Is this normal?

[thehillshaveyes]

This is Lily, a rescue cat I've had for 5 days. She's slowly sliding down the side of me into the sofa and appears to be having some wonderful dreams as she keeps twitching and showing her teeth. It feels like she's been in my life for years!

Those are very happy paws. Enjoy. (Because it looks as if she is. )

Oh bless her! Normal for a new rescue cat to feel immediately at home? Well, it's not unheard of, but it's certainly not usual.

What do you know about her background?

She's landed on her feet. Bless her. The four rescue cats I have had, have all immediately settled well.
One I brought home, let him out of the carrier and he spent half an hour alternately purring at me, then going to the window and looking with wide eyed joy, at the trees blowing in the wind.
he was less happy a week or so later when he met the two kittens we had adopted at the same time, but after watching them play, for a week or two, he started joining in and now the three are bonded for life

Her previous owners divorced and couldn't keep her but the shelter said that the husband hated cats. She's my first cat so I have no idea what is normal but I think she's happy here. She's quite bitey but I hope that's just because she's still settling in and doesn't know who she can 'trust' yet.

Is there any pattern or are there any common factors to the biting?

She'll go up to people and jump up on to their lap but will bite (nip) after a few seconds of stroking. Any ideas on what it might be? Surely she wouldn't sit on people if she didn't want to be touched?

She might. If she came from a divorcing couple where one person didn't like her, who knows what she might have gone through or what baggage she may be carrying? (For example, it's possible - possible - that she hasn't got such good memories of sitting on people's laps and then being handled. Who can tell. )

She clearly likes you very much though so I think you can start as you mean to go on. No stroking until you can learn to read her body language better - always let her make the running, physically - and exclude her directly if she bites. Lots of talking to her is a good substitute for stroking.

By the time she's ready to be petted, you'll likely know her body language a lot better.

PS - biting can be stopped. My own old boy used to bite my mother before he came to me and she was indulgent with it. I had to make it clear that it wasn't on in our relationship.

He learned.

She might just want to sit on your lap and not be stroked. I had a cat like that, well kind of, he looked sitting on a lap, would be stroked quite happily but would get to a point where he would attack, his clear signal to stop. We didn't do anything about it, just accepted that was how he was.

*loved

What is the green stuff you're drinking?

Yes. To sit on a lap (wanting closeness) and then to bite (too much physical attention for her) shows some tensions as well as you not quite 'reading her' yet. She clearly likes you so much, though, that it should work out.

Just give her a nice relaxed environment with a good personal routine if you can do it. I wouldn't hesitate to exclude her for biting though. She needs to learn that if she's fed up with someone, she gets down and goes away. No staying up on a lap and nipping.

Very achievable quite quickly I would have thought.

PS - I was originally thinking chartreuse but it's not quite the right green. A creme de menthe cocktail perhaps?

Thank you cozie that's helpful I think I can read her signals well enough now but when visitors come it's a bit awkward as I have to tell them to be careful in case she nips!

Oh and I was drinking white wine in a green tinted glass

My very affectionate boy will often give me a bite and it bloody hurts! I find it's when he's got too excited and over sensitised. Weirdly he will bite and walk away for a second but immediately come back asking for more strokes. I think they are like "love bites" but I would prefer not to receive them!

Pity. I've no wish to knock white wine but a gin cocktail with creme de menthe or chartreuse is just.....

I wouldn't worry about guests. Just tell them that she's 'nippy' and 'in training'. They should accept that with very few questions - bar the odd one who'll do the 'Oh it's OK, I'm good with animals' bit - and once you've done that groundwork, you're away. Best not to relax the rules at any point though.

We adopted our BiteyCat a couple of weeks ago (also black and white, also jumping up for attention then unexpectedly biting). He's in training too - and definitely getting better. What we're trying to do at the moment is only stroke when strokes are clearly demanded - head butts and rubbing against us - and resisting stroking when he is sitting or lying beside us - I think while he's relaxed enough to lie there tummy up that doesn't mean an unexpected stroke is welcome, tempting though it may be, and your Lily may feel the same. We're consistently walking away, stopping play and attention, as Cozie says, if any attempt to bite is made, even if no teeth make contact. If he jumps up in our space then bites, he's immediately (but calmly) evicted from the space as I think there was a bit of an attempt at territorial dominance in the mix.

Lily looks gorgeous and very very happy. I love watching them dream all stretched out like that.