Has he been neutered yet? I assume the Humane Society neutered him while they had him? If not, get him neutered ASAP.

My mother's newly adopted, (intact) male cat would easily get over-stimulated and also bite, although it was usually while lying down, purring and 'pumping' his paws. We had him neutered and within a couple of months all biting stopped and it was then safe for him to sleep with her at night.

It sounds to me as though it's "mating behavior", too.

I had a fabulous big, grey cat some years ago. I adopted him, full grown, from the "pound". He was un-neutered, but I had him neutered before bringing him home. He used to do the very same thing! "loving me up" BIG TIME, then turning quick as a wink, and giving me a "love bite". He never bit me hard enough to break the skin, but he definitely took hold.

Within a couple of months he stopped doing it... I suspected it was related to testosterone levels, but never followed up on my hunch.

I have both a female and a male cat who display similar behavior. Both are sterilized, but the male was a feral, intact tom when he showed up a couple of years ago. He will still occasionally give me love bites while rubbing and purring. It's not an aggressive act, so I don't worry about it. He also sometimes does get overly aggressive in play and will wrap himself around my leg and bite. When that happens, a loud, "OOOWWWWIIIIEEEE!!!" is enough to put an immediate end to the behavior.

I've had the female since she was a kitten, and she was spayed before her first heat. She will sometimes lie down next to my feet (socks, no shoes) and start to rub all over them. Then the claws and teeth come out ... again just in overly aggressive play. OWIE! works with her, too.

Laurie

I have a cat that bites too. I was told it is overstimulation of their senses. They can't process their feelings and bite. As soon as my cat bites me he kisses me.

I agree - it's play behavior. I have a cat that someone gave me a couple of years ago. She's not wild at all but she's also not an affectionate cat - keeps to herself. But just the other day, i put my hand towards her and she bit me. She grabbed and bit me - she's just being silly. Your cat loves you and feels this affection and that's just how it comes out.

My (neutered) male cat does it as well...usually when we're being very affectionate, and hugging and rubbing him a lot. He gives what I call little "love bites" that don't break the skin -- he always does it to my upper arm, for some reason. I've seen him try to do the same thing to our female cat (basically he climbs on her back and bites her neck), so I've assumed it's some sort of mating behavior that hasn't been purged by the neutering.

Thank you all for your input. You seem to experience the same problem I have. Tobey was about 2 yrs old when I got him and had not been neutered. In Florida they will not adopt a cat out unless it has been "fixed".

My daughter tells me I have to "read" his actions to tell that he is going to bite. I am not very good at that. Besides he is as black as can be and I can't see whether his ears go back or even that he is in an "attack" mode.
He is very loving and climbs up on my lap to sleep while I watch TV. I automatically start to stroke him (very gently) as I watch, so I don't catch any change in his
mood.

I just stopped stroking him for any length of time. I do scratch behind his ears, he loves that, and scratch his upper back for a while.

Thanks again for your input.

Sylvia

I've had some of my cats that give me the "love bite". I always keep several squirt bottles of water around for disciplining my cats. Give your cats a couple of squirts when he does it, and he will probably quit. I can just make the sound of the squirt bottle and my cats behave.

Cats have a thin line between affection and aggression ... it's just overcome with emotion and the only thing it can do is bite.

I believe that this sort of biting is a show a affection. Cats rub things to mark and claim them, like furniture and their people. They bite when they play and they only play with those they love.

Love hurts sometimes, but it's all part of being owned by a cat :) As others mentioned, you need to read his signals. Some cats never bite but show all other types of affection. Others just seem to have a need to latch on to those they love. Usually it isn't right away; after a short period of petting or belly rubbing which really hits their Bite Button, they have advanced to the biting stage. Just watch for over stimulation signs and stop petting for a short time till they settle down a bit.

Our neighbors have a beautiful sleek black cat that is usually here with hubby and I. He does all of the above and sometimes really hurts. He attached all fours to my ankle and and shredded me. What really shocked me, I had suspected he had done something to another neighbors rottweiler (also visits us daily and the other day I saw for myself. They both think I belong to them and resent each other. Cat was on the sundeck with me and Rott came in kitchen. Cat attacked Rott who turned and ran. Cat is visiting right now making typing difficult and was cuddling laying on my arm, and Yes, he bit my hand......Maybe that's the difference between 'animal lovers' and those that like animals..... we are willing to try to learn and understand.....

I'm sitting here trying to type with a sore and swollen hand. Our 20 pound cat does not give love bites but rather doctor visit bites. He is so large that his bites do indeed break the skin. My husband had to visit the dr a couple of weeks ago, he was petting the cat when I guess he became over stimulated. The cat bit me today after a play session - I guess he wasn't ready to stop. I was reading a book when he came up without any noticable behavior clues and bit the back of my hand. He is so big that we are very concerned for our health as well as company or children. I'm not sure that it is smart to try to break him of biting at this point. Any thoughts??

Yes, my mom wrote this original message two years ago, and Tobey made her bleed badly many times. It was no small thing, and it was not part of being owned by a cat!

Check out the website below, which I forgot to put on your other post.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cat behavior