[claule]

Hi all,

I've adopted Nibbler this week (on Tuesday) his family is moving abroad, he is lovely and adjusted very well, I do not have other cats as yet...the only problem when he's in a playfull mood he gets on his back and if I pat him he nips... it's not alayws painful and I know is play nip but I would love to teach him to stop biting people and to know that only toys are for biting.

He has got a lot of new toys - I wanted him to feel welcomed in his new home and he really enjoys playing, he's 4 years old and been neutered.

Any advice is welcomed.
Thank you. Claudia

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[Patricia L]

Just make a noise and stop playing for a few minutes.
My newcomer Millie started a bit of biting when she snuggles and purrs, I just say "oww" a bit louder and move my hand away for a couple of minutes before I resume patting her.
She is getting the message and now stops straight away when I say 'oww' and in a very short space of time she has almost stopped doing it.

[my4cats]

I tell my fosters a firm 'Nooooo!'. They know the word now and stop doing what they are doing. Works for me.

[monty_dweezil]

Oh yeah, they all do this when in "play mode". I just make a squeal type noise and pull away, and then don't engage again till they move/change positions/calm down a bit, etc. As soon as they're "ok" again, I re-engage.

[aboutTaya]

If the tell tale behaviour is Nibbler rolling onto his back before he starts with the rough play, try stopping then, letting him calm for a while and then resuming play. That way you're not responding to behaviour you don't like, you're avoiding it in the first place. I like to avoid having to say no if I can deter, negate or avoid the behaviour in the first place. If a bit of rough play has been okay for him in the past I'm sure it would be hard though not impossible for him to understand why it's not okay now. Lots of cats can escalate from play to being overexcited. Even when just getting lots of cuddles they can have a limit and I'm sure you'll be able to spot Nibbler's limits a mile out after you've had more time together. Taya's signal when she's getting wound up and feisty or has had enough is her ears. They flatten just a little but paying attention and stopping then and just talking to her calmly sees them go back to normal and the slow eye blinks start when she's calmed down. Of course if I haven't paid attention and missed the cues then an "aaa" and stopping generally lets her know it's not on. If she's really wound herself up running around like a nut and decides to ankle tap, she gets picked up quietly and put in the bathroom for a five minute timeout which does the trick beautifully.

[claule]

thanks a lot all of you,

Nibbler is getting better now - with a firm nooo and i'm slowly learning to pick up on his disposition change....so i believe we're both making progress. thanks again.
claudia x

[monty_dweezil]

Yeah, it does take a while to become really attuned to the subtle changes before they go insane. lol.

My boys' eyes go black and large and they tend to move in more skittish / jerky / quick ways than usual..heheh.