Reply #4: He's been neutered, I take it?

[TexasSissy]

Neutering calms down male cats.

I have had two male cats in my life, and neither of them would bite.

I have a female cat right now. Sometimes she bites me, but it's not a mean, serious bite. Cats bite when they are feeling affectionate for some reason. I will be petting my cat, she'll be rubbing her head on my hand or elsewhere, and then suddenly turn around and bite my hand. It hurts a tad. Enough to where I pull my hand away quickly. But it certainly doesn't break the skin, and that isn't her intention. But it's sort of like when a cat presses her paws on your tummy or some soft place on your body. It's a thing that cats do that no one knows why they do it.

When my cat bites, it sort of reminds me of an amorous thing she might do with another cat. Since yours is male, maybe his bites and amorousness is just more aggressive.

BUT since he is breaking the skin, that does sound more serious. He could be neurotic or disturbed, after his emotional experiences with his prior owners. Could be the vet could prescribe something to calm him down temporarily. My vet prescribed an antidepressant for my cat to take for two weeks, to help break her of improper elimination in the house for an unknown reason.

I have some pet books. I'll look this up and see what they say about this, if anything. You can also google this and see what info comes up. My cat is sort of neurotic, but in other ways. I wouldn't give up this early. It may be fixable. Your husband "playing" with him how? When male cats play, they can get pretty rough. Maybe your cat thought it was rough housing? Maybe your cat thought it was a fight? I would suggest instead of yelling at him, saying "no" in a firm, but normal voice (low pitched), so as not to be confrontational, just boss-like.