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Climbing and Gripping with Nails

post #1 of 10
6/16/10 at 9:19am
Thread Starter 
I have mentioned before that my kittens LOVE to climb legs. We have been working on stopping this, as it hurts...Well, Ringo has gotten it, and pretends to without his nails to say "I need love" and Lennon normally follows suit.
Now, they have started waiting on the table next to the door in our room, and when you walk in, they jump up to be held, or play...this normally results in kitty claws attached to your chest. I grabbed Lennon, as he did this, and in his terror at being grabbed, he scratched my hand, quite badly. I have three deep scratches across the back of my left hand, and another set across the fleshy part beneath my thumb. I understand this is partly my fault- I scared him, and he reacted by grabbing hold.
How do I properly respond to their jumping up like that? I all ready pull them off, and set them down...and then ignore. Only when they come to play with out claws do we do so. This REALLY hurt, and I would like to help them learn not to do it anymore.. help!
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post #2 of 10
6/16/10 at 10:36am
Duck back? Don't let them get into the habit of launching themselves onto you. It's cute when they're little but not when they become 10+ lbs cats - in that case, forget claws, they may very well knock you over.

One thing that you need to be doing is keeping their claws as short as possible. If you think that's not enough, try out soft paws for a while.

You can stop an cat, and lizards incidentally, from jumping is by ruining their jump. The easiest way to do this is when you notice an animal sizing up and tensing for the jump is to stick your hand in from of their face - block them. With the cats, say no as you do it. If they get that jump off, move. If they know they can't land on you they'll probably stop trying.
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post #3 of 10
6/16/10 at 10:40am
Even just clipping the very ends does a LOT for saving skin. They'll be too blunt (or at least they won't be able to slide into your skin like butter, lol) to do much. At worst (like when they get scared and fight), you'll have scrapes and welts, but no broken skin. Kinda like when a dog's nail scratches you.

Sometimes my girls can't help but prick my skin with their nail tips. If I feel little prickly toes, the nail clippers come out.
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post #4 of 10
6/16/10 at 3:19pm
Thread Starter 
I can try to be ready for it- but it is RIGHT as you come in the door, so that might be hard. I had soft paws before, and they just did not stay on. I'll have to start clipping their nails more I guess. They are relatively good at not using them...but this time was bad...my hand looks like I stuck it in a blender.
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post #5 of 10
6/16/10 at 3:23pm
I find the BEST deterant for this behavior is to keep the nails trimmed on a weekly basis. When you do, they learn quickly not to grab and hang on.
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post #6 of 10
6/16/10 at 7:22pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by laceface View Post
I can try to be ready for it- but it is RIGHT as you come in the door, so that might be hard.
Move that table they're using until they lose interest in jumping on you. Once they stop showing interest in doing this, you can put the table back.

Do they have some tall cat furniture elsewhere (where it's safe for you) that they can climb/jump around on? That would give them somewhere better to get their acrobatic play in.
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post #7 of 10
6/17/10 at 3:36pm
Thread Starter 
Yep, they have this like..carpet tower with three holes. They also climb unto every other surface into the room, lol. I will have to see if there is anywhere to move the table, it is a bit crowded in there. They only do it because they want people as SOON as you get in the room, not really because they are playing there. Either way, it would fix the problem.
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post #8 of 10
6/17/10 at 6:42pm
Oh they are playing there.. it's a special game called "get the human".

I've had cats that liked to wait around doorways and tackle my ankles when I walk through. I've never been scratched by that, but the cats doing it all eventually learn the hard way how unsafe it is. You simply can't avoid accidentally stepping on or kicking a cat in the dark when it suddenly dives into your feet. It's pretty hard to avoid crashing into the wall or floor yourself, too.
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post #9 of 10
6/18/10 at 10:23am
Thread Starter 
Haha, yeah..they are little monsters now.. They like to stand on their little tower, and you walk by, swat at you (no longer with nails, thank goodness) Or, when they are on the ground, they bounce and grab your leg (again, no nails!)

I woke up this morning, and they were playing on the bed (on me)...One of them jumps and dives at the other, and that one turns to meet the first in the air...it is so cute! Just have to encourage them to do it elsewhere..lol
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post #10 of 10
6/18/10 at 12:54pm
They like you and they sound like very friendly and healthy kittens! Congrats =)

This IS normal for a well adjusted kitten. They want to include you as a playmate. Unfortunately their claws are a bit much. Trimming the claws will minimise damage and now at this young age is the time to get them used to it. Don't engage them in play when they try to climb on you. Instead, pick them up off of you, say NO, set them down, and try to have a toy ready to divert their attention from you. It may help to slowly condition them to play with each other, or when they play with you, only with a toy.
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