biting problem

Question
I adopted a 2 year old domestic tabby cat about 2 weeks ago. I've never had a cat before so I know very little. But all he does is bite. I thought its probably his way of playing, but he just doesnt stop. Ill be walking in the house barefoot and he'll tackle my leg and wont stop biting. he bites my arms, hands and feet constantly unless hes sleeping. And he sleeps during the day and is awake at night, so he doesnt let me sleep..Why does he always bite? how can i teach him not to bite..saying No doesnt work?

Also how can you tell when a dog and a cat are playing, because my small pomerian chases my cat a lot and barks when he is playing with his toys..but i never let them get too close to eachother. thank you.

Answer
Hello Farah,

Is your new kitty by chance declawed?  This is very typical behavior for a cat that has been declawed as the loss of their claws leaves them with only one deffence, biting.  They then use it all of the time even if it is just playing.

First, you need to keep him out of your room at night.  Cats are nocturnal and this playing at night will not likely stop.  If you put him out of your room he may cry for a night or two but he will get used to it and you will get your sleep.  

Whenever he does play inappropriately (You are right that this is what he's doing) you need to make a loud squealing noise to let him know he's gone too far, this noise imitates the one that his littermates would have made.  He should stop at this point, if he does not he needs to get a firm and loud NO! and a time out, generally a few minutes in the bathroom will do the trick.  Cats have short memories so leaving him in any longer than that is useless.  When you do this it needs to be loud and abrupt as you want to make it as unpleasant as possible for him without hurting him.  By doing this he will quickly begin to associate what he is doing with the noise and physical movement of being put in the bathroom and once he makes the association he will stop.

Natoma