Bizarre Cat Behavior

Sometimes cats exhibit bizarre behavior that can't always be explained.

Cats do the strangest things at times.

Hi,

I was wondering if you could tell me a bit about my adorable kitty. Potter will be four months old on Tuesday, and from everything I have read on your site, I'm chalking him up to be a Bengal kitty. I got him at four weeks. Someone dumped him on the doorsteps of the local shelter, and when I came in to get a cat, I saw him and fell in love. The lady taking care of him agreed to let me adopt the tiny thing. I bottle fed him and now he's growing like a weed and is 100 percent healthy. He has a couple behavior issues I was wondering about, however.

First of all, he still tries to knead and nurse on my shirt when he gets tired, and I am the only person he does this with. Why is it only me, and shouldn't he be getting too old to do this? Also, he has just started doing a new thing about two weeks ago. He used to give me a few quick licks on the cheek if I said, "Give me kisses", which I thought was pretty cool. Now he literally takes both paws grabs my face and licks me. I can put him on the floor, and he'll jump right back on my lap, and do it again, only getting rougher the second time, where he'll lightly bite my chin and try to lick my face like crazy. What's the deal with that? I tell him "Okay, Potter I love you too" and set him on the floor, but he won't stop. I'm afraid to do anything rude because I don't want to hurt his feelings. I look forward to you reply.

~~Cat

Expert Reply

Hi Cat,

Potter sounds adorable. What a lucky kitty to have you take him under your wing. The kneading and nursing are obviously behavior kittens display with their mothers. Since you bottle-fed him from such a young age, he probably relates to you as his mother. He will probably never stop kneading, but as he gets older, he will likely stop trying to nurse your shirt.

As for the biting, this is an affectionate behavior. Cats have thicker skin than we do, and they often show affection by nipping their litter mates and mothers. However, you have to teach him not to bite. As he grows older, he could hurt you, or if someone new comes to the house and they jerk away, it could hurt them. The licking wouldn't bother me, unless you just find it irritating.

I would tell him no when he bites. If you watch his pupils, you will be able to see them start to dilate just before he bites. This would be a clue to stop petting and/or to set him down to avoid having him bite you. Over time, he will learn what is acceptable in your house and what is not. He's still a child and still learning.

Good luck!

~~Lori

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