How to get my cat to stop painfully play biting?

by Holly

I've had my rescue cat for about seven months now, and there's no giving him up for adoption for a minor issue. However, when the issue does arise it can be painful and it's stressful for everyone.

I play with my cat at least once a day for 15 mins, get him really tired out with a new toy or an old one with catnip on it, and give him treats afterward.

He's young - around a year old now - so I thought maybe he would grow out of biting. However, even though he is fixed he still gets moments where he needs to bite me or my family members.

Often it's when we are sitting and not doing anything with him, or when I'm going up the stairs. He attacks my feet, ankles, legs, and arms.

I know I'm supposed to stand there and endure it until he naturally stops, but it hurts a lot. He doesn't draw blood on me, but it's still painful.

Often, he latches on and I have to scruff the back of his neck to get him off me, and then I have to spray him with a spray bottle because he won't stop. It's like a game to him.

We've even gone so far as to place spray bottles around the house to protect ourselves. We don't know what else to do.

Everything I've read suggests to lean into his bite (way too painful), don't move (he just keeps attacking), make loud noises (doesn't work), lock yourself away until he calms down (I can not do this until he is off of me). I'm trying to be a good cat parent and I love my little guy, but this is very painful.

He is definitely play biting. I've done my research on what play biting and aggressive biting is. However, the biting happens outside of play times.