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PSA: I was accidentally teaching my cat to bite me for attention
It hit me last Tuesday when my vet said, 'You're rewarding the wrong behavior.' I'd been gently pushing him away when he nipped, but he saw ANY touch as a game. Anyone else figure out a better way to stop this?
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dakota4796mo ago
That trick from @burns.patricia worked for my kitten after about a week.
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abbycraig5mo ago
Oh wait, actually I think there's a tiny mix-up there. The advice about ignoring them is solid, but for most cats a full minute is way too long they'll get confused and forget why you're ignoring them. I've read that even just 10-15 seconds of zero reaction works better since their brains move so fast. But yeah totally agree on redirecting to a toy, that's the real game changer.
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burns.patricia6mo ago
My orange tabby, Gus, did the exact same thing for months. I started completely ignoring him for a full minute after any nip, no eye contact, no talking. It felt mean but he learned fast that biting made the fun stop. The key was giving him a toy to chomp instead the second he got playful. Now he brings me his stuffed mouse when he wants to roughhouse.
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