My new cat licks then bites. How do I stop this unwanted behavior?

Question

I adopted Luna on Tuesday, and she has her own room. When I go in she's mostly hiding but I sit on the floor and wait. She's come out 3 times already and what she always does is rubs on me, and licks me a lot. The problem is that she bites after she licks. If I move my hand away she goes for the other hand and does the same thing. I don't mind the licking, bur I don't want her to get used to biting me and thinking it's ok. I'm not sure why she's doing that, and how can I get her to stop? Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Shorthair | Female | spayed | 11 months and 18 days old | 8.2 lbs

Juliana, DVM · Accepted Answer

Though this behavior is very normal, especially in young cats, you are absolutely right that you don’t want to encourage Luna’s biting. Sometimes cats bite like that when they are overstimulated and sometimes they do when they are done recieiving attention. You could try interacting with her with a toy to see to redirect some of that biting behavior. I would always stop petting her completely and move away if the biting starts, and maybe keep petting sessions short to prevent her from escalating to biting. As you get to know her better, you will learn some of her warning signs so you can stop the interaction before biting starts and she will learn better boundaries with her biting as well.

My new cat licks then bites. How do I stop this unwanted behavior?

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