Living with a cat is a never-ending adventure. Every day is a new opportunity to witness some funny and, sometimes, extremely weird feline behaviors.
One of these could be noticing your cat obviously has some feelings about your phone. This seems to be a really odd thing for your cat to like or dislike it.
Why does my cat bite my phone?, you’re asking. Don’t label your cat as super weird just yet. There is always a good explanation behind every cat behavior.
Let's take a look at 5 most common reasons for your cat biting your phone.
1. Attention Seeking
Let’s be honest and admit that we all spend too much time on our phones.
Modern type of communication, living away from our loved ones, working, or just endlessly scrolling through social media – we all have our reasons for having our smartphones in our hands most of the time.
This isn’t a nice habit in general, and this is something your furry companion might disapprove greatly.
While you're engrossed in your phone, your cat would prefer you to be devoting that time to hanging out with her instead.
Cats might seem independent and aloof, but, actually, they need to interact with us, and to receive a lot of attention.
Therefore, your cat biting your phone could indicate that she wants to get some attention from you. It’s her way of saying: Leave that phone already and give me the care I deserve!
You should make sure you’re giving enough of your time and devotion to your cat. If not, you might see some additional destructive behaviors, such as her peeing on your clothes.
2. Your Cat Wants To Play
Cats are naturally very curious, and they always want to know what’s going on in their surroundings. They’re especially curious about what their owners are up to.
Seeing your phone lighting, or hearing different sounds coming from it can make your cat perceive it as a type of toy. Cats have an affinity for such interactive stimuli.
Of course, this behavior is something you should definitely want to prevent. Your cat needs to understand that your phone isn’t her toy.
3. Your Phone Is A Prey To Your Cat
Although our domestic cats don’t actually need to go hunting as they used to do in the wild, this doesn't mean their hunting instincts are gone.
Actually, the sounds coming from your phone and its light flashes can remind your cat of her standard prey, such as mice and insects.
This means that she might bite your phone just like she does this with her prey. Without even knowing, you might be stimulating your cat’s predatory instincts while being on your phone in front of her.
According to the Clarendon Animal Care, cats need to have opportunities to hunt and stalk their prey. Without this, they are more prone to develop anxiety, and struggle with frustration and even obesity.
Therefore, you should enable your cat to satisfy her predatory instincts, but, of course, your phone shouldn’t be part of this game!
4. Your Phone Might Smell Like You
Have you ever left the room, and your phone in it, to encounter your cat biting on it when you come back?
This scenario can occur because your phone carries your scent, given that it's frequently in close proximity to your hands and face.
You probably know that cats have a very sensitive sense of smell, but, perhaps, you’re not aware just how refined this sense exactly is.
The FirstVet explains how felines have around 200 million scent receptors in their nasal passages, which is a lot more than only 6 million of them that we possess.
Therefore, your cat is likely to get seriously curious about your phone smelling like her favorite person, and she might bite and chew on it to figure out what this is about!
5. Your Cat Likes Warm Things
Another possibility why your cat would bite your phone is because it’s usually warm, and, I think we all know that cats are fans of warm things!
According to PetKeen, one of the reasons why cats like warmth so much is their desert ancestry, which makes them instinctively seek out warm places and things. Being close to warm things might also make your cat feel secure and protected.
Kittens and older cats are especially always up for more warmth.
You should make sure your cat is warm enough, of course, but your phone is obviously not the ideal thing for your cat to enjoy being close to something warm!
How To Stop Your Cat From Biting Your Phone?
An ideal thing to do would be to minimize the amount of time you spend on your phone, especially in the vicinity of your furry friend.
However, in reality, this won’t be possible for most of us. Smartphones have become an inevitable part of both our personal and professional lives.
Still, there are some things to do to prevent this strange behavior in your cat. You should give her enough attention so that she doesn’t feel neglected or rejected.
Spend enough time with her, and also provide her with interesting toys, tall cat trees, and nice scratching posts.
Furthermore, provide your cat with enough opportunities for prey hunting. It’s very important for her to nurture this natural instinct.
If you don’t feel comfortable with your cat actually going to hunt outside, there are some great alternatives available, such as toy mice or jingle balls, as well as laser pointers.
These offer indoor cats the chance to experience their natural hunting instincts and feel like skilled predators!
Final Thoughts
Why does my cat bite my phone?
There are a couple of reasons behind this rather odd behavior in your cat, as we could have seen.
Most of the time, she will only try to communicate that she wants to get more attention from you.
Having a cat is a lot of fun, but it’s also a great responsibility. It’s not enough just to feed her and give her some pets once in a while. Your furry friend also needs a decent amount of interacting with you on a daily basis.
Besides asking for attention, your cat could just be curious over your phone, or she might smell your sense on it. Another possibility of her biting your phone is liking its warmth. Also, she could perceive it as her prey!
No matter what is the reason behind this unwanted behavior, you definitely want to stop it.
If your techniques of preventing your cat from biting your phone don’t work, you might want to ask the veterinarian for advice.
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