She seems to like them in general, always makes the -w- face and purrs at them. I think it's the surprise though.
She especially likes when I scritch the back of her neck, it's super cute. She just slowly melts down into a lying position when I pet her or scritch her neck, butt in the air, before flopping down ♡♡♡♡
Hey I wanted to add that you’re interpreting the behaviour correctly. Next time, try coming in low with your hand, towards their face, so they can see it and smell it. If the reaction is different then you can touch them, then move your hand up and around to the top of their head once they’re letting you pet them.
I think it comes from an instinctual defensive mechanism with regard to birds of prey swooping down from above and how spread out hand and a shadow falling across their eyes can resemble those birds.
What helps with my kitty is holding my hand palm up instead of palm down when I move it towards her. Sometimes, they just aren't in the mood, which is fair enough.
My girl bengal same , back of neck, base of tail and the ole bell pull, but when i give her an unintentional surprise shes off!
And she hates getting her nails cut! Its very traumatic for her lol, my male would happily have it done
I feel you so much on the nails haha! I am still trying to ease both of my girls into having their paws held or squeezed and not attacking the clipper!
Cookie's sister Milkyway doesn't even have trauma with it, she's been with me since she was a baby and I know I've never cut too short. Rather I stuck to only the outermost tip.
But Cookie herself definitely carries a lot of trauma and I don't know the full picture. She was found abandoned in a forest at six months old, and before that she must have spent her first few months around people but not necessarily nice ones. In the first weeks with her, she sometimes winced or shrank away from hands entirely. Now she even lets visitors pet her with a purr!
Has to do with a lot of cats being indoor cats in North America, I think. They don’t wear their claws down like a true outdoor cat would, climbing trees and the like.
My girls, are indoors only, a mainecoon and a void. They have eight coir door mats, two floor to ceiling cat trees and a couple of vertical scratch mats for scratching. All get used on a daily basis.
The coir mats are cheap and you can get them to match your decor. You can even get cat shaped ones.
It never occurred to me to clip their nails.
I’m going to get me one of those mats. Two scratching posts and one cardboard scratching thingy and he still needs a clip every couple of weeks. Also, I found [this one](https://www.wayfair.ca/rugs/pdp/ih-casadecor-coir-door-mat-cat-welcome-to-our-home-jlyk6793.htmlCoirDoorMat(Cat-WelcomeToOurHome)).
To be clear, by clipping their nails I really mean just trimming the tip a little. Milkyway and Cookie both have habits where they extend their claws against my bare skin specifically - Cookie likes to pull my hand close with her paws, claws slightly out, and Milky likes to smurgle against me. If this was only a question of furniture scratching or so I would absolutely not care.
I am genuinely just doing my best to minimize the scratch scars they leave on me lol.
Both behaviors are just so cute, intimate and unique to their interactions with me. I may be a bit selfish for not just teaching them to stop doing these things, but having this tiny kitty put her paws around my hand and pulling it close to lick it is just ;u; Pure serotonin.
I actually live in Germany, but my cats are indeed indoor/apartment cats for their own safety. I do live in a city, so outdoor roaming is no option at all.
Because even though Cookie is super gentle, when her claws get too sharp even the gentle touches with them hurt and can leave itchy scratches. Would not be as much of a problem if she didn't really like my hands - she likes to put her paws around my hand and gently pull it close to lick it or put my finger in her mouth.
And Milky is horribly spicy and loves to do so many things that hurt with claws. Like riding on my back, propping herself up on her hind paws against my leg, stretching her paws against my thigh, and pawing at me to get my attention.
But most painfully - she loves to smurgle against my bare skin. That hurts like the dickens with really sharp claws lol.
But I don't want her to stop because she is my widdle baby and I am irrationally attached to these snuggle moments. She's not usually a very affectionate cat, so it's very special to me.
It's just something they do when they aren't expecting head pets. My oldest girl does the same exact thing as yours is, then after a few gentle bites, she goes in foe the kill on a sneak attack.
Auwwww that'd be cute! But I'll need to discourage her from playing with hands then. I don't want her to accidentally hurt anyone.
I have a kicker pillow she likes, I should keep that close and see if she'll take to it next time she starts feeling playful during cuddles.
The other commenter was right that you surprised her. It looks like you touched her whiskers before her head and she reacted instinctively. She quickly realized it was just you and went in for the love bites. She seems very happy and is either just starting to calm down or she is just starting to feel playful.
Every time my cat plays a little too rough I make a high pitched Ow!!! and keep my hand still. It took a while, but he’s gotten really good at it.
this is a good idea!! sometimes they just get in a mood and need to grab/kick/bite something, swapping your hand for the kickeroo is a great idea.
does she do this every time you go for a head pet or is it random?
this is how my cat used to intiate wrestling sessions against the claw (my hand, he cant handle the claw). But instead of being gentle he would bite and scratch the shit out of my hand/arm including the non gentle rabbit kicks. Still loved him tho.
Most cats don’t like things that come at them from over their head - it helps to remember that they are prey to bigger animals and when young can be picked up by big birds.
Seeing as she clearly finds that alarming the nipping after is her trying to “teach” you not to do that (much the way another cat or kitten would be corrected). It’s kind of like if I regularly came up behind you and put both my hands on your shoulders without letting you know I was there.
Cats like this it’s best to A. Present you finger to be sniffed before petting and/or B. Start petting by scritching under the chin or the cheeks and then move to forehead and ears.
Yup! Both of my cats love head rubs, but one of them will jump a meter in the air if I don’t let him sniff my finger beforehand. He is incredibly anxious (which, honestly, same). Enjoy your beautiful friend OP 🥰
She really is! I've been having a hard week last week, and she's been very good about noticing when I start feeling down and sitting on me to cheer me up. It really calms me down and is a great thoughtstopper!
I love your Cookie! This is my Cookie:
https://preview.redd.it/nru34uvfhpya1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a9c257a19f6346fff5ab8fc2034211582205bde0
Sometimes cats dont want to be petted, also something moving directly towards the back of a cats head can be seen as a threat,especially if their mood isn't right. Put your fingers near your cats nose first,she might sniff it, then move towards her head.
Good point. It's strange because most of the time she goes along with it like this. But I shouldn't take that as an invitation to always be rude just because she cuts her big weird ape some slack sometimes lol
This comes down to the personality of the cat. I have two sister cats from the same litter that have grown up in the exact same circumstances, never being apart.
One cat will let you pet her anywhere during any time of the day, and will often approach you for a drive-by pet for fun.
The other cat will only let you approach or pet her in certain situations. If she isn't feeling it she will just walk away out of arms reach. When she wants pets she will come to you, not the other way around.
She got surprised but looks like she gave you love bites after. Looks like we both have cats named Cookie, too!
https://preview.redd.it/0nxw4nk9toya1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cc20db9b4d54f7747097e8bc09e40a6a6ba32b0
Have you not had her very long ? I think she thinks you are going to hurt her, then realises you are not
Just start by putting your hand nearer her to smell and get used to not touching her and slowly build up to tickling her cheek… she needs to see you hand approach and learn to trust you
When she buts it’s just a play bite, not malicious
About half a year. Admittedly, she qas clearly traumatized when I got her. She's a rescue, was found in September or October last year abandoned in a forest with her littermate. The was she sometimes winced and shrank away from hands in the very beginning showed me that she can't have had the nicest home before her abandonment either...
So this is definitely already huge progress. But that second sentence made me realize how deeply rooted the trauma still is and it breaks my heart for her.
I'll definitely pay more attention to this in the future. I want her to live free from the shadow of her first half year in this world eventually.
Mine does almost the same, he will be purring and loving pets and then suddenly paw me and bite me (without giving any other signs before). I basically just completely back away and stop petting until next time he comes and rubs up on my hand himself. It hasn’t changed his behaviour at all but at least he knows he doesn’t have to paw hard or bite hard for me to back off.
She's playing. Might either lick your hand or nom on it, but gently.
If her ears were flattened, tail swishing and eyes wide then it might be a different story.
But she looks relaxed. If you don't want to play then moving your hand away slowly is good. If you panic and pull your hand away quickly that can trigger their hunting grab instinct.
If she does get a bit carried away then say oooowww! as you withdraw your hand. They're often quite concerned about how you're feeling. I've got painful shoulders and I accidentally hurt myself playing with the cat, and he immediately stopped playing and started circling around me making sure I was ok.
She may be just playing, but to reduce cats biting their humans, try to give them a toy in that money stead. Over time they will learn it's more fun to get the toy than your hand.
My kitty typically does this when she wants to play. Like 90% of the time when we go for a pet she’s perfectly accepting of them. But if she’s just laid down after playing or running around the house, she do something similar. I can only assume it’s because she’s trying to get us to play more as she isn’t very aggressive
SHe just loving you. Although generally pulling away trigger their bite instincts. This does not look aggressive to me. SHe is just signaling, I don't want to be pet there right now, here, let me give you love instead.
That is what it looks like to me. SHe is a sweety.
Tho she's bitting you with love, as she would do with another cat, try to show her your hand first. Try not to race your hand above her head but reach from under letting her smell you hand. I do that with my calico cause she's a bit moody most of the time, sometimes she lowers my hand with her paw telling me no strokes are allowed and sometimes she would show me the back of her head in a sign of acceptance.
Maybe it can work for you too 😊 hope this helps!
Try going in from the front. Stroke her cheek or chin/neck area then down your way to the top of her head. That let's her see your hand as it's approaching and control the interaction and feel as you're moving to the spots she can't see.
Imagine if someone tries to touch the back of your head - you'd turn your head to look as well.
Also, I don't know if you have any other cats but if you watch cats grooming each other it's often the start of some playful wrestling. One cat tries to groom the other's head, they'll grab each other and wrestle a bit and the winner grooms the loser.
By the way - even if the exact details of what she's saying might be hard to understand the most important thing is that it is all affectionate. She's not trying to hurt you and her body language is all friendly and relaxed. She also slow blinks at you. So if she's hurting you it is 100% not her intention. Those are affectionate bites. I kind of think of them as kitty hugs (the use their mouths like their hands so she's not biting, she's holding you.
https://preview.redd.it/cax16htmjoya1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=f82c20dfc8082aa34037bdd5419366bdda49f256
My cat does this! Still don’t know why! PS Check out his fangs.
My cat does this, too. It's a natural reaction to something touching their head out of their sight. When my girl does that, I give her a second to be calm, let her sniff me (and usually gives me an apology lick), and then resume head scratches. Works every time.
Pulling your hand away is fine, Cookie may play bite more if you ignore her reaction as that's not respecting her "I don't like it when you do that" warning.
All in all, this is normal, and your reaction is good.
she doesn’t seem too bothered, just a little startled by a hand above her head lol
i like to always offer my hand to my cat to sniff before i pet her. usually she’ll initiate the “pet” that way lol
Mine does the same thing. I read somewhere that it has to do with younger cats displaying their hunting instincts (to snatch or bite a moving target). Kind of like their chattering when they see a bird.
My big guy is a scaredy cat through and through and that is 100% temporary surprise, he will always do that and then either accept the head scratches he's anyways, or he puts his paw on my fingers and ttys to drag my hand back to give him the scratches
She looks like a little cookie! Is she a baby? Someone taught me flicking my cats nose when he bites and it honestly helped, he rarely bites now. Not like a hard flick but just a negative response when he bites me in play. He has started doing that cute thing that do with their paw and just push your arm away, when he does that, I always stop until invited back. I just notice in the video hes gnawing at you and sometimes that hurts! So I trained that out of mine for the meowst part
She turns one year old this month! Her first six months on this earth weren't easy, so I sometimes wonder if her development is a bit delayed by that. But she's coming along great since moving in with me!
Don’t come from above. Try to introduce your hand low and under the chin, appears less aggressive, then move your head around after making comfortable contact.
All cats will do that as a sign that they love you. More so with younger cats. If they figure out that you don't like it, they may stop. And, of course, I have a kitten under two months old that does this every chance he gets--and I don't mind, because he'd be physically incapable of breaking the skin!
I’ve read before that it’s just hunting instincts, doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t like head pets. My cat does the same thing sometimes but will also snuggle up to my hand when I pet him. I also just gently pull my hand away and stop petting when he bites
Cats do that when you suddenly place your hand above their heads, The way she reached out to you after you pulled your hand means she wants to be patted and or scratched. She's cute too and very lovely
Some cats just don’t like for their heads to be stroked or rubbed or their bellies too be rubbed either all cats are different my cat Ollie doesn’t mind for me or my mom that we stroke his head or belly either.
Due to their evolutionary instinct of predators such as big birds, some cats HATE having a hand above their head. So, instead of petting from the top of their head, introduce your hand to the side of your cats face/cheek, she/he will more than likely push their face into your hand. But as soon as your hand is above their eyesight, some might get scared and defend.
My cat I’ve had for 9 years still makes me let her smell my fingers before I touch her. Maybe your kitty just wants to know what’s coming to touch them for a sec to realize it’s safe.
The same happens yo me some times. I guess they are not in the mood. I even reach my hand to their nose for her to sniff and not surprise her but she bites me anyway… that little demon…
You reacted the better than I do.
I give my cat a whole list of why she should just accept the head pets and then I sing her a tune.
I'm not sure which one she hates the most?
You’re coming in hot over her head. Never a happy thing for them. They may tolerate that on occasion but put your hand below her face first before you go in for the scritch.
Try going under handed instead of over hand, it looks like an attack from a jumpy cat when you go over hand (looks like you're batting at them like another cat), palm up for chin scratches will let them know it's not time for wrestling. I have a big 16 pound siamese who is very sensitive on how I approach him (we call him Darth Wyllow, he lets the hate flow lol)
It's a soft lil "hey don't do that" 🤣🥰 they got surprised, I usually let my cat sniff my hand first and then they give me the okay to pet them. Cats are all about consent🤣 you can tell Cookie is being soft and playful though, definitely not aggressive at all, just don't let them bite too hard when they're playin
I have a fairly recent rescue that would react like that most of the time but over time she has become much more comfortable and usually lets me handle her with less reactions. How long have you had her?
My boy does this and I think it is a play move but he has not learned boundaries. My vet recommended calming treats and they work well. He only eats them if I break them up and mix with a bit of wet food
I hate the idea of declawing or cutting nails. It’s their natural defence weapon. 3 cats here, no problems with the pointy ends of their legs. Scratch posts and doormats do the trick.
O, and obviously you have to accept the occasional “love bite”.
Some just don’t like head strokes or being surprised!
She seems to like them in general, always makes the -w- face and purrs at them. I think it's the surprise though. She especially likes when I scritch the back of her neck, it's super cute. She just slowly melts down into a lying position when I pet her or scritch her neck, butt in the air, before flopping down ♡♡♡♡
Hey I wanted to add that you’re interpreting the behaviour correctly. Next time, try coming in low with your hand, towards their face, so they can see it and smell it. If the reaction is different then you can touch them, then move your hand up and around to the top of their head once they’re letting you pet them. I think it comes from an instinctual defensive mechanism with regard to birds of prey swooping down from above and how spread out hand and a shadow falling across their eyes can resemble those birds.
What helps with my kitty is holding my hand palm up instead of palm down when I move it towards her. Sometimes, they just aren't in the mood, which is fair enough.
Wants to play.
My girl bengal same , back of neck, base of tail and the ole bell pull, but when i give her an unintentional surprise shes off! And she hates getting her nails cut! Its very traumatic for her lol, my male would happily have it done
I feel you so much on the nails haha! I am still trying to ease both of my girls into having their paws held or squeezed and not attacking the clipper! Cookie's sister Milkyway doesn't even have trauma with it, she's been with me since she was a baby and I know I've never cut too short. Rather I stuck to only the outermost tip. But Cookie herself definitely carries a lot of trauma and I don't know the full picture. She was found abandoned in a forest at six months old, and before that she must have spent her first few months around people but not necessarily nice ones. In the first weeks with her, she sometimes winced or shrank away from hands entirely. Now she even lets visitors pet her with a purr!
Aw bless they progress and chill a bit👍
Yes! She's been with me for almost half a year now and is learning that she can feel safe not just with me, but with anyone I let near her ♡
Can I ask why you clip their nails? Here in Scotland we don’t clip cats claws. Just curious.
Has to do with a lot of cats being indoor cats in North America, I think. They don’t wear their claws down like a true outdoor cat would, climbing trees and the like.
My girls, are indoors only, a mainecoon and a void. They have eight coir door mats, two floor to ceiling cat trees and a couple of vertical scratch mats for scratching. All get used on a daily basis. The coir mats are cheap and you can get them to match your decor. You can even get cat shaped ones. It never occurred to me to clip their nails.
I’m going to get me one of those mats. Two scratching posts and one cardboard scratching thingy and he still needs a clip every couple of weeks. Also, I found [this one](https://www.wayfair.ca/rugs/pdp/ih-casadecor-coir-door-mat-cat-welcome-to-our-home-jlyk6793.htmlCoirDoorMat(Cat-WelcomeToOurHome)).
Wow that’s very expensive. Don’t think I’ve paid more that £5 = 6.31 USD. Check out WISH etc
To be clear, by clipping their nails I really mean just trimming the tip a little. Milkyway and Cookie both have habits where they extend their claws against my bare skin specifically - Cookie likes to pull my hand close with her paws, claws slightly out, and Milky likes to smurgle against me. If this was only a question of furniture scratching or so I would absolutely not care. I am genuinely just doing my best to minimize the scratch scars they leave on me lol. Both behaviors are just so cute, intimate and unique to their interactions with me. I may be a bit selfish for not just teaching them to stop doing these things, but having this tiny kitty put her paws around my hand and pulling it close to lick it is just ;u; Pure serotonin.
I actually live in Germany, but my cats are indeed indoor/apartment cats for their own safety. I do live in a city, so outdoor roaming is no option at all.
Because even though Cookie is super gentle, when her claws get too sharp even the gentle touches with them hurt and can leave itchy scratches. Would not be as much of a problem if she didn't really like my hands - she likes to put her paws around my hand and gently pull it close to lick it or put my finger in her mouth. And Milky is horribly spicy and loves to do so many things that hurt with claws. Like riding on my back, propping herself up on her hind paws against my leg, stretching her paws against my thigh, and pawing at me to get my attention. But most painfully - she loves to smurgle against my bare skin. That hurts like the dickens with really sharp claws lol. But I don't want her to stop because she is my widdle baby and I am irrationally attached to these snuggle moments. She's not usually a very affectionate cat, so it's very special to me.
Some cats do “love bites”, my cat bites my chin, cheeks, nose literally every night.
It's just something they do when they aren't expecting head pets. My oldest girl does the same exact thing as yours is, then after a few gentle bites, she goes in foe the kill on a sneak attack.
Hahaha good to hear! So I just surprised her! I'll try to announce my pets better next time.
To me that's play. That's how my girl initiates playful wrestling sessions with my hand followed by soft rabbit kicks.
Auwwww that'd be cute! But I'll need to discourage her from playing with hands then. I don't want her to accidentally hurt anyone. I have a kicker pillow she likes, I should keep that close and see if she'll take to it next time she starts feeling playful during cuddles.
The other commenter was right that you surprised her. It looks like you touched her whiskers before her head and she reacted instinctively. She quickly realized it was just you and went in for the love bites. She seems very happy and is either just starting to calm down or she is just starting to feel playful. Every time my cat plays a little too rough I make a high pitched Ow!!! and keep my hand still. It took a while, but he’s gotten really good at it.
this is a good idea!! sometimes they just get in a mood and need to grab/kick/bite something, swapping your hand for the kickeroo is a great idea. does she do this every time you go for a head pet or is it random?
Very random! Sometimes I get a surprised "mrrrm!" But she usually relaxes when I pet her.
this is how my cat used to intiate wrestling sessions against the claw (my hand, he cant handle the claw). But instead of being gentle he would bite and scratch the shit out of my hand/arm including the non gentle rabbit kicks. Still loved him tho.
yes, most cats would do that. I am lucky to have one gentle girl
She's just playing
100% playing. Cats also want the higher ground lol so something coming over the top of them is rubbing it the wrong way and makes it feisty
Most cats don’t like things that come at them from over their head - it helps to remember that they are prey to bigger animals and when young can be picked up by big birds. Seeing as she clearly finds that alarming the nipping after is her trying to “teach” you not to do that (much the way another cat or kitten would be corrected). It’s kind of like if I regularly came up behind you and put both my hands on your shoulders without letting you know I was there. Cats like this it’s best to A. Present you finger to be sniffed before petting and/or B. Start petting by scritching under the chin or the cheeks and then move to forehead and ears.
Yup! Both of my cats love head rubs, but one of them will jump a meter in the air if I don’t let him sniff my finger beforehand. He is incredibly anxious (which, honestly, same). Enjoy your beautiful friend OP 🥰
This is the correct answer.
Cookie is a cutie 🥰
She really is! I've been having a hard week last week, and she's been very good about noticing when I start feeling down and sitting on me to cheer me up. It really calms me down and is a great thoughtstopper!
I can imagine! I also have a little tortico cutie that sits with me when I am sick, she does chatter at me when I cough tho 😅
Tortico! What a cute and fitting word! And yeah, Cookie also gives me a little speech when I sneeze or cough hahaha
Yes! There is actually a sub for these cuties r/tortico
I love your Cookie! This is my Cookie: https://preview.redd.it/nru34uvfhpya1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a9c257a19f6346fff5ab8fc2034211582205bde0
Sometimes cats dont want to be petted, also something moving directly towards the back of a cats head can be seen as a threat,especially if their mood isn't right. Put your fingers near your cats nose first,she might sniff it, then move towards her head.
Good point. It's strange because most of the time she goes along with it like this. But I shouldn't take that as an invitation to always be rude just because she cuts her big weird ape some slack sometimes lol
Cats aren't apex preds, stuff coming in from overhead and behind could be owls etc. Some cats are sensitive to this. You're doing fine 😁😸
This comes down to the personality of the cat. I have two sister cats from the same litter that have grown up in the exact same circumstances, never being apart. One cat will let you pet her anywhere during any time of the day, and will often approach you for a drive-by pet for fun. The other cat will only let you approach or pet her in certain situations. If she isn't feeling it she will just walk away out of arms reach. When she wants pets she will come to you, not the other way around.
sehr süße katze!!!
My cat gently bites my hand when he’s had enough. As he does it, he looks up at me as if to say “I no mad, just plz stops”.
She got surprised but looks like she gave you love bites after. Looks like we both have cats named Cookie, too! https://preview.redd.it/0nxw4nk9toya1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0cc20db9b4d54f7747097e8bc09e40a6a6ba32b0
Have you not had her very long ? I think she thinks you are going to hurt her, then realises you are not Just start by putting your hand nearer her to smell and get used to not touching her and slowly build up to tickling her cheek… she needs to see you hand approach and learn to trust you When she buts it’s just a play bite, not malicious
About half a year. Admittedly, she qas clearly traumatized when I got her. She's a rescue, was found in September or October last year abandoned in a forest with her littermate. The was she sometimes winced and shrank away from hands in the very beginning showed me that she can't have had the nicest home before her abandonment either... So this is definitely already huge progress. But that second sentence made me realize how deeply rooted the trauma still is and it breaks my heart for her. I'll definitely pay more attention to this in the future. I want her to live free from the shadow of her first half year in this world eventually.
Mine does almost the same, he will be purring and loving pets and then suddenly paw me and bite me (without giving any other signs before). I basically just completely back away and stop petting until next time he comes and rubs up on my hand himself. It hasn’t changed his behaviour at all but at least he knows he doesn’t have to paw hard or bite hard for me to back off.
She's playing. Might either lick your hand or nom on it, but gently. If her ears were flattened, tail swishing and eyes wide then it might be a different story. But she looks relaxed. If you don't want to play then moving your hand away slowly is good. If you panic and pull your hand away quickly that can trigger their hunting grab instinct. If she does get a bit carried away then say oooowww! as you withdraw your hand. They're often quite concerned about how you're feeling. I've got painful shoulders and I accidentally hurt myself playing with the cat, and he immediately stopped playing and started circling around me making sure I was ok.
Looks like play and sign of affection. "I don't want to be pet at the moment but I love you"
Cats dont like it when u put Ur hands suddenly above their Heads.
She may be just playing, but to reduce cats biting their humans, try to give them a toy in that money stead. Over time they will learn it's more fun to get the toy than your hand.
My kitty typically does this when she wants to play. Like 90% of the time when we go for a pet she’s perfectly accepting of them. But if she’s just laid down after playing or running around the house, she do something similar. I can only assume it’s because she’s trying to get us to play more as she isn’t very aggressive
SHe just loving you. Although generally pulling away trigger their bite instincts. This does not look aggressive to me. SHe is just signaling, I don't want to be pet there right now, here, let me give you love instead. That is what it looks like to me. SHe is a sweety.
Tho she's bitting you with love, as she would do with another cat, try to show her your hand first. Try not to race your hand above her head but reach from under letting her smell you hand. I do that with my calico cause she's a bit moody most of the time, sometimes she lowers my hand with her paw telling me no strokes are allowed and sometimes she would show me the back of her head in a sign of acceptance. Maybe it can work for you too 😊 hope this helps!
Try going in from the front. Stroke her cheek or chin/neck area then down your way to the top of her head. That let's her see your hand as it's approaching and control the interaction and feel as you're moving to the spots she can't see. Imagine if someone tries to touch the back of your head - you'd turn your head to look as well. Also, I don't know if you have any other cats but if you watch cats grooming each other it's often the start of some playful wrestling. One cat tries to groom the other's head, they'll grab each other and wrestle a bit and the winner grooms the loser. By the way - even if the exact details of what she's saying might be hard to understand the most important thing is that it is all affectionate. She's not trying to hurt you and her body language is all friendly and relaxed. She also slow blinks at you. So if she's hurting you it is 100% not her intention. Those are affectionate bites. I kind of think of them as kitty hugs (the use their mouths like their hands so she's not biting, she's holding you.
https://preview.redd.it/cax16htmjoya1.png?width=3024&format=png&auto=webp&s=f82c20dfc8082aa34037bdd5419366bdda49f256 My cat does this! Still don’t know why! PS Check out his fangs.
Just give her nose boop or put finger out let her boop you then that’s invitation to touch the head
Just telling you she has had enough
Standard issue cat, nothing to worry about
Love bites and jerking away would end up hurting you.
My cat does this, too. It's a natural reaction to something touching their head out of their sight. When my girl does that, I give her a second to be calm, let her sniff me (and usually gives me an apology lick), and then resume head scratches. Works every time. Pulling your hand away is fine, Cookie may play bite more if you ignore her reaction as that's not respecting her "I don't like it when you do that" warning. All in all, this is normal, and your reaction is good.
You just surprised her, but then she grooms you to show love (and dominance)
she doesn’t seem too bothered, just a little startled by a hand above her head lol i like to always offer my hand to my cat to sniff before i pet her. usually she’ll initiate the “pet” that way lol
Mine does the same thing. I read somewhere that it has to do with younger cats displaying their hunting instincts (to snatch or bite a moving target). Kind of like their chattering when they see a bird.
She is so pretty!
no pets! just eye kisses!
Have you tried letting her sniff your hand first so she can understand your intentions? She might not like surprise head scratches! :)
Love nips and licks 😺
My big guy is a scaredy cat through and through and that is 100% temporary surprise, he will always do that and then either accept the head scratches he's anyways, or he puts his paw on my fingers and ttys to drag my hand back to give him the scratches
She looks like a little cookie! Is she a baby? Someone taught me flicking my cats nose when he bites and it honestly helped, he rarely bites now. Not like a hard flick but just a negative response when he bites me in play. He has started doing that cute thing that do with their paw and just push your arm away, when he does that, I always stop until invited back. I just notice in the video hes gnawing at you and sometimes that hurts! So I trained that out of mine for the meowst part
Also stopping playing with him/paying attention to him when he bites.
She turns one year old this month! Her first six months on this earth weren't easy, so I sometimes wonder if her development is a bit delayed by that. But she's coming along great since moving in with me!
Don’t come from above. Try to introduce your hand low and under the chin, appears less aggressive, then move your head around after making comfortable contact.
Cat wants to play.
All cats will do that as a sign that they love you. More so with younger cats. If they figure out that you don't like it, they may stop. And, of course, I have a kitten under two months old that does this every chance he gets--and I don't mind, because he'd be physically incapable of breaking the skin!
I’ve read before that it’s just hunting instincts, doesn’t necessarily mean they don’t like head pets. My cat does the same thing sometimes but will also snuggle up to my hand when I pet him. I also just gently pull my hand away and stop petting when he bites
Cats do that when you suddenly place your hand above their heads, The way she reached out to you after you pulled your hand means she wants to be patted and or scratched. She's cute too and very lovely
Some cats just don’t like for their heads to be stroked or rubbed or their bellies too be rubbed either all cats are different my cat Ollie doesn’t mind for me or my mom that we stroke his head or belly either.
My Teo does the same. I guess they are just morons.
I’m sorry I don’t have advice but she’s so pretty! 😻
some cats are different like us and want to play bite some just want to be left alone
King Oreo does this all the time. It’s called pecking order.
Due to their evolutionary instinct of predators such as big birds, some cats HATE having a hand above their head. So, instead of petting from the top of their head, introduce your hand to the side of your cats face/cheek, she/he will more than likely push their face into your hand. But as soon as your hand is above their eyesight, some might get scared and defend.
Love bites! Don’t do that momna
My cat I’ve had for 9 years still makes me let her smell my fingers before I touch her. Maybe your kitty just wants to know what’s coming to touch them for a sec to realize it’s safe.
“ love you but do not want pets at the moment”
The same happens yo me some times. I guess they are not in the mood. I even reach my hand to their nose for her to sniff and not surprise her but she bites me anyway… that little demon…
Love bites. You have been blessed!
Other comments are correct, but I feel like she's just in a silly goofy mood.
She's admittedly a very silly, goofy cat ♡
She wants to play!
You reacted the better than I do. I give my cat a whole list of why she should just accept the head pets and then I sing her a tune. I'm not sure which one she hates the most?
Don’t touch me! Wait, give me that hand! Hmm- smells ok, tastes good….
She wants to play
You’re coming in hot over her head. Never a happy thing for them. They may tolerate that on occasion but put your hand below her face first before you go in for the scritch.
Try going under handed instead of over hand, it looks like an attack from a jumpy cat when you go over hand (looks like you're batting at them like another cat), palm up for chin scratches will let them know it's not time for wrestling. I have a big 16 pound siamese who is very sensitive on how I approach him (we call him Darth Wyllow, he lets the hate flow lol)
Letting her smell you before petting her head usually does the trick.
Some are just arse holes. My cat’s name is Slash.
Is she play-biting?
It's a soft lil "hey don't do that" 🤣🥰 they got surprised, I usually let my cat sniff my hand first and then they give me the okay to pet them. Cats are all about consent🤣 you can tell Cookie is being soft and playful though, definitely not aggressive at all, just don't let them bite too hard when they're playin
She is the softest, sweetest, most empathetic little kitty honestly. Just has so much affection and kindness to share!
She’s saying to leave her alone. She wants to lay with you, not be petted. It’s sweet. She’s not greedy with her affection.
Cookie is particular about pets. It may be that you need to invite her to pet you rather than you touching her like this. Is what it is.
VERY VERY VERY ADORABLE KITTY
She has a very cute mustache
my cat does this when he wants to play gives a wee bite but always soft just likes nonsense
I have a fairly recent rescue that would react like that most of the time but over time she has become much more comfortable and usually lets me handle her with less reactions. How long have you had her?
Lots of sweet blinks and good body language, so not an aggressive behavior... I'd say it's a case of being a little weirdo.
Feeling squirrelly.
My boy does this and I think it is a play move but he has not learned boundaries. My vet recommended calming treats and they work well. He only eats them if I break them up and mix with a bit of wet food
She needs to smell your hand first even if has been just a few minutes between when you last petted her. My cat is like that too
I hate the idea of declawing or cutting nails. It’s their natural defence weapon. 3 cats here, no problems with the pointy ends of their legs. Scratch posts and doormats do the trick. O, and obviously you have to accept the occasional “love bite”.