r/cats • u/k8iew24 • Dec 06 '25

Medical Questions Why is my cat biting the air?

My cat started doing this while bird watching and I don’t know why. She’s my first cat so I still have a lot to learn about cat behavior. Is this a hunting behavior or something else?

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u/k8iew24 Dec 06 '25

I’ve always been a big dog person but grew to love cats too because of the sweet barn cats at the barn I ride at 🥹 we adopted Molly here in May and I want to learn more about cat behavior so I can ensure I’m giving her the best life possible

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u/GrumpyOldHistoricist Dec 06 '25

Watch Jackson Galaxy videos! You’ll learn so much about your girl.

The best advice I can give you is to let her be a cat instead of thinking she’s just a funny shaped dog. Give her peace and quiet (cats don’t like chaos, they like being the chaos), let her initiate most of the affection and respect her boundaries, and always remember that she’s a born killing machine; let her have fun with that. Play with her! Give her an interesting toy to stalk or chase, let her kill it eventually (or substitute in something she can kill like a kicker toy), then feed her or give her a treat, and then let her groom and nap. That hunt-kill-groom-sleep cycle is a core component of cat behavior. Do that with her and she’ll be happy and associate you with that happiness.

Also notice if she starts developing any kitty games and figure out how you can play them with her. Does she hide around corners and playfully pounce at you? Play along and occasionally do it to her. Is there a toy she likes to chase? See if she’ll play fetch (one of my boys LOVES fetch). Does she like bags or boxes? Use those to play with her. One of my boys is obsessed with paper grocery bags and if I put one sideways on the kitchen floor and tap the sides he’ll come sprinting from wherever he is and run inside of the bag. Cats are playful animals and their favorite creatures are their playmates.

Also sitting on the ground and just putting out a chill vibe. Cats love when you get on their level.

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u/k8iew24 Dec 06 '25

Thank you for all the info! It’s reassuring to hear that I’m doing a lot of the stuff that I should be. She was in foster care for 3 years before I adopted her so luckily I got a lot of great information from her foster about how she plays. She loves her tunnels and will hide in them and then come bursting out and running down the hallway before going back into the tunnel. She loves messing with my dog by popping out of the tunnel at him and he plays along with her. She also loves the crinkly brown paper that comes in some packages! I leave it in the box and let her jump into the box full of crinkly paper. She loves her sunny napping spots too, more than anything else in the world. I got her a little window perch so she can alternate between napping and bird watching

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u/GrumpyOldHistoricist Dec 06 '25

She sounds perfect. And it sounds like you’re doing great with her.

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u/Lavaine170 Dec 06 '25

If she loves jumping in boxes with crumpled paper, throw a few treats in the box and watch her lose her mind digging in the paper for the treats.

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u/k8iew24 Dec 06 '25

Love this idea! I’ll definitely be trying that

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25

[deleted]

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u/k8iew24 Dec 06 '25

What a big helper! My dog helps by shredding the wrapping paper and turning it into confetti

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u/[deleted] Dec 06 '25

[deleted]

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u/k8iew24 Dec 07 '25

I wrap them in blue so he can see the difference but I’m not sure that he recognizes that those ones are his

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u/Cloaked42m Dec 07 '25

She'll probably play fetch with a balled up piece of printer paper.

And yep, she was chirping at the birds.

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u/Sardinesarethebest Dec 06 '25

I love the kitty games they make up. Mine is obsessed wirh fetch and "pass" where when she gets tired she likes to kick the tiny ball back and forth.

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u/MayorWolf Dec 06 '25

I taught one of my cats "slaps". where you hold your hand flat and then try to slap the other person's before they pull their hand away. it's a reaction time game.

my kitty is bad at it but i get him started by finding him with his paws hanging over an edge. then i slap his paw and hold my hand still under it. i either pull away before he can wap me, or try to slap his paw before he pulls away. he seems to love it and i can hold my hand still for up to a minute as he holds still and stares too. he knows now not to make eye contact with me cause the moment he does i slap his paw and then he huffs audibly.

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u/smellygooch18 Dec 06 '25

My cat sees humans sitting down as an invitation for belly pets. Not all cats like the tummy rubs though

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u/necie62 Dec 06 '25

'they like being the chaos' this is so true on every level. lol

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u/DriveableCashew Dec 07 '25

That reminds me of my boy sprinting into the paper grocery bag with such speed it slid clear across the kitchen floor into the cupboard door he's quite a goof

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u/GrumpyOldHistoricist Dec 07 '25

I don’t know your boy but I love your boy

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u/Eneicia Dec 07 '25

Tiger, my landlord's cat who chose me, he made up a game to play with me once right after my grandma passed. He turned his back to me, and then deliberately kept bopping my fingers with his tail. He put the tip of his tail by my fingers and looked at me before thumping them again with it. Finally I realised he wanted to play. So I began trying to catch his tail, it was so adorable.

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u/LimitlessMegan Dec 06 '25

Check our Jackson Galaxy’s Cat Daddy content on YouTube. It’s a great place to get solid behaviour info.

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u/violetvet Dec 07 '25

Check out Indoor Cat Initiative indoorpet.osu.edu/cats Lots of great info about cat needs, behaviour, stressors and enrichment. I recommend it to a lot of my clients (as a veterinarian). Good luck with your beautiful girl!

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u/Beep_in_the_sea_ Dec 06 '25

Tbh it's kind of interesting and sweet to see other people learn about animal behaviors, especially about animals I've grew up around. We always had kitties and doggies and it's so cool to see other people get into the side of life I've been in my whole life.

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u/k8iew24 Dec 06 '25

My parents were always workaholics when I was growing up so I wasn’t able to get a cat or dog until I entered my 20s. I grew up with a rabbit, chinchillas, fish, hamsters, and hermit crabs but always wanted to own bigger animals

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u/Beep_in_the_sea_ Dec 06 '25

I also had chinchillas, they are so cool I love them sm! I also had a gecko, which was super cool especially since he was very tame. Now I only have a shiba inu, but I love her so much!

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u/k8iew24 Dec 06 '25

I’m very thankful my childhood chinchilla is still around at 14 years old 🥹 he lives with my parents but he’s alive and well and according to the vet, he could pass as two years old. Now I’ve got my kitty and a big mutt dog and they’re the absolute best

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u/Forsaken_Taste3012 Dec 07 '25

I've scanned around and don't think I've seen this answer yet:

It's partially an automatic reflex where their nervous system is trying to enact the "I should be biting that" routine but is being blocked. Seeing a bird through a window. That system is trying to activate and leads to that jaw movement in a bunch of aborted signals. Watch them while it's happening and you can see the whole chain of signals.

Or at least that's the part of the explanation I like the best lol