Here's Why Your Cat Gives You "Love" Bites
If you're a cat butler (err, owner) you've probably experienced a "love bite" or two. Love bites usually happen in the midst of kitty cuddle time. One minute your kitty will be purring away as you pet them, the next they're nibbling and nipping at your hands. My cat Rascal has a fondness for my chomping down on my knuckles. This odd behavior may leave many cat owners wondering, "Why is my cat biting me out of nowhere?"
Biting is a form of communication for cats. They can bite for more than a few reasons: fear, aggression, defensiveness, or acting territorially. But did you know that many cats give their owners gentle nibbles and nips as a display of affection? Hence the name "Love Bites"! Cats show their affection for us humans in several ways - you just have to know what to look for.
What is a Love Bite?
Love bites generally start as licks and graduate into gentle nips and nibbles that don't break the skin. Some cat behaviorists believe that love bites are reminiscent of a cat's kittenhood when their mothers would lick and nibble them during grooming. So if your cat is giving you a gentle nibble or lick, it can be seen as a sign of affection.
And believe it or not, though domestic cats aren't usually seen as "social" animals, they actually enjoy participating in what's called "allogrooming." Allogrooming is a social grooming behavior that helps increase bonds among social groups, in this case, you and your kitty; much like a pride of lions.
So, how can you tell what is and isn't a love bite? A love bite generally doesn't break the skin. And when your kitty is giving you these gentle nibbles, there won't be other signs of fear or aggression, like hissing, growling, and clawing. Engaging in "love bite" behavior, your cat's body language will be relaxed and calm.
Overstimulation
However, as most cat owners know: sometimes these gentle nibbles and licks can be a sign that your cat is overstimulated and they're letting you know, gently, that it's time to stop. If you've ever been petting your cat only to have their gentle nibbles escalate suddenly into a harder bite, your cat may be experiencing overstimulation. If you have multiple cats that groom each other, you may notice this behavior during grooming time, too.
Cats may experience overstimulation due to the sensitivity of their hair follicles - after an extended period of petting or pressure, it can begin to hurt and cause discomfort in cats. Gentle nips may be your cat letting you know petting time is over; these warnings may be paired with other signs of discomfort, such as tail swishing or flicking, skin twitching over the back, flattening of the ears, freezing, tenseness or staring, quick head turn to watch your hand as you pet, pupillary dilation, or walking away and lying down.
How to Stop "Love Bites"
While love bites can often be a sign of affection, they can still hurt or cause discomfort to us cat owners. It's okay to discourage this behavior.
1. When your cat gives you love bites, don't quickly pull your hand away. Instead, stop moving your hand altogether until the nibbles stop, then move your hand. Cats are visual predators and the movement of your hand may encourage their prey drive and make them chomp down harder, purely out of instinct.
Don't yell at or swat your cat, as this may result in fearful or aggressive behavior. Instead, use a reward system, such as treats, when the cat shows appropriate behavior.
2. If your cat gives you love bites a little too often, try a hands-off play style. Use interactive toys such as a variety of wand toys or even an app-controlled cat toy to encourage bonding with your cat without the love bites.
Does your cat give you love bites? Let us know in the comments!
I have 2 cats, Kitty and Polka Dot. Kitty does head bunting to show affection. She is also a very social cat and likes to cuddle with just about anybody. She also LOVES to have her belly rubbed and be scratched everywhere. She’s never given live bites and never groomed any of us. She used to like to sleep on my shoulder or hip, but now she’s too big for that. My daughter is her “person” and she now sleeps wherever my daughter sleeps. Polka Dot loves to give love bites. She also likes to lay on my face and groom and “love bite” my ears…in particular. Or she will lay next to me and bury her head under my chin. She also likes to cuddle in my lap. She only does this to me. She does give love bites on fingers to other members of the family but I am the only one she grooms. She does t particularly like the belly rubs and she isn’t really social. If there are too many people in the house, she will hide where Kitty will garner attention. I love both of my cats and love how they show me love in different ways.
My cat does give me love bites, but I think that it is sweet, it is her way of showing affection, but when my cat bites my hand to hard, I just pull my hand away, I have been doin that for 2months now, and she is now be gentle when she gives me love bites. And my cat Jazzy DOES have 3 legs, so I try my best to not yell at her as Often as other cat owners do.
To Sheryl Hankins : The kitten that wakes you up in the night is a normal reaction. Due to the nature of kittens they feel the need to wake up like they did when they were with their mom. In the kittens mind you are his/her mom. Kittens and cats love warmth and when the kitten wakes you up, move the kitten away from your mouth and have it lay beside you. This will become a loving bond and builds trust between you and the kitten, and the behaviour will end. The other idea is to take the kitten and lay it at the end of your feet, or lay the kitten at the top of your head. between yourself and the headboard, make sure to talk to him/her. The last resort is to either keep the kitten out of the bedroom by closing the door and make sure he has something to cuddle with for comfort or have a spray bottle with water in it and spray the kitten for unwanted behavior. I found that patience, perserverance, correcting while talking to the kitten works, with out squirting water on the cat does work. Cats will learn the words
" no, get down, off the table" and they will learn that with the action and the words at the same time. I had adopted a kitten last October and I used my words and actions with the kitten. If he was on the table, I would go and pick him up off the table and while doing so I would say " off the table" and I would put him on the floor. Now he doesn’t.
I’ve always found i can stop the love bites by gently pushing INTO the bite! I think it confuses them, and they let go. It’s not easy to start doing automatically, as it’s kinda counter- intuitive, but it does work!
We have a Turkish cat and i pet her most of the times. A week ago i was playing with her using a spong ball and while playing i just showed her the ball and she grabbed it with her claws scratching one of my finger and again after few days i was brushing her fur and she intentionally scratched my knuckle. I gave her a bath some days ago and after that i picked her up she though i was going to put her in the water again and she bit me but it doesn’t hurt me and just now before posting this comment i was peting her and she gave me a love bite and i was afraid and hit her with my phone and she ran and hid under the bed and now after reading this post i am feeling very sorry for her. I literally said sorry to her after some time i called her and she came running but i think she is still mad of me because she didn’t let me cuddle her like she used to but i believe i will make her more attached to me than before.
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