Kitten Kindergarten - San Francisco SPCA

From the San Francisco SPCA Cat Behavior Program
PETTING-INDUCED AGGRESSION
Most people who have had cats before will tell you that at
some point they have been nipped during petting. Many tend to shrug
it off as “love nips”, or play bites. Other times the nips can be harder,
seeming to come out of the blue and leaving the person wondering why
their cat would react this way during a moment of affection.
This behavior may actually be your cat trying to tell you something about his or her
preferences and tolerance levels. Learning what your cat is trying to communicate may
actually help improve your relationship with your feline companion, and maybe even
decrease your cat’s desire to nip or bite altogether.
Some petting-induced aggression may be related to mating behavior and the
overstimulation that can occur during this interaction. Purring and kneading may lead to the
biting and holding that occurs in pre-copulatory behavior. Other types of petting
aggression may be due to the fact that cats evolved as mostly solitary animals that tend to
have little physical contact with others of their own species, making them more sensitive
to contact. Some cats have experienced inappropriate handling as a kitten and may have
learned to nip or swat to stop the interaction. Petting aggression can also be affected by
physical pain or discomfort if a cat is sick or has arthritis.
The most common scenarios are:
* Your cat is relaxed and happy on your lap, you're watching TV and petting her
absentmindedly...suddenly she turns and bites.
*Your cat starts to swish his tail in response to your petting. You keep petting, and then he
hisses and swats, or gives you a nip and runs off.
*Your cat does not like certain areas of her body touched. The most common "sensitive
spots" are paws, lower back, belly, and chest. If you pet her in those spots, she will bite
you.
* Your cat gets over-excited (also called over-stimulated) while being petted. Usually, the
kitty will start moving faster, head butt your hand, become agitated and busy, and at some
point during the escalating energy, will bite or scratch you.
A majority of cats exhibit over-stimulation or petting aggression to some degree.
However, cats vary enormously as to the extent to which they like petting or handling and
for how long they tolerate these without finding it unpleasant. They also vary greatly in
the number of warning signals and intensity of their resulting aggressive reaction if
warning signals are not seen, or are ignored. Many times, the cat has learned to bite in
Petting-Induced Aggression page 1 of 5 updated 05/22/09
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