Why Do Cats Bite Your Toes

Kelly ballantyne a board certified veterinary behaviorist at the college of veterinary medicine at the university of illinois.

Why do cats bite your toes. Why do cats attack feet. Understandably cat owners want to know what these little ambushes are all about. Additionally you should treat your clothing as an extension of your skin and make it off limits or your cat won t learn the difference between clawing your jeans and nailing your bare legs. A second tactic is to offer your cat a range of interactive toys that are ok to tackle says dr.

And why do cats like feet so much anyway. Do your cats chase your feet. Try to make sure that you have enough predatory toys that is teaser toys or fishing poles with feathers at the end she says. When it comes to cats biting and chewing fingers there are quite a lot of reasons that do a good job explaining away this common feline behaviour.

If your cat bites and won t let go grit your teeth and push your hand and arm in toward the bite to prompt your cat to release you. While this most typically happens with young kittens because they think everything is fair game for play attack cats chase feet at any age. The number one reason why they bite your feet is simply because they are prey animals said jackson galaxy renowned cat behavior and wellness expert host of animal planet s my cat from hell. Why do cats attack feet so often.

He s a living breathing example why cats chase feet. If you ve ever lay motionless in bed hoping to avoid a foot ambush these questions probably have crossed your mind. Especially when cats are kittens and very playful they tend to attack claw and even bite the feet and hands of their humans. She never actually ingests your toes so she knows in her thinking brain that this is not a hunt.

Your feet may do the same thing for your cat but there is probably more to it than that given that your cat likes you and wants your attention. Biting owners during petting is one of the most common behavioral problems of cats says dr. Pulling away from the bite stimulates it to bite even more. It all comes down to instinct.

This pouncing often happens without warning. These so called cat love bites don t typically draw blood but they happen suddenly which leaves you wondering what caused the change in your cat s behavior. It s part of kitty play. She gets the fun of the chase and catching of your feet and sometimes you respond with a game.

The same is technically true of why cats bite feet they do it for a variety of reasons but to me there s a massive difference in terms of explaining away why cats chomp on fingers versus why cats chomp on toes.