Ever wake up to a cat chewing or biting on your hair? Hair chewing in the morning is a common occurrence among cats, and many cat owners have no idea why their cat would do it. This post will show you why yours might have been doing it and what you can do about it.
There are actually a number of possible reasons why your cat bites your hair in the morning and it might be due to a combination of them. However, there are some things to consider to help figure out the main reason and there are things you can do to stop it.
Reasons why your cat bites your hair in the morning
Below are likely causes and what would make them more likely.
It wants something from you
The cause could be that it wants something from you such as food and it is trying to remind you to get up and feed it. This would be more likely if your cat jumps onto your bed and bites your hair before you have fed it.
It wants attention
It could also be the case that your cat pulls your hair in order to get more attention and it has learned that the behavior results in you giving it attention. This would be more likely if your cat does it more when you have not been giving it much attention in the morning and if you tend to give it more attention when it does it.
Intimidation
It could also be the case that you have been causing it to get intimidated in the morning. This would be more likely if you interact with it differently in the morning and if your cat also does things such as hiss and scratch when it bites your hair.
Anxiety
The cause might also be that something has been causing your cat to be anxious. This would be more likely if grabs your hair it more when there are loud noises inside or other pets around that it does not like.
Nature
In the wild, cats are often lively in the late evening and early morning. 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 the early morning is the prime time for it to be on the prowl.
The reason why your cat has been biting your hair is likely to be that it has a lot of energy in the morning. This would be more likely to be the cause if your cat runs around and plays a lot in the morning.
Things to consider
Below are things to consider to help in figuring out the main reason why your cat has been doing it.
If your cat has always bitten your hair in the morning
If your cat did not chew your hair, in the past, it would help to consider what else happened when your cat first started biting your hair. If your cat started biting your hair suddenly, it could be due to things such as a change in the way you interact with it in the morning; which would be more likely if it does not only bite your hair, a change in the time you feed it or a change in its environment.
What is different when your cat does not bite your hair in the morning
If your cat does not nibble or bite your hair on every morning, it would also help to consider what is different when it does not bite your hair. For example, if your cat tends to bite your hair more on the weekend, the cause could be that it is expecting you to get up at the same time you do during the week and feed it.
What to do about your cat biting your hair in the morning
Below are options you have when stopping the behavior.
Feed it and give it access to water
If it seems like your cat might be biting your hair because it is trying to remind you to get up and feed it, it would likely be helpful to feed it and give it access to water as soon as you get up instead of making it wait.
Give it distractions
Another thing to do would be to give your cat things to be distracted by such as toys. This would be more helpful if your cat tends to be very energetic in the morning and if your cat tends to do things such as chase you around.
Avoid encouraging it
It would also help to avoid giving your cat things such as extra attention when it does bite your hair since your cat might have learned that the behavior is rewarded. Instead, it would help to move your cat somewhere else, when it bites your hair, and to give it attention when it is behaving the way you want.