Expert: Tina - 3/13/2007

Question
Hi, Our cat, Gringo, is a year old. When we pet or rub her she will try to bite us,hard, for no reason. She has no reason to feel threatened. Is this unusual behavior? From Michele,from Texas

Answer
Hi Michele,

Since your cat is asking for attention and then biting, there are a couple more possibilities. One is that she may be sore due to a medical problem, especially if she has only started doing this recently (I don't know her age or how long you have had her). If she's just started it recently, you should have her checked by the vet because there are a number of problems that could make her sore - kidney infection, a growth inside, even bad teeth such as an abscess! The pain doesn't necessarily have to be in the area you are touching her, it could just be that she gets a flare-up of pain when you are petting her and she associates the pain with you.

Once you rule out a medical problem, at least you can rest easy knowing she's not hurting.

If there is no diagnosable physical problem, she may be a hyper-sensitive cat due to a genetic condition, auto-immune condition, or an injury. Some reactions to vaccinations can cause this too. Hypersensitive cats want to be close to you and get affection, but once they are touched their skin feels like it is crawling and they get little shocks along their spine - this is frightening to cats and they become confused and often bite or scratch when touched.

Tuna can also cause hypersensitivity, so avoid feeding tuna or tuna-flavored food.

Here is some info on the condition:

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN