Usually Sweet, Constantly Biting

[puprock97]

My cat constantly bites me and scratches me. I never hit her, but I'm sick of it, it hurts so bad and she breaks the skin every time.

She will cuddle up with me then if I go to pet her I will be bitten or scratched.
She is over a year old and she is usually very sweet, but she bites and scratches constantly.

I take care of her and love her.

But I'm so sick of it I almost considered declawing her.

I'm not going to do it, but I considered it.

What do I do to make her stop?

[LindaTX]

Well, your story is very similar to mine.  I rescued the mother cat at a farmhouse where the people we had rented it to had abandoned it, leaving the pregnant cat and 2 dogs and a few other feral cats as well.  The mother was what I call semi- feral, living on her own for quite awhile and getting pregnant by probably a feral male.  It took a long time to even get close to her but she eventually warmed up to us so we could bring her to our home.  She had the kittens in our bathroom because I was afraid our dogs would bother them.  I handled the kittens from when they were about a wk old but I don't feel a particular bond to them.  They really are different.  We are making progress but they are easily overstimulated and skittish. No biting so far....but prone to scratch...definitey.  That's why I say they are semi-feral...it's in their genes.  I am not going to give up on mine either.  They just turned a yr old.  I know they are getting better but they will always have those feral basic instincts.

[puprock97]

To answer your questions:
1. The owner of the mother said Muffsey(the mother) got outside and she couldn'd find her. Then a neighbor said Muffsey was in his barn, and had kittens.

2. The owner couldn't keep newborns in her house, since she had dogs, so she decided they'd be okay in the barn, and she'd visit them every 30min.

3. The neighbor of the mother's owner bought the father from his parent's owner and he wanted to use him as an outdoor cat to kill mice in his barn.

[nancyjac]

If her mother was an indoor cat how did she get pregnant by a feral male, and why did the newborns sleep in a barn?  And why would the father be feral if both of his parents were house cats?

In any case, I don't know what else to tell you.  Have your cat spayed and then accept whatever behavior she exhibits towards humans.

[puprock97]

The mother was an indoor cat, the father was feral, but his parents were housecats.

[nancyjac]

Even so, feral kittens require a very different approach starting at birth in order to domesticate them and even then it is probably 50/50 as to whether it will work.  The most successful approaches are either integrating a feral litter into a domestic litter at birth (but not all domestic nursing queens will accept them), or forming a feral/human bond from birth by being a human foster mother with pretty much 24/7 bodily contact with the newborn.  If the kittens have come from several generations of feral cats, their inbred instincts are often too much to overcome in a single generation.  That isn't to say that a feral kitten can't become a house pet, just that you need to accept that they exhibit different behavior from a domestic.

[puprock97]

She was still drinking milk when I brought her home.
She was only a few days old.

[Jade59]

Nancy is totally on point here.  We have a neighbor kitty who spends all her time in our yard.  Our neighbor found her as a little baby abandoned and starving and brought her home.  From the moment I met this cat which was 4yrs ago now, she will let you pet her for about a minute, then she will hiss and growl and swish her tail. This cat is sweet, but a few yrs ago, she became very aggressive and was actually biting me and I stopped petting her altogether for awhile until oddly, she went back to asking for the few minutes of petting.  She will also lie down and lean up against me if I'm on the bench in the back yard, but will hiss and growl then leave if I dare pet her too long.  

[nancyjac]

Ah, another piece of very relevant information.  Your cat is feral.  It is difficult to domesticate a feral cat unless it has been taken from its feral mother at a very young age (as in prior to weaning).  Feral cats fear and dislike human contact, just like most wild animals.  She may never be fully domesticated, but spaying is the best shot at this point.  Beyond that, you will need to let her be around you on her own terms.  Don't pet her.  Let her chose when she does or doesn't want to be near you. Most likely, she doesn't have either a medical or behavioral problem.  Her behavior is very normal for a feral cat.

[puprock97]

Her tail sways, but never when her ears are laid back.

[opus88]

well first of all she needs to get spayed, that may help with the aggression.
there is also a product from the Vet called Feliway its a hormone that helps settle cats and keep them calmer.
I repeat mine was like that too, same thing.
Don't attempt to stoke her or reward her, especially if her tail is swaying and her ears back.......I really really hate to medicate animals, but if really necessary there is a medication called Buspar that can help calm her down too.
research all the pros and cons before deciding to use.
follow the suggestions on
www.catinfo.org

[puprock97]

I've had her for a bit over a year now. She was with someone else before me, but she slept out in a barn and she was a newborn, who had some care.

I never handle her roughly. I usually can't even pet her once gently without her going ballistic. I will sometimes pet her and scratch behind her ear, then she'll purr and her tail with be swaying around, then if I move away, she grabs me and becomes a little kitty paper shredder.

I've learned towards her tail, around her back end, is not a place she likes to be petted. So I don't pet her there.

But I'm sick to death of this, though she is usually a sweetie.
Sometimes she'll grab my ankle, feet, legs, my head, or whatever she can get her claws onto.
Take note she hasn't had her claws trimmed in some time and she hasn't been fixed yet.

[opus88]

this can sometimes be a behavioral problem. Kitty has to learn this is not acceptable. she has to learn you are dominate, not her.
I've had one with very similar issues, don't declaw this will only exacerbate the biting.
start off by short petting sessions, perhaps less than a minute(this can be lengthened depending on her behavior)
give her a few strokes often to let her know she is loved, than take her OFF your knee and set her down....BEFORE she bites or scratches, if she bites or scratches before you can do this hold her by the scruff of the neck(gently) and look her in the eye and say a firm NO....NEVER pet her to the point of over stimulation no matter how much you both want to play.
You will have to be patient....it took me a year to fully train my boy to learn this was unacceptable behavior, but he did learn.

[nancyjac]

Ok, this may be a different problem then.  You didn't mention the growling and ears laid back initially.  That is not typical play behavior and usually a signal that the "other" (you in this case) are being too rough.  Take note if she does this when you try to pet her in a particular place or in a particular way.  Even if you are stroking her gently, she may have a tender spot that hurts or makes her fearful when touched at all.  I would also try what Jade suggested. Try petting with a very light touch and only very briefly after she is played out rather than when she is cuddling with you.  For whatever reasons, she may associate being petted with rough handling or some other negative action that follows petting.  How long have you had her?  Does she have a previous history with some one else?

[puprock97]

She likes playing by herself and sometimes with me. I play with her with every toy until she walks away.

[Jade59]

Hmm...when you play throughout the day, do you play until your cat is done?  It's good she has lots of toys, but does she play with them on her own or does she prefer to have YOU involved?  Our cat doesn't play so well on her own, but will play for an hour if we'll play WITH her.  See what I mean?

[puprock97]

I play with her some, but she has a lot of toys.
I play with her 3-5 times a day.

[Jade59]

May I ask you, do you play with your cat?  It either sounds like your kitty gets way too stimulated from simple petting and she's unable to tolerate it or else she needs some toys to play with as an outlet for her energy.  I would try the wand with the toy.  Once kitty is all tired out, she might be more receptive to petting.  

[puprock97]

She growls and sinks her claws into me. She clings to my hand, has her ears laid back, with her teeth sunken into me and her front claws. She kick/scratches me with her hind claws.

[nancyjac]

Thats the way cats play.  She isn't trying to hurt you, she is trying to play with you.  Try some toys you can hold and have her grab instead of your hand.  The kind with the wand you hold with a string and toy dangling from it might work well.