Why Do Cats Bite?

1 Five Types of Aggression

Pain-induced: a sudden hurt — a stepped-on tail, a shot, wound cleaning — triggers a defensive bite. It’s reflexive, not personal; prevent it (an Elizabethan collar for handling) and avoid careless harm.

Play: common in solo kittens with no littermates to learn on; they treat your hands and feet as prey. Keep hands out of play, withdraw and ignore, then redirect with a toy. Never punish — it scars them.

Affection/sexual: a neutered-or-not cat may give a gentle ‘love bite’ when aroused by hormones during petting; a light, tingly nip, rarely harmful. Withdraw and redirect; don’t punish.

Fear: cornered, a terrified cat fights — hair up, pupils wide, ears back, body low, threats then claws. Find and remove the trigger, don’t crowd it, let it calm in a safe spot.

Refereeing a fight: don’t dive in bare-handed; you’ll get hurt. Spray the cats with water or drop a blanket over them and separate through it.

2 What to Do If Bitten

First, wash: any open wound that isn’t gushing should be rinsed under running water while squeezing out blood for 10 minutes, then washed with soap.

Second, disinfect: iodine kills 90%+ of wound-infecting viruses, so apply it, then alcohol to remove the iodine; a cat-owning home should keep iodine on hand.

Third, dress as needed — often not, just keep it dry; a liquid bandage helps.

Fourth, immunization: a fully indoor cat with no exposure to rabid animals needs no rabies shot, but a stray of unknown status does.

3 In This Case

An 8-month-old intact male is right at first-heat age, with mood swings and irritable biting; neutering is worth considering.