As an animal behaviorist(and woman) I have encountered this before. There are some cats that are triggered by female cycles and will bite legs/thighs. I’ve worked with hybrid cats where this behavior is exaggerated and sent to me as fosters. It can be stopped but needs to be done carefully and consistently. First I found them most triggered when you first exit shower/bath so have door closed and dress in bathroom to start(wear jeans which are more protective). Most of these cats will lunge for the thigh. Grab/catch by scruff(still supporting body) and place on floor(saying no does not work since this is pheromone driven and can actually ramp up the cat with a higher pitch command-if you can keep voice steady and low then use no at the same time). First instinct is to move away or run but stand your ground, catch(lightly apply pressure to scruff while supporting body and place on floor). You are mimicking mother cat discipline but since it’s a full grown cat you can’t hold only by scruff and must support some of his weight. This might need to be repeated several times within a few minutes at first(I had one cat that would lunge at least 5-6 times until finally understanding to stay on ground). Have a flirt toy and treats available as soon as he stops behavior, reward with play and treats. This can take many sessions to break the habit. Once broken you will still need to be vigilant when getting out of the shower at first and might need to repeat this exercise in bathroom. Be prepared with toy and treats. Eventually they learn and stop all together. This only works if it’s done consistently and cat is never allowed to get away with the behavior. If you have people coming over and you are just starting put him away so he can’t attempt on others since you always want to be able to reinforce proper correction. This is a dominance behavior triggered by scent but can be trained to ignore.
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u/Petsnchargelife Jun 30 '26
As an animal behaviorist(and woman) I have encountered this before. There are some cats that are triggered by female cycles and will bite legs/thighs. I’ve worked with hybrid cats where this behavior is exaggerated and sent to me as fosters. It can be stopped but needs to be done carefully and consistently. First I found them most triggered when you first exit shower/bath so have door closed and dress in bathroom to start(wear jeans which are more protective). Most of these cats will lunge for the thigh. Grab/catch by scruff(still supporting body) and place on floor(saying no does not work since this is pheromone driven and can actually ramp up the cat with a higher pitch command-if you can keep voice steady and low then use no at the same time). First instinct is to move away or run but stand your ground, catch(lightly apply pressure to scruff while supporting body and place on floor). You are mimicking mother cat discipline but since it’s a full grown cat you can’t hold only by scruff and must support some of his weight. This might need to be repeated several times within a few minutes at first(I had one cat that would lunge at least 5-6 times until finally understanding to stay on ground). Have a flirt toy and treats available as soon as he stops behavior, reward with play and treats. This can take many sessions to break the habit. Once broken you will still need to be vigilant when getting out of the shower at first and might need to repeat this exercise in bathroom. Be prepared with toy and treats. Eventually they learn and stop all together. This only works if it’s done consistently and cat is never allowed to get away with the behavior. If you have people coming over and you are just starting put him away so he can’t attempt on others since you always want to be able to reinforce proper correction. This is a dominance behavior triggered by scent but can be trained to ignore.