Light nips - is this common?

[Pidgythe2nd]

Hello, we’ve recently rescued a 1 year old cat. She’s sweet, playful and settled very well. Loves company and always wants to be in the same room sleeping or playing (stick with feathers is her favourite).

However, she does this light biting thing on my hand or wrist which is a bit, well, shocking.
It doesn’t hurt at all, doesn’t break the skin, but not something our last cat did. (It’s the first cat I’ve had since having children, so we’re not ‘experienced’)

She’s done it a few times when I’ve instigated a stroke on her head and back so assumed it meant ‘leave me alone’.
But she’s done it a few times after licking me when I’ve been stroking her head (which she looks to enjoy), or after she’s rubbed against me or jumped on my lap or next to me and snuggled up.
Maybe she doesn’t want any stroking and just wants to sit there? But she does purr if you stroke her. Or is it an affectionate bite?

Does anyone else’s cat do this? Is it common?
I’m mainly worried it will escalate into harder bites?
But she really doesn’t seem aggressive at all.
It’s confusing!!

One of our cats does gentle nips, we've figured out it's her way of being affectionate. She's a former stray/rescue cat. When she's having a cuddle (which took a very long time to get to that point as she's very timid), she will sometimes put a paw on your face and gently mouth your hand or face if she can reach. She makes no attempt to close her mouth so it's not really a bite.

Very normal but they do seem to grow out of it.

Our kitten (8 months) still does it but the older two not so much.

Cats are weird. All behaviour is perfectly normal

Yep. My cat does this to me when she’s hungry. Nips my ankles when I’m on the loo and breakfast is delayed
If she does it too much I just pick her up as that really annoys her

My old boy cat used to give you an affectionate nip on the ankles whenever he wanted attention (usually food!).

I think a bit of nipping (not hard or breaking of the skin) is not unusual for cats. Often their way of saying they've had enough. Ours will have a go at our ankles if he is really, really hungry. But he's still a kitten and the frequency does seem to be going down.

@ChlamydiaSexPond

Cats are weird. All behaviour is perfectly normal

, so true!

Both my cats nip me. I was surprised the first time it happened, as didn't think it was something that cats do. I've had many cats and not all of them have been nippers, but my current two are

I’m mainly worried it will escalate into harder bites?

If it's play related or a warning that she's becoming overstimulated - which is very much what it sounds like - it's very unlikely it will escalate into proper bites. How is she when you pick her up or put her in a cat box? Or basically do anything she isn't keen on? If she doesn't try bite you then and just struggles and tries to run away then that shows the nipping is not part of any aggressive behaviour. She will probably do it less as she gets older as a PP says and you're doing the right thing by stopping whatever action seems to prompt it so she learns it's not a wanted behaviour and isn't becoming over-stimulated. She sounds like a lovely rescue cat, btw, and clearly very happy in her new home.

My new rescue (aged 7) does this, sometimes when she is overstimulated and sometimes I think just from affection. She is an anxious little beast and does it less when she is in a calm mood, so I am hoping it will reduce with time. Meanwhile I am trying to learn the triggers and how to stroke her in a way that doesn't overstimulate her. Focusing on her head/cheeks/under her chin rather than the rest of her body seems to help.

My kitten does this, we can be having lovely cuddles and Hel be purring away then he just switches and bites me. I've read it's when they get over stimulated they start biting.

My cat used to do this as a sign of love - little love bites. It was her hard bites you had to worry about. Sometimes she could be a bit psycho.

Thanks for all the replies.
When I pick her up she is fine.
@IrenetheQuaint our kitty sounds similar...
The tunes she’s done it are either when she doesn’t like something (stroking her back) so will obviously stop this and just do her head as she nuzzles me to get me to do this, and it’s sometimes like she’s trying to groom me. She’ll lick me and then mouth me/nip.

Once she’s used it I think to tell me she wanted more food. She had plenty of dry food but ran to her bowl, then climbed into the side and nibbled my arm.
I didn’t feed her more as don’t want her to think it’s a good way of communicating!

@Prestel she really is a sweet rescue cat apart from this nipping!
She plays with the children and has been very tolerant of the 3 year old, who is well supervised but quite loud. She actually seems to like playing with him, but I’m being very careful to give her space and she has a room she can go to where they don’t go - she never goes there though, and prefers to be with us!