From Franny Syufy,
Your Guide to Cats.
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A. The Rest of Your Question
We have adopted an 15 month Maine Coon Cat who was absolutely ballistic when we got her. She hid for days under the sofa and we now have her calmed down and her loving personality is coming out with surprises each day. But we still cannot stop her from biting us when we try to play with her. My wife in particular seems to get the brunt of it each time. Is there a way which we can show her that her "staff" do not appreciate this behaviour and we would appreciate it if she stopped this bad habit?

At 15 months, bad habits are starting to be pretty thoroughly ingrained. However, with patience on your part, you can calm down this behavior a bit.

First, you need to stop playing with her with your hands. She needs to know that toys are for playing with, and hands are for loving. You can either buy toys, or make your own. Cats love to play with crumpled up balls of paper that they can bat around. Plastic drinking straws make wonderful toys and make a satisfying crunch when the cat bites them (Take care that she does not shred them and swallow the pieces). "Wand" toys are great. You can attach a piece of fishing line to a stick and tie an "accordioned" bit of paper to the other end of the fishing line. She'll spend hours "killing" the birdie, as long as you are willing to wave it around in front of her.

When the cat does want to bite your hands and ankles, slowly withdraw your hand and tell her "no!" sharply. For ankle biting, simply walk away from her after telling her "no!" Sometimes behaviorists suggest a quick spray with a water bottle along with the verbal command, but the trick is to spray her without her knowing it's coming from you. I've had forum members say that they hiss at their cat when it misbehaves, much as the mother cat would do, and that turns the trick.

Congratulations on the progress you've already made with this "ballistic" cat. You've come a long way already, and I'm sure you can surmount the biting problem with love and patience.