Ragdoll Cat Forums

I'm not sure which category this goes under, so please bear with me.

Does anyone get 'love bites' from their furkids???

This is a new behavior that just started with Molly and I am a bit taken back by it.

She has come a loooonnng way since I got her and while not totally healthy, we have taken care of a lot of her health issues, which of course cured her p'ing problems and most recently (the last 3 weeks or so) she has been poo'ing in her litterbox 9 times out of 10 (YAY!!!!)

I will say that over these past few weeks she has been blossoming in her personality and I can sense that she is becoming more settled and trusting with me.

BUT just this week, she has started what I call 'love bites' - absolutely no anger or negative emotion behind them, in fact she only does it when we both totally calm and cuddling. She'll be giving me soft head butts and purring and all relaxed and then she opens her mouth and puts her teeth on me. That's about the only way I can describe it. She doesn't bite down at all, and her mood doesn't change, it stays what I call 'lovey' and cuddly.

Any thoughts?

You understand it. Expect some licks at the same time.

Our older moggie also had a few trust issues as she came to live with me and my boyfriend from a complicated situation. She has just started doing these "love bites" too.
I think you may be right - she is just showing you some affection.

very cute! yet my hands get a bit slobbery

My super lovey-dovey cat, Leo, gives love bites all the time. He always lays on my chest for some pets and scratches and will rib his face on mine and give me a little bite on the cheek (sometimes eyebrow, forehead etc.) He only does it out of love and he doesn't ever bite down either. He did it to my roommate the other day, she was shocked! Haha, but she realized he just meant to say "I love you."

Hi Val,

Yes, you're right, those are love bites. Sometimes Teddy doesn't know when to stop, but he does the same thing.

Coral

Yep, I have received these before. I didn't like them much. Does anyone know if this is a baby thing that they grow out of?

I've had them too but not on my face.

I get one on my arm almost every night from Simone. She jumps up on the bed with me around 3am every night for cuddles. It usually ends with her then giving me a bite on the inside of my arm -- then she seems content and jumps off the bed. Go figure....

I get lots of love bites from Dakota---they aren't really bites, he just kind of puts his teeth on my hand---I think its very sweet, except for the fact that Dakotas breath is sooo bad, and when he does the love bites I can really, really smell it! Has anyone else noticed this?

Thanks, everyone!

It was a new behavior for Molly and not one I had ever experienced with any of my previous cats over the years - so I was a bit hesitant to just jump to the conclusion it was a form of affection since it involved teeth (she has no claws, so her teeth are really her only defensive tool).

(P.S. I did not declaw her, one of her previous owners did)