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"Don't Pet Me Anymore" Aggression: It is not uncommon for cats to suddenly bite while being petted. This behavior is not well understood, even by experienced animal behaviorists. For whatever reason, petting that the cat was previously enjoying apparently becomes unpleasant. The bite is the cat's signal that she has had enough petting. Cats vary in how much they will tolerate being petted or held. Although owners often describe cats as biting "out of the blue" or without warning, cats generally give several signals before biting. Owners must become more aware of their cats' body postures, and cease petting or stop any other kind of interaction before the bite occurs. Signals owners should be aware of include:

• restlessness
• the cat's tail beginning to twitch
• the cat's ears turning back or flicking back and forth
• the cat turning or moving her head toward your hand

When you observe any of these signals, it is time to stop petting the cat immediately and allow him just to sit quietly on your lap or go his own way, whichever he prefers. Any kind of physical punishment almost always makes the problem worse, as it makes the cat more likely to bite either because he is fearful and/or because petting becomes even more unpleasant if it is associated with punishment.

If you want to try to prolong the amount of time your cat will tolerate petting, use some food rewards. When your cat first begins to show any of the behaviors described above (or even before he does so) offer him a special tidbit of food, such as a tiny piece of tuna or boiled chicken. At the same time, decrease the intensity of your petting. Continue to lightly pet your cat for a short time period while offering him tidbits. In this way, petting will come to be associated with more pleasant things and may help him to enjoy petting for longer time periods. Be sure to stop the petting before he shows any aggression. If a display of aggression results in the petting being stopped, then this unacceptable behavior has worked. Each time you work with your cat, try to pet him for slightly longer time periods using the food.

Fearful/Defensive Aggression: Cats that are fearful may display body postures that appear to be similar to canine submissive postures — crouching on the floor, ears back, tail tucked and possibly rolling slightly to the side. Cats in this posture are not submissive; they are fearful and defensive and may attack if touched.

Redirected Aggression: A cat exhibits redirected aggression when she is aroused into an aggressive response by one person or animal, but then redirects this aggression onto another person or animal. For example, if two family cats have a spat, the losing cat, still aroused, may walk up and attack the family child.

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