What can I do about the cat biting my kids?

Question

We got a cat this summer. We have a problem with her though. She is always biting and scratching the kids. My dd is not mean to her, she will try to hold her and pet her and she will bite and scratch. Sometimes the cat will just bite out of the blue and then run off. My son leaves the cat alone usually and when he does go around her he is sometimes mean. Just now she bit my dd while she was at the table eating breakfast. What can I do about this cat? I don't want to get rid of her, my dd loves her. I have given the cat a stuffed animal to bite. I cannot leave the kid's bedroom doors open either because the cat will go in there and bother them while they are asleep. What can I do?

Answer 1

Teach the cat a lesson and bite his/her hand . That what i do with mine lol  

Answer 2

We had a cat that did this, and we had a horrible time controlling the biting!  We tried everything such as spraying with water, isolation (time out), etc., but nothing worked!  

My vet said she was biting in order to get attention; you mentioned that she would be laying still and then all of a sudden bite and then run off.  He explained this is a feline form of tag or chase like cats will play in the wild.  SO, we tried playing with her more and keeping her active, but she continued with the behavior.  

Unfortunately, we had to find the cat another home because we never could control the biting.  Our cat came from a shelter and it was horrible having to get rid of her, but strays have a tendency to never get over certain behaviors.  I hope you have better luck with your cat!

Answer 3

She may be bored, if you have a screened in porch try letting her spend some time out there, get her some cat furniture and toys.

Every time she bites or scratches walk away from her. Try getting some bitter apple spray and have your kids spray it on their hands(they may want to wear gloves, if they get that in their mouths they will NOT be happy!)then when she bites it will taste so bad she should stop.

If you don't already clip her nails once a week, your vet can show you how.

If you or your kids have never accidentally hurt the cat then sometime may be wrong, take her to the vet to make sure, remember its instinct for animals to hide ailments until its to late!

Answer 4

That's a tricky one, because sounds like the cat is biting because she doesn't want to interact with the kids at that time.  So her biting makes them go away.  This is hard to correct because she's basically been trained that biting the thing she doesn't want, makes it go away.  

Additionally if your son is "sometimes mean" to the cat, you really are going to need to correct his behavior around the cat... it's not fair to the cat, it's terrible pet manners, and it's obviously making your cat not a good pet for your children.  

I still think you should keep the waterbottle trick going.  When the cat shows signs of biting, spray her.  'a "mist" spray seems to work better than a jet spray.  

And, you should stop allowing your children to pick up the cat.  You need to carefully monitor how they all interact with the cat, and allow the cat to choose affection on her own terms.  The only reason she's biting is because she doesn't want to be held/petted by them.  It's best to honor her request.

Answer 5

No idea what a 'dd' is, but as for your cat, cut its claws properly once or twice a week and teach your kids not to be mean to it.

Answer 6

if your cat does bite your kids spray her with water which will tell her never to do it again , do that untill your cat has stopped biting your kids, maybe your children are being to rough with your cat , your cat might want to sleep and your kids interupt your cat

Answer 7

Put the cat outside if at all possible. Sometimes aggressive cats become more docile outdoors.

Answer 8

have you had her spayed, this might help

Answer 9

first of all don't spray the cat with water! thats just meaning mean! when a new cat moves in it may not be comfortable around you or the kids yet! giving it time to adjust would be nice untill it feels comfortable around the house. don't hold her too much also. she wouldn't feel comfortable and she will just scratch you or bite for you to let her go! let her inspect first! just keep treating her nice and give her some time!

Answer 10

I certainly understand your frustrations because I’ve been there, too, here is an excellent link to stop your cats behavior problems,good luck!

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Answer 11

i think u shud put her an indection from which da poison will not spread.n i think shez a bit new so it will take some time to b ok.b 4 even my cat was like that.but still if she doesnt stops its better u shout at her that dont do it n bla bla.till then take care

Answer 12

tell the kids to beat up that evil p***y

Answer 13

either get rid of the cat or the kids.

Answer 14

get some bitter yuck and put it on your daughter's hands or where the cat tends to bite her, you may have to apply this a couple of times a day I'm not sure how long it lasts. but when the cat goes to bite it will get a yucky taste in it's mouth and eventually will learn that hey if I bite this it tastes really bad so I won't do it anymore