Ow. Teaching her that her claws hurt?

cazlee

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I don't think kitten realizes how sharp her claws are. We were playing last night when she swatted my hand, hooking a claw in my finger and giving me a good slice. What I've been trying to do, which worked with my persian, is grabbing her paws when she starts getting too rough with her claws and telling her "No, no claws".

At her age she would otherwise be learning what's "too rough" with play from mommy cat and the other kittens, right? (She's 6-7 wks) What other ways can I help her learn that mommy isnt a scratching post?

I want more kitten kisses and less kitten scratches
 

twstychik

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Don't use your hands to play with her. Hands are for petting and toys are for playing. If you are petting her and she begins playing with your hands, stop immediately. Eventually, she'll learn to keep them retracted when playing or socializing.
 

goldenkitty45

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To prevent kitten scratches (yourself and mom/siblings) I trim the nails starting at 3-4 weeks old. Maybe you could start doing the same.

And the poster is right - don't use your hands as "playtoys" at this age
 

gingersmom

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I found THE very best thing that worked for me is to yell, "OW!" really loud, then turn your back to the kitten.

They crave your attention, and so they learn not to do the thing that makes you yell and turn away from them.

No paw grabbing necessary.


It does take a while, though, for kittens to learn that they can actually SHEATH those little tiny needle sharp daggers. So you need patience and understanding as well.


But, and this is important, getting scratched is a part of having a cat. They will grow out of doing it on purpose, but you will ALWAYS be at risk of getting scratched by accident.

Ferris spooked Penny behind me last night, who launched herself backward and sideways to land on my upper back with all her claws out - for no more than a split second, but it was enough.

Yeah...THAT was a fun moment.
 
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cazlee

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oops double post, sorry
 
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cazlee

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Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

To prevent kitten scratches (yourself and mom/siblings) I trim the nails starting at 3-4 weeks old. Maybe you could start doing the same.

And the poster is right - don't use your hands as "playtoys" at this age
Yeah, she switched from the toy I was holding to my hands though, so I'll probably just get some toys on a string to keep my hands out of the way. She's been pretty good about her claws so I don't think she did it on purpose, I think one of her claws simply caught my skin just the wrong way, the rest of her claws didn't catch.

I'm trying to get her used to me holding her paws for the nail trimmings before actually attempting trimming her nails. I don't want her to sqirm at just the wrong moment causing me to clip her nail too short.

On the bright side, she's learning that the appropriate place to scratch is her scratching posts and kitty tree.

I'm just giving her lots of love and positive reinforcement when she does something right.

By the way she doesn't have mommy or siblings around, my boyfriend found her abandoned in a hole.
 

twstychik

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Originally Posted by cazlee

Yeah, she switched from the toy I was holding to my hands though, so I'll probably just get some toys on a string to keep my hands out of the way. She's been pretty good about her claws so I don't think she did it on purpose, I think one of her claws simply caught my skin just the wrong way, the rest of her claws didn't catch.

I'm trying to get her used to me holding her paws for the nail trimmings before actually attempting trimming her nails. I don't want her to sqirm at just the wrong moment causing me to clip her nail too short.

On the bright side, she's learning that the appropriate place to scratch is her scratching posts and kitty tree.

I'm just giving her lots of love and positive reinforcement when she does something right.

By the way she doesn't have mommy or siblings around, my boyfriend found her abandoned in a hole.
Sounds like your doing all the right things.
 

goldenkitty45

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You might want to look into adopting another kitten for her to learn proper cat behavior since she didn't get the chance with mom/siblings. I'd adopt a neutered male 3-6 months older then she is
 

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Originally Posted by cazlee

I don't think kitten realizes how sharp her claws are. We were playing last night when she swatted my hand, hooking a claw in my finger and giving me a good slice. What I've been trying to do, which worked with my persian, is grabbing her paws when she starts getting too rough with her claws and telling her "No, no claws".

At her age she would otherwise be learning what's "too rough" with play from mommy cat and the other kittens, right? (She's 6-7 wks) What other ways can I help her learn that mommy isnt a scratching post?

I want more kitten kisses and less kitten scratches
while my friend i had the same problem with my cat
and i knew that every cat when she is from 6 - 9 wks she likes to play and she scratches alot trust me every time i played with her she scratcgh me but when she get older she will stop and untel she gets that old you should play with her with a ball or unreal cat so she could scratch without heart you
 

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We have some "big" toys to play with our kitten, like bigger than a regular cat toy but smaller than your average stuffed animal. We have an IKEA rat, for instance. What we do is we use the toy to "attack" our kitten. That way, we can play with him with something that's bigger than our hand (but smaller than the cat) and he will have a lot of fun attacking it -- without thinking it's our hand.

It's really soft so making it "bite" him or jump on his back obviously doesn't hurt, but it's great to see him try to bite the rat's face off. It's been a very fun way to play with the kitten more directly, without worrying about him associating playing (with claws and biting) with our hands. That's also why I'm skeptical of getting a cat-glove or similar -- I don't want our kitten thinking that actual gloves are playthings!

IKEA sells a lot of medium-sized baby/kid toys that should work well, as long as you check the dangly parts like tails and so on to make sure they're not filled with fluff (which you could always take out, if you wanted to). A small pillow (say, 6" x 3") might also work, and if you were crafty you could even sew some arms/legs on
 

werebear

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I agree that the best tactic is to let them know they have hurt you. They are sensitive to this, and will soon connect the dots.

You can help this process by showing proper behavior and not letting your hands in danger range.
 

callista

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Tiny backs off the second I go "Yow!".
But for some reason he always goes for me again... though nowadays, it's this thing where he jumps near me, paws at air, and backs off before I have a chance to hiss at him! Hehe.
 
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cazlee

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Originally Posted by EggyToast

We have some "big" toys to play with our kitten, like bigger than a regular cat toy but smaller than your average stuffed animal. We have an IKEA rat, for instance. What we do is we use the toy to "attack" our kitten. That way, we can play with him with something that's bigger than our hand (but smaller than the cat) and he will have a lot of fun attacking it -- without thinking it's our hand.

It's really soft so making it "bite" him or jump on his back obviously doesn't hurt, but it's great to see him try to bite the rat's face off. It's been a very fun way to play with the kitten more directly, without worrying about him associating playing (with claws and biting) with our hands. That's also why I'm skeptical of getting a cat-glove or similar -- I don't want our kitten thinking that actual gloves are playthings!

IKEA sells a lot of medium-sized baby/kid toys that should work well, as long as you check the dangly parts like tails and so on to make sure they're not filled with fluff (which you could always take out, if you wanted to). A small pillow (say, 6" x 3") might also work, and if you were crafty you could even sew some arms/legs on
LOL That's really funny, I just bought her one of those Ikea mice that she LOVES. I'm going to have to go buy her some more, she goes at the thing. I've been using it to redirect her at night, I keep it by the bed for when she starts playing mommy is a pincushion in the middle of the night. They JUST opened an Ikea down here in Ft. Lauderdale <3

I thought it would be a little big for her but it really does the trick. She gets MAD when I try to take it away to toss it or something, LOL
 
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