached for a stick and then he run away down the driveway. I have huge bites on back of my right leg and scratches on back of my left leg. Any ideas why he would do that or has this happened to anyone? Thanks. Mrs O. Gold Beach OR.

Comment #22 anna from Putian -

WOW~~ I just read all the stories about cat bites..I have a 12 year old tabby. One evening I was petting him on my lap, and I remembered that my other cat was still outside, and I quickly pushed him down, and started down my hallway, and he attached my leg..made some bloody scratches, and a little bite on the same leg..I immediately put hydrogen on them, and did not have any problem..but I just don't understand why he did that, since he never has....It frightened me alot, and then he kind of was following me around the house, like he was stalking me..I actually was afraid of him..don't know what to do.?

Comment #23 anna from Putian -

I've never had a cat attack me without provocation. The first time we were playing aggressively, and the other was when one of outr cats had babies and I got too close to them for her comfort level. I agree that unless you provoke a cat (whether you know it or not) it's rare for them to attack.

Comment #24 Libby (74.75.228.119) -

My cat bit my boyfriend for doing nothing., The cat was sitting on the arm of the couch and my boyfriend was busy putting the cord back onto the vacuum and out of nowhere for no reason our cat bit my boyfriend's index finger. Now it's all swollen and pus is coming out. The only reason we can think of since he has never done this or shown any aggression before is because we brought 2 new kittens into the house. We put them into a cage in the living room so our resident kitty could see them. WHO KNOWS???

Comment #25 kizzle (71.49.20.146) -

yeah yesterday i was holding my cat and rubbing and out of he bit heck out of my finger.why i dont know

Comment #26 Niki (69.241.82.132) -

I got my cat at 6 weeks and from day one she would bit if you tried to pet her or was ignoring her she is now 4 months and she still bites but not as hard as she once did she only bites when you pet her or if she is trying to play with you and you ingore her she attacks like she is chasing prey but she doesn't bite she only pounces and bite your fingers soft if you stop and play back

Comment #27 Steveo from Philadelphia Pa -

I can relate to this. I had a cat whose shadow I saw stealthily approaching me from behind while I was on my bed and it bit my arm hard and held on while growling. I hadnt provoked the cat in any way I am aware of. The bite was close to a blood vessel so I was worried. The bite took a few weeks to heal and was kind of nasty looking. After this, the trust I had for that cat was pretty much gone. I didnt get rid of her though, which I think a lot of people would have.

Comment #28 Allycat (66.214.116.40) -

Whenever I come to pet my cat she starts hissing and tries to bite me for no reason that I'm aware of.

Comment #29 Allycat (66.214.116.40) -

I didn't get rid of my cat but I'm getting worried that it might get worse.

Comment #30 Meow (124.169.152.145) -

sometimes our cat pounces out from nowhere and bites us on the ankles for no reason. i think shes just being playful but sometimes it hurts!

Comment #31 dragonfly (71.214.63.93) -

our cat walked by my two year old and he started biting her leg she never even touched him. i looked at him in the eyes one day and he growled at me i never touched him or anything.

Comment #32 Yusrinah (196.20.166.146) -

Hi am a cat lover too :) is there any difference between male and female behavior towards us? I had a female cat before she was not that much aggressive as the one i actually have which is male. I usually cuts his nails(only the needle parts) His bites really hurts, I dunno what would happened to me if i didn't cut his nails, sometimes he jump on my feet and bite me hard :( is there anyway i could control his aggressive behaviours?

• Yusrinah

Comment #33 rae (98.196.25.121) - Sat Apr 12 15:35:32 2008

Someone gave me their cat when he was about 7 months old. He had been neutered and front claws removed (I am soooo against the removal of claws). He had once been thrown across the room by this person's boyfriend. I don't know what else may have happened to him. He would bite when I pet him and bite my legs when I walked. I have broken him of the habit of biting me when I walk, by putting him in "time out" for 2 minutes, in the bathroom with the light on, and the door closed. When he bit me on the leg, I said "no. time out" and put him gently on the closed lid of the commode. After 2 minutes, I opened the door, picked him up, kissed him on the head, and put him gently on the floor. It took a couple of weeks to break him, but it worked. When I walk, he sometimes grabs my legs with his front paws, but he doesn't bite. He still bites my hand and arm when I pet him or clip his back claws. The only time I bleed is if I jerk my hand or arm away. I haven't tried putting him in time out for this habit, because I'd be putting him in time out every few minutes. I am hoping he'll outgrow this habit, and it doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did on the legs. I think someone either played too aggressively with cats like this, or they mistreated them. I am extra kind to my cat, he has things to play on, in, and with. I would never think of giving him up. By the way, before I clip his claws, I wrap my arms and hands with an ace bandage, exposing only my fingers, and after the clipping, I give a treat, even though he is biting the ace bandage the entire time. I have tons of patience, and I will never lose it with him. I hope this helps someone.

Comment #34 Faye (70.146.109.29) - Wed Apr 30 17:20:59 2008

Hi,

I have a 9 year old cat- raise him from a kitten at 3 months.

he is fixed.

i take care of him making sure he has his food and fresh water daily and keep the cat litter clean.

he loves jumping on my lap to be petted and curls up and sleep, he is a 24/7 in house he never been outside in his life. once he snuck outside and freaked out panic, meow in terrorand hid under the bed for the rest of the day, that is when he was 4 yrs.

now everything is nightmarish,

recently my daughter and I have been attacked on several different occasions, i would be watching tv in my bedroom, my daughter would be reading or doing sketches. the cat jumps on the bed and huntches, eyes glowering, nothing but blackness, ears drawn slightly, and he jumps claws extended teeth gleaming and draws blood, and my arm aches and stings and i make sure it is dissinfected, i have scares still healing from 1 week ago.

i am afraid that he will attack us when we are sleeping.

I am seriously thinking of putting him to sleep, or letting him run out of the house, and not say anything to my daughter.

i never had fear of a house pet in my life. why is he being so angerly agressive lately ( the past 3 weeks).

Comment #35 Michelle (74.197.46.158) - Wed May 21 00:32:34 2008

Some people who get bitten by cats do not deserve it and this is to comment #1. I myself am an animal activist and understand that animals act only in fear however, that does not mean that a person deserves to get bitten. That comment was a little closed minded and actually cruel of you. I was bitten by my own pet cat this morning when I was carrying her. She heard a noise and freaked out clawed me and bit me so she could run and hide. I was not provoking her or hurting her. Just holding her and petting her.

In addition, do vets deserve to get bitten? They love animals and treat them with respect.

I think that is cool that you have this attitude and are on the animals' side, but that was uncalled for to say that people deserve it. You do not know the situation and some cats are aggressive. I took this cat off the street and gave it a home. I do not know how she was treated by humans in the past, but I have sacrificed myself for the needs of this cat. I love her and will still keep her so do not judge until you know what happened. I have never hit, hurt or provoked her. I have pus coming out of my bite and I am on antibiotics. Sorry guys I am just mad at the person for saying that all people that are bitten by a cat deserve it.

Comment #36 Michelle (74.197.46.158) - Wed May 21 00:37:29 2008

I think putting a cat to sleep or abandoning them is cruel. I myself have two homeless cats that have been abandoned. You have this cat and this cat depends on you. Yes you need to get rid of it for the safety of your kids, but not the way you want to. Take it to a shelter that will not put him to sleep or try to find a home for this cat. You just want to take the lazy way out and not be responsible for your cat.

Are you serious? You actually will let the cat run out. That is mean.

Name:           
E-Mail:         

Optional (please add to our directory first)
Web Link:       
Link Title:     

Message:

Note: once you register your email address with Pets and Animals it is used across our whole network of forums and blogs. You can create seperate profiles for each forum or blog, but use the same login.