Why Do Cats Suddenly Bite And Scratch

Commonly i see static electricity as a reason for cats to bite during petting.

Why do cats suddenly bite and scratch. If the petting continues despite the cat s efforts to signal that he or she is done with being petted the cat may escalate to a bite says dr. The term love bite is somewhat of a misnomer. Cats are natural born predators and as such seemingly aggressive actions such as biting pouncing and clawing make up a large part of their play. Cats may bite during one of these sessions for several reasons.

Because cats are excellent groomers they may actually remove all traces of fleas. Biting and mouthing is a normal behavior in kittens. Cats have sharp teeth that are able to make deep punctures and cats mouths harbor a lot of bacteria that can potentially cause infection. Cats who growl when you try to move them block doors or bite you when you pay attention to another pet may be asserting themselves in this manner.

If left untreated or not given proper first aid care cat bites can lead to infection cat scratch fever or in rare cases rabies. It s important to understand that cat biting isn t always done out of aggression. Cats are not naturally close contact animals and as odd as it may seem pleasurable petting can actually become painful if engaged in for too long. But kitties can learn to inhibit the force of their bites and to use soft paws without claws.

When cats bite in this context it s not a sign of affection but rather a signal that the cat is done with the interaction. While too long is different for every cat careful observation will help you identify when your cat is reaching that point. Why do cats bite and scratch. Aggressive biting often happens during a petting session when the human companion either doesn t understand or ignores the cat s body language.

There are many reasons as to why a cat might suddenly start biting seemingly unprovoked. Petting induced aggression the type described in the opening paragraph occurs when a cat who enjoys being pet suddenly changes his or her mind. Most often because they are overstimulated and have simply had enough fear or redirected aggression or they don t feel well. Repetitive petting can cause your cat to become overly excited and trigger an arousal based bite.

Fleas are often the culprits behind compulsive cat scratching or cat licking behaviors.