Expert: Jessica - 1/17/2010

Question
We have recently (2 weeks ago) adopted a 5 year old retired show/breeder Sphynx.  She is adjusting well to her new home and likes to sleep with us.  She purrs very loudly but occasionally will try and bite us while she is purring.  I've read that biting can result if a cat is over stimulated but was wondering what is your opinion of an older cat (especially one that was a show cat and handled alot) biting.  How do you recommend to break this one nasty habit she has?

Thank you!

Answer
Hi Sandra.  There is a good possiblity this is overstimulation if she's biting in response to petting, even though she's purring.  Overstimulation usually seems to come out of nowhere when the cat is enjoying being petted.  The best way to deal with this is to learn some warning signs that she's becoming too stimulated, and stop any contact with her before she bites.  Warning signs include widened eyes, a thumping tail and ears that are held in a back-facing position.

However, there is such a thing as "love bites" with cats.  Cats do nip (sometimes quite hard) as a sign of affection - if you watch cats groom each other, licking often leads to a bite here and there.  This is an acceptable interaction between cats, but it is not acceptable when they do it to people.  Show cats tend to be very babied, and I wouldn't be surprised if her breeder allowed her to get away with this behavior.  I admit I'm not as stern as I should be with my hairless cat, either!  The easiest time to break cats of this behavior is when they're kittens, but adult cats can be taught, too.  And the most effective way is to give the cat a time out.  Abruptly stop all manners of interaction with the cat any time she bites, and make yourself busy in another way.  Either place her in another room behind closed doors, or leave the room yourself, and don't speak to her or pet her.  Keep yourself separated from her for 5-15 minutes, depending on what seems effective.  Obviously, she is enjoying your company and will miss it when you get up and leave, and this is the same way cats learn not to play too rough with other cats.  Their companions all leave when they get hurt!  Using this method, every one of my cats has shown a lot of improvement after about 2 weeks.  Some cats need a refresher course now and then, but I think you should certainly see at least some progress.

Best of luck!

Jessica