If your cat bites you when you are sleeping, this post will show you likely reasons why and what you can do about them.
So, why does my cat bite me when I’m sleeping? Likely reasons why your cat bites you when you are sleeping are that your cat wants something from you, your cat is playing or that your cat is giving you a love bite.
There are actually a number of possible reasons why your cat bites you when you are sleeping and it could be due to a combination of reasons. However, there are some things you can consider to help figure out the main cause and there are some things you can do about it.
Why does my cat bite me when I’m sleeping?
Below are a number of possible reasons why your cat has been doing it and what would make each of them more likely.
Your cat wants something from you
The reason why your cat does it might be that your cat is trying to get you to give it something. This would be more likely if your cat tends to bite you in the morning before you have fed it.
Your cat is playing
If your cat attacks you, while you are in bed, the cause might be that it sees you as prey because of how you move your legs and feet around in the bed. This would be more likely if your cat tends to bite your feet when you are sleeping. In this case, it would be an option to get your cat to sleep in a different room at night.
Your cat is giving you a love bite
Sometimes cats will bite their owners when they are showing affection towards their owners. The reason why your cat has been doing it could be that it is showing you affection. This would be more likely if your cat also shows signs of being happy when it is doing it such as by purring, licking you and kneading.
Nature
In the wild, cats are often nocturnal animals. Even though your kitty might spend a lot of its time sleeping or lounging around during the day, its internal “clock” tells it when to be active, and night is the prime time for it to be on the prowl. The reason why your cat bites you when sleeping could be that it naturally has a lot more energy at that time and naturally wants to hunt things. This would be more likely if your cat bites you while sleeping at night or in the early morning.
Things to consider
Below are some things to consider to help figure out the main reason why your cat has been doing it.
If your cat has always bitten you when sleeping
If your cat has started biting you when sleeping suddenly, it would help to consider what else happened when your cat first started doing it. For example, if your cat started doing it since you started getting up later in the morning, your cat might have started doing it because it wants you to feed it.
The timing of when your cat bites you
It would also help to consider the timing of when your cat tends to bite you. If there is a certain time your cat tends to bite you, it could be the case that the timing has something to do with it. For example, if your cat does it in the late evening or early morning it would be more likely to be because your cat is full of energy at those times.
How to stop my cat from biting me when sleeping?
Below are some options you have when dealing with the behavior.
Get your cat to stay elsewhere
If your cat currently sleeps in the same room as you and it bites you when you are trying to sleep, one option would be to get your cat to sleep in a different room by putting a bed down for it to sleep on somewhere else.
Give your cat distractions
Another option would be to give your cat things to be distracted by when you are sleeping such as toys.
Wear your cat out
Something else to do would be to wear your cat out during the day by playing with it, giving it toys to use and things such as a scratch pad.