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Training Your Cats to Not Bite or Scratch

A cat will typically bite or scratch anything that is making them uncomfortable. Finding the cause of this reaction will assist the owner in either getting rid of the bothersome factor or working to improve the cat's response to the perceived intrusion.

Personal Experience: 

Our cats have been completely trained out of biting or scratching. Gingi is not aggressive at all. Luna who is still in training for a lot of things will put her face towards your hands and start to lick you instead of play biting because she has been completely taught that biting is absolutely not acceptable. It is up to you if you want your pet to be able to play-bite a little or simply stop all together. Just remember that even a little play biting can become aggressive later on, which is why completely training them out of that towards human is better than allowing it some of the time. When they are young, it can be cute, but as they grow older it can become a bad habit and become aggressive.

Put a Stop to Any Aggression

Teaching a cat to respond nicely all the time takes some strategy. Most cats enjoy being stroked, but they usually dictate when they have had enough by either biting or scratching. This is their way of saying they don’t want to pet anymore. However, this is not an acceptable way to show their fussiness and it would be wise to try to overcome this display with counteractive measures before they get older and more aggressive. These may include stroking gently until your cat shows signs that they are becoming fidgety and then stopping before they actual need to scratch. Or pet them in another spot. This will effectively put a stop to the cat’s negative reaction before it can actually launch a bite or scratch.

Before the cat reacts negatively to being pet, the next step is to understand where your cat typically does not like being pet and alternate them with the spots they enjoy back and forth. These sessions should eventually be continued until the cat accepts both the perceived uncomfortable and comfortable parts of being stroked simultaneously. Cats have a history of being predators, which explains why they need to bite objects at will. Providing the cat with appropriate chew toys can help you manage this need.

What If Your Cat Doesn’t Stop?

This is when you have to discipline. If your cat keeps biting you or scratching you aggressively, you need to start saying trigger words such as “no” and “bad” loudly and firmly, at the same time tape their nose gently and point at them. If you do this enough, they will associate the words, and the pointing with taping on their nose, which they do not like. Eventually you can just simply say “no” or point at them and they will stop. This technique can work for any kinds of discipline.

Play vs. Aggression

Sometimes your cat just wants to play but plays too hard. This is when you can use the word, “gentle” firmly when they go a little too hard. If they do it again after you say “gentle”, then you can say “no” loudly, and firmly to make them understand by stop playing with them all together to show them that if they do not go gentle, they do not get to play at all.  Do not give them hugs, kisses, or treats when they have been bad, otherwise you will confuse your cat and they will think that their bad behavior is good.

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