Ouch! One moment you are cuddling your soft purring kitty and the next moment their teeth are embedded in your finger. What is behind cats and finger nipping?
Rarely is your cat actually being aggressive when they dig their teeth into your finger. If we had thick fur and stretchy skin like a cat, a nip wouldn’t hurt all that much. Between littermates and mothers and kittens, biting and chewing is regular and acceptable behaviour. When your cat nips you on the fingers, it is probably simply expressing his or her affection for you as they would to another cat.
Whilst it's sweet and lovely that your cat is being so affectionate, the nipping probably needs to stop - especially if they are accidentally drawing blood!
Since their intentions are positive, it is best not to reject their well-meant gesture with shouting and scolding. Placing them on the ground and stopping your cuddle session can work quite well as your cat learns chewing leads to the end of their special time with you for a while. It may take some time but eventually the association will become firm.
Chewing behaviour in kittens can also be related to teething, your fingers simply being convenient ‘chew toys’ for your kitten to relieve their discomfort on. If you suspect this may be part of the problem try providing alternatives for them to gnaw on, such as special cat toys or chewy treats.
Persistence and clear rules set down fairly and firmly will eventually put an end to the problem, as your kitten or cat learns their love bites aren't desired and are best either stopped, or reserved for toys.
החתול שלי JB, לועס לי את הידיים כאשר הוא רוצה שאני אעשה משהו והוא חושב שאני לא מקבל את ההודעה! הגיע הזמן להוציא עוד אוכל. הזמן לצאת מהמיטה ולהפוך ארוחת בוקר קיטי!
Britt
Naw, הם פשוט מחפשים חתיכת בשר נחמד לשקוע את שיניהם לתוך ולא לאכול כי מזון חיטה מלא מזון לחיות אנחנו כופים עליהם
JB
אני לא החתול של שירלי, אבל החתלתול שלי קאי לני כל הזמן אחרי האצבעות שלי. ללא שם: קינתינג / playtoys אני מאמין. בכל מקרה, הפתרון שלי הוא זוג כפפות עבודה עור המאפשרים הן קאי לאני ואני ליהנות שובבות.
Susan
בן 17 שלי בירמן עדיין חושב שהוא יכול ללעוס על הברכיים שלי!
פִּתָרוֹן?
להפסיק ללבוש מכנסיים קצרים!
Mariam
שני חתלתולים שלי התחיל ללקק וללוע את האצבע שלי זה לא פוגע בכלל אבל אני כל הזמן שואל למה הם אוהבים ללעוס את האצבע שלי אני
ToriBear
החתול שלי נוטה לנשוך את האצבעות שלי אבל לא קשה. הוא ליקק אותם ונושך אותם, ובדרך כלל הוא נוהם כשהוא עושה את זה. הגיוני כי הס רק מראה קצת אהבה. הוא תינוק מתוק.
Alison Morgan
My friend has 3 cats who get lots of love from me when I visit or pet sit them. All of them occasionally put their mouth over my finger. At first it was almost like nursing though they are all adults. But Precious, a very affectionate calico Persian has started chewing. The chewing has gotten harder and it hurts. I am the one who feeds them when I pet sit, and they sleep with me (almost ON me!) So I guess it's love bites?
Gerald Knowlton
My cat was just being all cute and sweet and cuddling. When he was lightly lightly nibbling on my fingers when all the sudden he started biting down I had to flick his little nose nothing harder anything so don't be calling Peta on me haha. I looked at him and told him that it hurt. He did the cutest thing ever he licked my fingers and purred gave me kisses and then left....true story no lie it was super adorable
Sierra U
I have an adult cat that is 6 months old and he will be giving me lots of love one moment then he will start to chew on my fingers. I really don't know what got him to start doing this. He hasn't drew blood but the chewing hurts and I am unsure why he does this. He has never done this in the 4 and a half months I have had him. I usually just have to walk away for him to get the message that it isn't acceptable!
Jami
My 14 mo male neutered cat acts like a baby. He still meows at me like a kitten and he chews and licks on everything I own. He chews my fingers, my cell phone, purse, my computer, etc. He was adopted. Was he just weaned too early?
Samantha Lynn Manning
The cat was taste testing you before and now it has decided you are tasty enough for it to try.
Judi
My 10 year old cat stiii will nibble on my hand or arm. It's no more than nibbling, if that. She seems to do it most often when we go to bed. I think she means it as affection. Her daughter-cat has never done this. Surprising!
Your Nan
Don't listen to her...the cat is being affectionate...but if the bites get too hard for you to handle, then put the cat down until the hard biting stops.
Linda
I just adopted a kitty that they say is about a year old. I am wondering if he is younger because he is constantly chewing my fingers (when I gently say "no teeth" he does stop, but it is a persistent behavior. This afteroon my 5 year old was eating and Totem, the new kitty, bit her hindside. He chases her relentlessly more like a little cat, although he's 10 pounds and the 5 year old is 7 pounds.
Chris
אני מאמין שזה בעיקר בקיעת שיניים טוב עבור החתול שלי הוא דודן הוא שוכב בין הרגליים שלי במיטה ייקח את כפותיו ולהביא את האצבע שלי אל הפה שלו עובר דרך כל אחד אבל האגודל הוא שלו ללכת גם lol נחמד ועבה רק הולך לעיר הוא פחות אז בן שנה אז הוא עדיין יש כמה גדל לעשות אני מניח שזה החתול הראשון שלי אחרי הכל
Sharky
אחד החתולים שלי (נקבה, בת 4, נמצאת איתי מאז שהיתה בת 6 חודשים) אוהבת לכרסם בעדינות על פרק ידי. אני יודע שאני צריך להרתיע את זה, אבל היא גוערת בזמן שהיא עושה את זה אז זה קצת מתוק. היא חתולה אוהבת מאוד.
Eiron
My cat is almost a year old. She keeps smelling my hands and she will lick me then draw blood. Or she waits until i am asleep and I wake up to her drawing blood
Ladyace
My cat will be 2 in October an still chews on my fingers it does not hurt so is she still teething
MKING
Our little cat is now almost 7 years old: She pads for 20 minutes at a time on us and then settles. Occasionally she will take the end of one of my fingers in one or both paws and lick the end of my finger and then clean under my finger nails! She never bites except to clean under the nails. It's just affection like chewing my hair.
Sambone
החתול הבוגר שלי לועס על האצבעות שלי במיוחד בבוקר ובערב, כשאני איחר להאכיל אותו. אני יודעת שהוא אומר לי שאני רוצה את האוכל שלי עכשיו. יש לו מזון יבש אבל זה כאשר הוא רוצה מזון משומר שלו.
Elle
My Luna does this to me all the time. Instead of completely curbing her behavior by stopping immediately and putting her down, as I feel that rejecting the affection entirely would be rude, I simply tell her "Ow, that hurts", pull my hand away, shake my finger at her then give it back. She has come to realize that my skin isn't as resilient to her teeth and she still does it but at a pleasant level and rarely bites too hard anymore.
Luke
My cat, an eleven year old tom, went through a lot in his early life, but now he is settled and content at our home. If he ever sees me sitting down he will most likely jump up into my lap, which is nice, but after a while he will want to gnaw on my fingers and then bite down and most likely draw blood. This was very helpful. Also, most cats will react to scratching above their tail (like being tickled). My cat is most of the time very reactive to this even if I rub around it. And a lot of the time will try to gnaw my fingers after doing this.
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Comments(22)
החתול שלי JB, לועס לי את הידיים כאשר הוא רוצה שאני אעשה משהו והוא חושב שאני לא מקבל את ההודעה! הגיע הזמן להוציא עוד אוכל. הזמן לצאת מהמיטה ולהפוך ארוחת בוקר קיטי!
Naw, הם פשוט מחפשים חתיכת בשר נחמד לשקוע את שיניהם לתוך ולא לאכול כי מזון חיטה מלא מזון לחיות אנחנו כופים עליהם
אני לא החתול של שירלי, אבל החתלתול שלי קאי לני כל הזמן אחרי האצבעות שלי. ללא שם: קינתינג / playtoys אני מאמין. בכל מקרה, הפתרון שלי הוא זוג כפפות עבודה עור המאפשרים הן קאי לאני ואני ליהנות שובבות.
בן 17 שלי בירמן עדיין חושב שהוא יכול ללעוס על הברכיים שלי!
פִּתָרוֹן?
להפסיק ללבוש מכנסיים קצרים!
שני חתלתולים שלי התחיל ללקק וללוע את האצבע שלי זה לא פוגע בכלל אבל אני כל הזמן שואל למה הם אוהבים ללעוס את האצבע שלי אני
החתול שלי נוטה לנשוך את האצבעות שלי אבל לא קשה. הוא ליקק אותם ונושך אותם, ובדרך כלל הוא נוהם כשהוא עושה את זה. הגיוני כי הס רק מראה קצת אהבה. הוא תינוק מתוק.
My friend has 3 cats who get lots of love from me when I visit or pet sit them. All of them occasionally put their mouth over my finger. At first it was almost like nursing though they are all adults. But Precious, a very affectionate calico Persian has started chewing. The chewing has gotten harder and it hurts. I am the one who feeds them when I pet sit, and they sleep with me (almost ON me!) So I guess it's love bites?
My cat was just being all cute and sweet and cuddling. When he was lightly lightly nibbling on my fingers when all the sudden he started biting down I had to flick his little nose nothing harder anything so don't be calling Peta on me haha. I looked at him and told him that it hurt. He did the cutest thing ever he licked my fingers and purred gave me kisses and then left....true story no lie it was super adorable
I have an adult cat that is 6 months old and he will be giving me lots of love one moment then he will start to chew on my fingers. I really don't know what got him to start doing this. He hasn't drew blood but the chewing hurts and I am unsure why he does this. He has never done this in the 4 and a half months I have had him. I usually just have to walk away for him to get the message that it isn't acceptable!
My 14 mo male neutered cat acts like a baby. He still meows at me like a kitten and he chews and licks on everything I own. He chews my fingers, my cell phone, purse, my computer, etc. He was adopted. Was he just weaned too early?
The cat was taste testing you before and now it has decided you are tasty enough for it to try.
My 10 year old cat stiii will nibble on my hand or arm. It's no more than nibbling, if that. She seems to do it most often when we go to bed. I think she means it as affection. Her daughter-cat has never done this. Surprising!
Don't listen to her...the cat is being affectionate...but if the bites get too hard for you to handle, then put the cat down until the hard biting stops.
I just adopted a kitty that they say is about a year old. I am wondering if he is younger because he is constantly chewing my fingers (when I gently say "no teeth" he does stop, but it is a persistent behavior. This afteroon my 5 year old was eating and Totem, the new kitty, bit her hindside. He chases her relentlessly more like a little cat, although he's 10 pounds and the 5 year old is 7 pounds.
אני מאמין שזה בעיקר בקיעת שיניים טוב עבור החתול שלי הוא דודן הוא שוכב בין הרגליים שלי במיטה ייקח את כפותיו ולהביא את האצבע שלי אל הפה שלו עובר דרך כל אחד אבל האגודל הוא שלו ללכת גם lol נחמד ועבה רק הולך לעיר הוא פחות אז בן שנה אז הוא עדיין יש כמה גדל לעשות אני מניח שזה החתול הראשון שלי אחרי הכל
אחד החתולים שלי (נקבה, בת 4, נמצאת איתי מאז שהיתה בת 6 חודשים) אוהבת לכרסם בעדינות על פרק ידי. אני יודע שאני צריך להרתיע את זה, אבל היא גוערת בזמן שהיא עושה את זה אז זה קצת מתוק. היא חתולה אוהבת מאוד.
My cat is almost a year old. She keeps smelling my hands and she will lick me then draw blood. Or she waits until i am asleep and I wake up to her drawing blood
My cat will be 2 in October an still chews on my fingers it does not hurt so is she still teething
Our little cat is now almost 7 years old: She pads for 20 minutes at a time on us and then settles. Occasionally she will take the end of one of my fingers in one or both paws and lick the end of my finger and then clean under my finger nails! She never bites except to clean under the nails. It's just affection like chewing my hair.
החתול הבוגר שלי לועס על האצבעות שלי במיוחד בבוקר ובערב, כשאני איחר להאכיל אותו. אני יודעת שהוא אומר לי שאני רוצה את האוכל שלי עכשיו. יש לו מזון יבש אבל זה כאשר הוא רוצה מזון משומר שלו.
My Luna does this to me all the time. Instead of completely curbing her behavior by stopping immediately and putting her down, as I feel that rejecting the affection entirely would be rude, I simply tell her "Ow, that hurts", pull my hand away, shake my finger at her then give it back. She has come to realize that my skin isn't as resilient to her teeth and she still does it but at a pleasant level and rarely bites too hard anymore.
My cat, an eleven year old tom, went through a lot in his early life, but now he is settled and content at our home. If he ever sees me sitting down he will most likely jump up into my lap, which is nice, but after a while he will want to gnaw on my fingers and then bite down and most likely draw blood. This was very helpful. Also, most cats will react to scratching above their tail (like being tickled). My cat is most of the time very reactive to this even if I rub around it. And a lot of the time will try to gnaw my fingers after doing this.
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