Mary Allen
Have you ever wanted to literally eat your sweetheart with love? Then you probably already guess what the love bite of the cat means.
The predatory bite of our house tiger with its long pointed canine teeth may be ideally designed for mouse hunting. But no one likes to experience first-hand what it’s capable of. Because once the cat bites, it can hurt quite a bit.
However, cat connoisseurs know that not all bites by our furry friends mean the same thing – they differ in their severity and in their cause. Here we want to shed some light on the mystery behind our cats’ love bites. We will also show you how to read your four-legged friend’s body language so that the cat bite does not come as a complete surprise to you.
The cat bite often happens when petting
You lie comfortably with your furry treasure on the couch and caress him tenderly. Out of nowhere he suddenly bites your hand or nibbles on your finger. Of course, you’re wondering what you did wrong and why your kitty is showing aggressive behavior for no reason. You might even search your guidebooks for answers.
Don’t worry: neither the one nor the other is true. You did everything right – your cat only bites because it feels comfortable and loved. She shows this affection through unexpected behavior. This is a so-called love bite.
What are cat love bites?
Love bites are also described in America as “petting-induced aggression” (aggression triggered by caressing). This expression aptly describes what a love bite is and what caused it. It is a form of attack on a person or object, triggered by tenderness and intimacy.
You can recognize a love bite by several characteristics:
- It usually happens in a completely relaxed situation, while stroking, crawling, or dozing.
- It happens suddenly and seemingly without warning. You can only recognize your cat at an early stage if you know your cat very well and can observe and read it.
- Affectionate bites usually follow an intense licking of the hand, which is stroking and caressing.
- The licking gets stronger and stronger until the love bite – afterward the cats continue to lick the hand and act as if nothing had happened.
- A well-intentioned bite rarely injures the skin.
- It is never accompanied by hisses or growls, and no claws are used. The cat generally remains relaxed – only shortly before the love bite does her body language possibly reveal a slight tension.
Why does the cat bite for love?
Advisors actually see the origin of this behavior in the mating behavior of cats. If the tomcat wants to mate with a female cat, he will gently bite her neck several times beforehand. Shortly before the actual mating, the cat bites itself really hard. According to the guide, cats want to use the love bite to release excess energy and tension that builds up when scratching and cuddling – similar to mating.
If, as the owner, you are so intimate with your cat that it lovingly bites you, you should actually congratulate yourself on a successful and trusting animal-human relationship. At least a lot of things seem to be fine with the bond with the cat.
What do cat love bites mean?
The actual meaning behind the love bites can thus be explained: They are part of the cat’s normal social instinct. The relationship among conspecifics in a pack is strengthened by mutual loving biting. Advisors confirm that the same applies to the relationship between the purring housemates and their owners. That is why a cat bites out of love can also be observed here and there.
How do love bites differ from “real” bites?
Attention, it’s going to get technical for a moment: The bite force quotient indicates the relationship between bite pressure and body mass. We, humans, have a bite force quotient of about 5, and a saltwater crocodile bites with a quotient of about 30. In terms of biting power, our cuddly cat is somewhere in between with a quotient of 16.
However, cats bite at full force only when hunting and defending themselves. In these situations, they also use their claws, which they use to hold on when hunting and to scratch when defending.
For love bites, cats only use a fraction of their bite pressure and don’t use their claws—at most, they extend and retract them, but without scratching. Such a cat bite is not announced like a real bite by a tense body and warning sounds. This show of affection often comes out of nowhere for novice cat owners who are new to body language reading.
Why are cat bites dangerous?
The more force cats use when biting, the more likely it is that the upper skin (epidermis) will be punctured and the more likely it is for bacteria to enter the body.
The hands and wrists are particularly at risk from this behavior: there are many tendons and tendon sheaths here. In the event of a bite, pathogens can nest and spread in these regions before the immune system intervenes via the blood. Thus, 50 percent of all real cat bites result in infections that, if left untreated, can lead to blood poisoning (sepsis) or tetanus (tetanus). So if you have a real bite, you should have a doctor check to see if anything needs to be treated.
Dogs and cats bite differently
Cats’ teeth are sharper and finer than dogs’. Cats reach with their fangs – similar to the needles of a hypodermic syringe – deeper tissue regions than the dog. In contrast, only three percent of all dog bites become infected. However, the dog with its powerful teeth also causes more damage due to more serious injuries.
Cats bite differently. Here it is clear to distinguish between the reality bites and the love bites of our kitties. It is unrelated behavior. With the love bites of cats, there is rarely a violation of the epidermis, and the pathogens on the teeth do not penetrate the body. At most, a slight impression of the teeth can be seen on the skin or a fine pike can be felt. For this reason, the cat’s love bites are generally harmless and harmless.
Can you wean love bites?
Many cat lovers don’t find their house tiger’s love bites all that unpleasant – of course only if he doesn’t overdo it with his signs of affection. If it doesn’t stop with a light spade or pinch, you should use a trick to train your purring friend away from the unwanted behavior.
Associate with negative
Not all guides endorse the method, since nibbling or biting is a sign of love, but associating the love bite with an uncomfortable experience can help cats stop the behavior.
A prerequisite for this is the precise observation of the body language of the cats. learn to read them So you can more or less easily determine in which situations they bite and which signals you can use to recognize and determine this. If they then start to bite, you have to associate this with a noise that is negative for the cats. According to the advisor, a whistle, a loud boo-hoo call or a croaking no could ensure success for the tomcat or the cat after just a few training sessions.
Turn
Another learning method in cats is a spontaneous distraction. The unwanted behavior needs to be skipped over just before its onset by allowing the cat to smell or lick something more interesting than the hand. So you watch your tiger and just give it an inch of salmon cream just before it bites each time.
However, for most cat lovers, just knowing their cats don’t bite viciously is enough to stop them from worrying. Advisors for cats confirm that this behavior is genetically controlled and does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about deeper-seated problems. So let’s just be happy about this sign of affection… even if it’s a bit tweaky at times.