My cat bites my hands and face aggressively. How do I stop it?

Question

When my cat was small, I made the mistake of letting him rough-house with my hands and wrists. Now he is older, he will bite/scratch my hands/wrists. He never did it hard enough to hurt me, but recently he will bite my wrists hard enough to break the first layer of skin. He's never gone after my face either until last night; I hid my arms from him under a blanket and told him in a stern voice that I wanted him to stop. He got in my face and bit my eyebrow. What should I do to stop this behavior? Pet's info: Cat | Colorpoint Shorthair | Male | neutered | 1 year and 6 months old

Sara Farmer, DVM · Accepted Answer

There are several different types of aggression in cats, and Theodore may be attention seeking, or may have redirected aggression if there are other pets at home or animals outdoors who seem to make him anxious (dogs, squirrels, other cats). Cats do not respond well to negative punishment, so I'd removing your attention whenever possible by walking away. If you think he's attention seeking you could try to increase the amount of time in the day that you play with him or try feeding him most of his food in food puzzles like the Twist n Treat to keep him mentally stimulated. It is also important not to reward him in any way when he does bite - just remove your attention by leaving the room if possible. Finally, you could try using a Feliway diffuser to help him stay calm. Contact your veterinarian for more tips if these don't seem to help.

My cat bites my hands and face aggressively. How do I stop it?

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