Our cats biting

Question
We love and adore our two-year-old, 15 lb. white, neutered cat Wilber.  He is a strong, dominant fellow and force in our home!

He seems to show his affection with gentle (and sometimes not so) biting (kind of a gnawing on our hands) when we pet him.  

Is this normal? What does biting as a response to petting mean?  He seems agitated to our petting him only on rare occasion and, of course, we stop if he thumps his tail in annoyance.

Thank you so much for the service you're providing!
I look forward to hearing from you at your convenience. This website is great. ~ Debbie  

Answer
Debbie,

I appreciate your kind words about the service we provide!!!!!

The "love" biting behavior goes back to early kittenhood behavior with Wilbur's siblings.  If you have ever seen little kittens play, they are incredibly rough! They have to be socialized to learn the human skin is not as tough as cat skin.  Wibur's behavior is perfectly normal, so I would not worry about it as long as it is fairly gentle as you say.

You are reading his tail "language" correctly, and stopping when the tail begins to flick is the correct thing to do.

It sounds as if Wilbur is a happy, contented cat and you and he are communicating well.  Everything sounds as if you are all well adjusted to each other.

Best regards... Norm.