Cat biting and clawing hands.

Help, my cat bites, claws and kicks peoples hands when being petted. She started this by hooking her claws into hands near her to pull them to her and to keep them from being pulled away. It has since gotten worse to where if any hand getts near her she grabs on and won't let go. Needless to say I would like to have a cat that can be petted without fear of being mauled. She was such a sweet cat before always in your lap wanting attention, she still acts the same in that respect but now if you try to pet her she gets you! Any advice would be great.

She is obviously trying to tell that she had enough petting when she does this. Mine did the same in the beginning. They way I tought him not to is by letting my hand go limp, not much fun without resistance, and letting a loud screem of "pain". After a couple of times he understood. Good luck!!

I agree...the worst thing to do is to struggle and try to pull free. If you try to pull your hand away, she will find it very entertaining, because you are acting like prey.

Another thing to consider...it sounds like she used to let you pet her without biting. Has anything changed that she is upset about? Is it possible that she isn't feeling well or that she has skin problems that make it uncomfortable to be touched? Just something to think about.

If you would like to increase the time you can pet without being bitten, try the following technique:

1. Get a clock or watch with a second hand. Sit down and pet your cat watching to see how long you can pet without being bitten. Once you have done this a few times, you will have a good idea what her limit is.

Now that you know how long she can tolerate being petted, you are ready for the next step.

2. Lets say she let you pet her for 2 minutes. What you do now is (using your watch to time things) pet her for only 1.5 minutes and then stop even though she is still purring and happy. Do this every time she gets in your lap for several days. (Of course, if she can tolerate 4 minutes, you would stop at 3.5 minutes of petting, etc) Just make sure that you always stop before she becomes upset!

3. Now, after a couple of days of successful petting, you can begin to GRADUALLY add time. Each day, add about 20 - 30 seconds to your petting until she can sit with you and not bite. If she ever does bite, go back to the previous length of successful petting and stay there for a couple more days before adding more time.

This is a bit tedious (especially having to watch the clock), but it really does work!

Good luck!

Great ideas!!! I have one that gets really excited while being petted and holds on when you try to stop. The way I broke him is by completely stopping the petting but leaving my hand where it was (so as to not get scratched anymore) and saying a very stern loud NO! After a couple of times, he got the message.

Also, at first, I would blow in his face and it would stun him enough for me to get my hand away.

Thanks for the ideas. Yes she used to let me pet her all the time. Peeps is a lap cat and spends most of her time there. She used to let herself be petted at the same time. Now she will claw you if you try. This all started about a year ago: when she was a kitten an ex-boyfriend of mine used to take food and show it to her then pull it away teasing her. She quickly learned to hook a few claws into the hand so it couldn't be pulled away and from there she went to grabbing anything she thought was interesting and pulling it to herself with her claws.(Like eating TV diners and she comes up and snags you hand holding the fork and tries to pull it towards herself.) Somewhere along the way she learned its fun to claw people and that's where we are at now. She has been to the vet twice when I thought she might be in pain but came out with a clean bill of health.