Oh sweet MOTHER OF GOD

Please be more careful when shaking her head. You can cause damage doing it like that.

Question for experienced cat owners:

I love playing like this with kittens, especially encouraging them to bite me because I like how it tickles, and I find it cute how ineffectual it is. I've also heard that doing that trains cats to bite people whenever they play, a habit which they retain into adulthood and become those annoying cats that bite your guests. Is that really true, or is it just in the personality of the cat whether they'll bite as an adult?

Thanks!

It's kitty amazing! SOMEBODY KILL IT!

>> ^messenger:

Question for experienced cat owners:
I love playing like this with kittens, especially encouraging them to bite me because I like how it tickles, and I find it cute how ineffectual it is. I've also heard that doing that trains cats to bite people whenever they play, a habit which they retain into adulthood and become those annoying cats that bite your guests. Is that really true, or is it just in the personality of the cat whether they'll bite as an adult?
Thanks!


Cat that doesn't bite isn't a cat, as long as it does it play in mind.

>> ^messenger:

Question for experienced cat owners:
I love playing like this with kittens, especially encouraging them to bite me because I like how it tickles, and I find it cute how ineffectual it is. I've also heard that doing that trains cats to bite people whenever they play, a habit which they retain into adulthood and become those annoying cats that bite your guests. Is that really true, or is it just in the personality of the cat whether they'll bite as an adult?
Thanks!


I don't think it has anything to do with it. I have two twin cats, and both are total opposites. One seems to know that claws and teeth hurt, so when I play with her she keeps the claws tucked and doesn't bite hard if it's just my hand. If I dangle a string or some paper in front of her though, she'll shred the crap out of it. The other isn't into playing. If I dangle toys in front of her, she doesn't give a crap, but if I leave a toy mouse on the floor and leave the room, she'll go at it. If I come back in the room and she sees me, she stops playing and acts like nothing was going on.

They both like to sit in my lap. The one that seems to know claws hurt doesn't use her claws when she makes biscuits on my leg, but the other one really digs in and I have to put something on my lap.

I would recommend not using your hand to play with the kitten. This can reinforce behavior (it's ok to bite fingers) and this will be a problem when they get older and are capable of doing real damage. Try using a feather wand or any of those cat toys that have a string on a stick design. This will still allow you to play interactively with the kitty and the cat will focus on the toy as "prey" and not your hand. A win-win situation for the both of you!

Let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to help.

More info:

http://www.perfectpaws.com/cat_training_and_cat_behavior.html
http://www.squidoo.com/cat-bites

>> ^messenger:

Question for experienced cat owners:
I love playing like this with kittens, especially encouraging them to bite me because I like how it tickles, and I find it cute how ineffectual it is. I've also heard that doing that trains cats to bite people whenever they play, a habit which they retain into adulthood and become those annoying cats that bite your guests. Is that really true, or is it just in the personality of the cat whether they'll bite as an adult?
Thanks!

>> ^critical_d:

I would recommend not using your hand to play with the kitten. This can reinforce behavior (it's ok to bite fingers) and this will be a problem when they get older and are capable of doing real damage. Try using a feather wand or any of those cat toys that have a string on a stick design. This will still allow you to play interactively with the kitty and the cat will focus on the toy as "prey" and not your hand. A win-win situation for the both of you!
Let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to help.
More info:
http://www.perfectpaws.com/cat_training_and_cat_behavior.html
http://www.squidoo.com/cat-bites
>> ^messenger:
Question for experienced cat owners:
I love playing like this with kittens, especially encouraging them to bite me because I like how it tickles, and I find it cute how ineffectual it is. I've also heard that doing that trains cats to bite people whenever they play, a habit which they retain into adulthood and become those annoying cats that bite your guests. Is that really true, or is it just in the personality of the cat whether they'll bite as an adult?
Thanks!



I've lived with cats all my life and have been breeding pedigree cats for about five years now. I can absolutely guarantee the temperament of my cats. Playing with kittens is a great way to teach them where the lines are. Biting is OK, as long as it isn't hard. They can learn where that line is. I can play fight with my big boy Leo (7.5kg Ragdoll) and he mouths me but never hurts me. He never puts his claws out and it's great fun. You can play with cats, but you do need to teach them where the lines are and be strict about stopping them when they do cross the line. Do this when they're little and they'll be great cats when they grow up.

Indiscriminate play without teaching is where the problem is but play-fighting with a great big bundle of fluff is great fun and well worth the effort. I just find it a bit more interactive than a toy on a stick.

@robbersdog49

That's what I was hoping for. If I play with a cat, a stick is fun sometimes, but I really want to wrestle with them, ideally as rough as we both can without hurting each other at all. How do you "show" your cats them where the line is?

>> ^messenger:

@robbersdog49
That's what I was hoping for. If I play with a cat, a stick is fun sometimes, but I really want to wrestle with them, ideally as rough as we both can without hurting each other at all. How do you "show" your cats them where the line is?


A good firm 'No!' and a little bop on the head (a tap on the top of the head with a finger) and then stop the play. Pretty much what their mother does too . Stopping playing is probably the biggest factor for the kitten. Saying 'No' in a firm voice re-enforces their understanding of the word.

The proviso here is that you need to be consistent, and this ideally needs to be from an early age. The cats need to know that you are the boss. My wife is not a very good disciplinarian with the cats, she's too soft with them and they know it. The ironic thing is that she spends more time shouting at them than I do, because they already know to do what I say. Not because I beat them (the finger tap on the head is as physical as it gets) but because I'm consistent and try not to send mixed messages. Cats are surprisingly trainable. The reason people think they aren't is because people think they aren't. No-one tries, so the cats don't do as they say and they assume it's the cat's fault. My cats all know what 'No' means and it is effective preemptively too. They also know what 'out' means and 'down' and so on. Ask most cat owners how they get their cat out of a room it shouldn't be in and they'll roll their eyes and tell you about running around, trying to prize the cat out from under the sofa or off the top of the curtains. I just open the door and say a loud firm 'out', and out they go

The final proviso is that all cats are different. None of my cats would scratch or bite a person unless extremely provoked (and I mean extreme). But they don't all like to play fight. Kittens will always be game for it, but some grow out of it. You'll really get to know the cats as they grow up and you can figure out what they like and don't like.

You can correct behaviour in older cats, but it's a lot harder than starting with a kitten and getting it right from the start.

Isn't six weeks kind of early to separate a kitten from the mother? At least I assume it's been taken to a new home from "my new kitten"

@robbersdog49

Thanks so much! That's some really useful information.

Sorry, but this needs some unnecessary censorship.

I've lived with _____ all my life and have been breeding ______ ____ for about five years now. I can absolutely guarantee the temperament of my _____. Playing with ____ is a great way to teach them where the lines are. Biting is OK, as long as it isn't hard. They can learn where that line is. I can play fight with my big boy Leo (7.5kg Ragdoll) and he mouths me but never hurts me. He never puts his _____ out and it's great fun. You can play with ____, but you do need to teach them where the lines are and be strict about stopping them when they do cross the line. Do this when they're little and they'll be great _____ when they grow up.
Indiscriminate play without teaching is where the problem is but play-fighting with a great big bundle of fluff is great fun and well worth the effort. I just find it a bit more interactive than a toy on a stick.>> ^robbersdog49:


That's better.

>> ^critical_d:
I would recommend not using your hand to play with the kitten. This can reinforce behavior (it's ok to bite fingers) and this will be a problem when they get older and are capable of doing real damage. Try using a feather wand or any of those cat toys that have a string on a stick design. This will still allow you to play interactively with the kitty and the cat will focus on the toy as "prey" and not your hand. A win-win situation for the both of you!
Let me know if you have any questions and I will be happy to help.
More info:
http://www.perfectpaws.com/cat_training_and_cat_behavior.html
http://www.squidoo.com/cat-bites
>> ^messenger:
Question for experienced cat owners:
I love playing like this with kittens, especially encouraging them to bite me because I like how it tickles, and I find it cute how ineffectual it is. I've also heard that doing that trains cats to bite people whenever they play, a habit which they retain into adulthood and become those annoying cats that bite your guests. Is that really true, or is it just in the personality of the cat whether they'll bite as an adult?
Thanks!


I've lived with cats all my life and have been breeding pedigree cats for about five years now. I can absolutely guarantee the temperament of my cats. Playing with kittens is a great way to teach them where the lines are. Biting is OK, as long as it isn't hard. They can learn where that line is. I can play fight with my big boy Leo (7.5kg Ragdoll) and he mouths me but never hurts me. He never puts his claws out and it's great fun. You can play with cats, but you do need to teach them where the lines are and be strict about stopping them when they do cross the line. Do this when they're little and they'll be great cats when they grow up.
Indiscriminate play without teaching is where the problem is but play-fighting with a great big bundle of fluff is great fun and well worth the effort. I just find it a bit more interactive than a toy on a stick.