Expert: Brandy - 1/25/2007

Question
i have a 5 month old male kitten i got from a shelter.  he has a habit of letting me pet him and he purrs while im doing it but during this he will sometimes bite me.  the weird thing is he doesn't stop purring and he stops biting if i say his name in a stern voice and continues to purr and want to be petted.  

my theory is that he was taken from his litter too soon and doesn't know how to play and this is not aggresive/"mean" behavior.  what do you think?

thanks
jacob

Answer
I'm not too sure it has much to so with being separated from littermates too early, but from the literature available, it's considered to be a reaction to literally being overstimulated (too much petting, too happy, purring on overload). I agree, it's not the kitten being mean (and at 5 months, he should be reaching the age where he could begin to be aggressive due to hormones.

My husband's cat does something similar to him in that he will allow my husband to rub his belly, then when he's reached his threshold, he will rabbit-kick my husband. My husband knows to back off a bit, the cat knows that he is not in trouble, and usually repositions himself so my husband can pet his head instead.

What you are doing, by saying your cat's name in a stern voice, but not getting mad at him is teaching him his boundaries. This is what you should continue to do.

good luck with him, a purring cat is a happy cat.