Cats dont do "love bites", whatever the heck that is. Cats dont bite at all unless you give them reason to. Heck, not even what I call "accidental" bites, where with a dog you're waving a dog toy around and they try to grab it and grab one of your fingers too, since cats use their claws to play, not really their mouths. If a cat bites, something went wrong.
Honestly, the only thing to do is to work to understand your cat. Cats are not dogs, and treating them as if they are is the mistake that most people make. It's a huge part of the reason why cats are seen as "stand-offish" and solitary, when they really arent.
I had four cats, including one huge berserk male. None of them ever bit me, none of them ever clawed me (on purpose; I'd only get the claws if they tried to jump onto my lap and missed, because THEN they try to catch themselves, and... ouch... though it was still funny, really). I had their total trust, and they only tended to act out if I was away from the house for too long (apparently they'd start crapping on the floor until I got back, because... because cats). Particularly for one specific cat, who just outright followed me around the house all the time, and even ran out to the car to greet me whenever I got home from wherever the heck it was that I went. People think cats dont do stuff like that, but they do... IF you understand them well enough to form that much of a bond. Most cat owners dont seem to manage this, which is unfortunate. Heck, I could even just outright pick her up (or any of them, really) at absolutely any time... and no complaints. Even one time when she was sitting at a window hissing at... something outside, I never figured out what it was... most cat owners wouldnt even think of trying to pick up a cat that's doing that. I just went right over there, picked her up normally as I always would, no hesitation, and she calmed down in my arms and I just took her upstairs. I did this any time she seemed like she was starting to get nervous about something, and the result was always the same.
You can get that sort of bond too, but you have to do some research. Learn how cats work and why they do the things they do. For example, something alot of cat owners complain about is that when a cat is on it's back, and they try to rub the cat's stomach area (like they would with a dog) the cat flips out and claws and bites. That's because cats dont do that because they want you to rub them there; it's more a test of trust. It's a cat's most vulnerable area, and they want to see what you do. The proper response is NOT to touch them there; pat them on the head or something instead. Or even just sit there and look at them. You'll slowly gain more trust this way. A cat that DOES let you touch them there regularly without flipping out is a cat that has absolute unwavering trust in you. But so many owners dont understand this thing, because they tend to learn otherwise from dogs in particular.
By learning more things like that, you can understand your cat better, and thus... no more bites and scratches.
...unless they try to jump on and miss. Really, cats arent always as coordinated as they seem.
30 Mar 2016, 6:43 pm
