This is pretty long and I apologize. TL;DR at the end. Im just trying to explain her personality as best as i can. Shes not like any cat ive ever had or met. I posted about her before but it wasnt detailed at all so im trying again.
A little backstory. Feel free to skim over it:
My boyfriends friend heard little cries coming from a bush in the front of his home during a violent storm. He pulled a little black kitten out. He searched for more but only found her. Her eyes were very gooey and still slightly closed. She was scrawny and had fleas all over her. He held onto her for 2 days hoping hed find the rest of the pack so he could help them. But no luck. He posted her picture on instgram to find her a home. My boyfriend (who is extrmely allergic) fell in love and picked her up right away. I was staying in the hospital at the time so he thought shed be a pleasant surprise for when I came home to heal. And he did good. I fell in love with her immediately too. Shes a stunning cat with a big personality. We named her Booger (boog, or boogie) because she was riddled with...well...boogers. He took her to the vet for treatments and tests and she was back in good health in no time. And she began raising hell -living up to her name.
She was always a biter but it didnt hurt when she had her baby teeth so we ignored it. We figured she was teething anyway She is 8 months old now and she bites with a purpose. I know she got all her adult canines in so I think her teething days are over or at least ending. She stopped chewing on everything except our skin.
Shes a little snapping turtle. She bites before she scratches or swats. Its her go-to move.
My boyfriend and I bought her all types of toys and theyre all pointless. She knows we're controlling them and goes after our hands. Unless we're throwing her balls -which she tries to catch with her mouth like a dog. Ive never seen a cat do that.
My boyfriend and I will be minding our own business and she'll casually walk over and latch onto our feet or ankles. She wont leave us alone until we play back.
If we give her unwanted attention or too many pets, we get no warning. We immediately get a big hard bite.
She ALWAYS bites my boyfriend's hands while hes holding his phone and knocks his phone down.
She punks us out a lot. She runs and lunges at us to get a reaction but won't actually hurt us. Sometimes she'll parkour off of us like a goat.
When she wants something or is getting something she likes, she acts really sweet, rubs against our legs and purs, but still gently nibbles.
Absolutely no hands can dangle in this house. She'll pop up out of nowhere like a pirana and take your fingers off.
We introduced her to amazing two cats at different times hoping they would teach her boundaries but she just hid and hissed (she doesn't even know how to hiss properly). Ive read that some cats don't know theyre hurting you if theyve never had playful interactions with another cat. In other words, theyve never felt the pain theyre dishing out. Which may be Boogers case.
I can tell a lot of her behavior is instinctual but she doesn't understand what to do with it. For example, she'll stalk me from across the house. She'll walk as slowly and steadily as possible, crouched down, ears flat, and pupils dialated until she's right in front of me. It takes her a very long time to reach me but when she does, she plops her butt down and her sweet and innocent demeanor comes right back. As if she didnt have the lust for blood a minute ago.
Despite her aggressiveness, shes very sweet and loving. Shes extremely energetic and playful and i know shes not purposely trying to hurt us, she just doesnt understand when to stop.
Besides attempting to socialize her, we've tried walking away, not reacting or playing back, making an ouch noise, spray bottle (which she ended up loving. She LOVES water), putting her in a separate room, toys, lots of toys, toys that move on their own, teething toys, lasers (she knew the light came from my hand), "no"... Which she doesnt take for an answer. If she could speak she would say "yes" right back and follow it up with a bite.
We dont provoke or stress her, shes healthy and well taken care of, she has everything any cat could possibly need, and is generally happy. Just snappy. Shes currently sleeping on her favorite blanket, upside down and her tongue is sticking out with not a care in the world. shes got the life. Maybe my cats just spoiled and has a bratty attitude??
Ive noticed she goes insane over minty smells. She has stolen many of my tea bags, and claws onto my face when I apply carmex to lick it all off and goes absolutely bonkers over muscle rub. So it was suggested that i get catnip. But i dont think thats going to stop her from the random biting.
Im hoping since shes still young, she'll grow out of this but I honestly dont think she will ever entirely stop. Its embedded in her brain at this point.
So please help us! How do we make our cat realize that shes a bully???
TL;DR My cat bites all the time and I've exhausted many attempts to make her stop.
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/bakcp5/my_cat_has_a_bad_biting_habit_and_im_at_a_loss/
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