Expert: Jessica - 1/25/2005

Question
Thanks Jessica! Last night I was laying on my bed and Barney jumped up and chirped in my face. It was very cute. Do you have any tips to prevent him from biting so much? He has been doing it less and less as he gets older, but it's still happening too much. We tried squirting him with a water bottle, but that didn't work...it appears that Barney LOVES water. Thanks!

-------------------------
Followup To
Question -
I have a 9 month old Tabby named Barney. He doesn't "say" too much, but every now and then he'll make a noise that sounds like a cross between a meow and a chirp. He does it with his mouth closed. Can you tell me what it means when he does this? Thanks!
Justin
Answer -
I love that little chirp!  Generally, this is a sound that is reserved for cats to communicate with each other.  Kittens chirp to gain the attention of their mother for nursing or grooming.  A lot of kittens will also use it to call for their litter mates.  Mothers also use it to call for their kittens when out of sight, to get them to come eat, use the litter box, etc.  It tends to be a learned behavior.  Mothers who chirp a lot usually have kittens who chirp a lot.  Cats may use this sound to communicate to their owners that they're feeling excited (like during play) or affectionate.

Answer
Biting is a very common problem among cats who were removed from their litter before the age of 12 weeks, so I'm going on the assumption that this was the case with your kitty.  Kittens learn important social boundaries between 8 and 12 weeks old.  It's during this time that they learn biting hurts!  A kitten who bites soon finds himself without a friend to play with.  So they learn to curb their biting.

The way to stop a cat from biting would be to do the same as another cat would - stop playing with him, or ignore him.  Most cats do best if they are given a time-out in a bathroom for 15-30 minutes.  Since I raise many orphaned kittens who don't get to stay with their litter until 12 weeks, I see plenty of biting cases.  And the two Licensed Animal Behaviorists I have consulted agree that a time-out is the most effective method, both for kittens who bite during play, and those who bite when attention-seeking.  I have found their behavior begins to improve within a couple weeks when I give them a time-out every time they bite.

You should continue to see improvement as he matures.  Cats are emotionally mature at around 2 years old, and most kittens grow out of biting by then, but if you use time-outs, that should speed things along.