As I have posted three weeks ago, I adopted a Siamese from a local shelter. He is a two year-old male whose "owner" dropped him off at the shelter after having him for two years. He allowed Zen (formerly known as Monkey) to go outside quite often, but I suspect that when he was indoors he was kept in a cage. Well, he was at the shelter two months when I adopted him, so that was traumatizing in and of itself.

He is VERY loving and enjoys being around me all the time. He sleeps with me (and boy does he snore!), with his paw oftentimes draped over my arm. He is adorable, and except for one thing, I have no concerns about him other than his weight. The problem is that in the past three weeks since I have had him, he has bitten me four times. Not the play bites either. He didnt break my skin, but he definitely bit me hard (twice I had to pull him off of me by the scruff of the back of his neck as he not only wasn't letting go, but was trying to get a better grip on me). The biting happened (3 out of 4 times) when we were laying together and I was simply stroking him (we were not playing). There was very little warning before he decided to bite.

I am not giving him up, as he is a wonderful animal, and I really do suspect that he was abused by his former "owner" (I really hate that word) due to some other things he has done (when I ask him to leave the plant room, he is stubborn, and when I go to usher him out with my hands, he runs away in a very anxious manner while crying in a frightened way-that is just one example). What I want to know is whether or not anyone has experienced this problem with a feline, and what I can do to show him that I make the rules, and biting like that is NOT allowed, while still acting in a loving manner. Thanks in advance for the advice.

-Jenn

I just did some research online, and found this, which might seem to be very helpful:

Tip - 37 - Cat bites during petting

This scenario has happened hundreds of thousands of times. You're petting a cat on its head and back and the cat seems to be in ecstasy. It's purring like a little motorcycle, looking absolutely content, when all of a sudden the cat pounces on your hand and takes a bite. It may even throw in a few paw swipes as well.

Usually the biting and/or scratching isn't too hard and it rarely breaks the skin but it still hurts and the recipient feels betrayed. What is going on? What's wrong with the cat? Is it Demonic? Psychotic? Dumb?

None of the above. Petting aggression in cats is absolutely normal. The reasons for petting aggression are not fully understood but research suggests that it has to do with the fact that the cat has mixed emotions about the whole petting phenomenon. Most adult cats that aren't related don't touch each other much except for fighting and s*e*x*ual episodes. So even though the cats seems content, it may realize that this is not normal and an instinctive predatory response is elicited which results in biting.

Don't take it personally and don't punish or hit the cat. Understand and OBSERVE the cat's warning signs. Keep the petting sessions fairly short and end the session the second the cat exhibits warning signs. The best way to deal with this situation is to be aware of the cat's body language. The cat will always give you signals that it has had enough of your petting. The key signal to watch for is a twitching tail and a body that starts to tense up. Ears may turn or flicker and the cat's head may also turn toward your hand. This is a classic predatory response and the cat's way of telling you to IMMEDIATELY stop petting and end the session.

Cat Bites

Our newest addition Tigi, also does this. I was worried, thinking maybe he didnt like me. He is 2 years old next month. We took him in last September after a neighbour had decided he was happy for tigi to fend for himself outside! after agreeing with the guy next door we re homed him. He dosent go outside now, none of my babies do.
Tigi struggles with any kind of affection, he is not violent, he just runs away, when we do pick him up he moans like an old man, making it clear he dosent want to.
He sleeps on our bed at night, when I turn to stroke him he is happy for a little while, then he seems to go into attack mode, wrapping his legs, all of them, around my arm and kicks with claws out. I then decide to leave well alone.
The only affection he shows is to a teddy bear, he will lick and knead it, like he is with his mother. I decided 2 days ago to take the teddy bear away, as we want him to express affection to us not the bear. I am not sure if this was the right move as Tigi is now in the deepest sulk.... the saga continues Im sure.

I agree the reason he does this is most likely overstimulation. He also may not have had enough time with an adult cat or his siblings to "learn" what is and what is not good behavior. Kittens playing together hiss at each other when the bitting is too hard. What has worked well with me is saying OW loud when they bite. I could hiss too I guess, lol. My cats don't like it that I say OW and stop petting/loving.

I also watch for the signs of overstimulation. I had one cat that if he put his ears back while I was petting him, it was stop or be bit. We learn from each other what is good and fun and what is not.

Zen sounds like such a lover.

Love

Thank you both Bluemoon and Moose Mom, your advice was very much appreciated. I am glad to know that I'm not alone with this. It was very disconcerting. He bit my sister last week, she was not happy at all. But I explained that he simply needs to be socialized a little bit better, and she understood. I have started saying "OWWWW" when he does bite too hard, to let him know (it seems to startle him, and he gets this funny look on his face, but he stops biting!). And now his bites are not nearly as hard (the first few times he really tried to dig in...ouch!). Other than that, he is such a wonderful LOVER boy. He loves to cuddle, he talks to me when we're not in the same room (which Chaos did, so it warms my heart to hear him do his "Siamese" speak.), he greets me at the door when I come home, he loves to play, but not tirelessly like a kitten (which can be exhausting). He just fits our family in every way. He is such a treasure and a joy to have, I know that Chaos definitely brought us together. And when I give Zen affection, I know that Chaos is happy, as love is good for everyone.

Thanks again.

-Jenn