Expert: Brandy - 2/9/2007

Question
Sometimes at night when I'm lying in bed I'll be petting my cats until I fall asleep. One of them, a classic brown tabby, will bit me quite hard. But she's not made at me, because she'll stop and them look at me with a smug look on her face, still purring. I usually just let her but I was wondering why she's doing this? I have heard that sometimes people can accidently shock cats when petting them, after rubbing their hand on a carpet or something and getting friction, but I don't think that's it. Can you help me?

Answer
My now-oldest cat, a brown patch tabby (it MUST be those classic markings!), will also purr like a semi, then cackle (yup, that's what she sounds like) before she chomps onto either me or my husband. Then she gets mad when she gets bounced off the lap/bed/sofa.

Cat psychs call it an over-stimulation reflex, like a love-bite, though it still hurts, and if it breaks the skin, can cause some people to have serious allergic reactions.  Pretty much the only thing I can think of is to really watch yourself and the cat, and when you feel it's getting to be too much, to stop petting the cat. Cats, despite what some people say, can learn to police themselves, and if you do the 'OOWWWW' and pull your hand away, will soon realize that love-chomps are not the way to get Mommy to show some affection. Either that, or spray a little bit of bitter apple on the top of your hand.

The only thing I can think of for getting some sort of static on the cat is when we used to rub balloons on the carpet and let them stick on the cat. Okay, it's childish, but still sometimes funny...until they pee in your bed in spite...but I digress.

And for the smug look, it's a girl-cat thing. Mine do it all the time.