Kitten accidently scratches me

Hello all,

I just got an 8 week old kitten about a week ago. His name is Ebai. Ebai already loves me unconditionally and has a secure attachment. He follows me around and does not use his claws when playing with me. The only problem I am having is that when he plays sometimes I get accidently scratched. He is always very close to me or under me so if he's trying to get his tail he will swipe my leg by accident. He always immediately stops like a "sorry mommy" but the scratches still hurt [emoji]128577[/emoji] is there any way I can stop this or should he learn eventually?

Personnaly, I think he'll stop. Kittens LOVE to play like that. It's a regular behaviour. You said yourself that your cat imnediately stops acratching you. Do not grab your cat's tail in any case, it's more or less the same as if someone grabs your arm. Younger cats (from my own personnal experience) love when you feign a mouse with your hand. I'm not a cat specialist nor have studied animals in any way, so my asvice may be wrong.

Hey, @Warebubbles

Congrats on your new kitten!

Well, he IS 8 weeks old.. and it's the eternal problem almost anyone with a new kitten faces.. Scratches.. It's a good age for you to start introducing him to the wonderful world of Claw Trimming! 

Just buy a proper nail clipper (for cats/dogs) and try to trim his nails when he's calm.. Not while he's playing on when he's in the "crazy zone" and certainly not when he's hungry.. Make sure he's fed, tired.. or even better after his nap.. When he's between sleep and reality..   

Every claw you trim, make sure you reward him, so he associates it with something positive.. Either with something yummy, or a kiss, or petting..
Try to clip the white part of the claw.. The pink part is where his flesh starts - we don't want to trim THAT! He'll bleed and he'll hate the whole process..

it takes patience.. he might bite you during the whole thing.. But be patient and persistent.. 

He should learn eventually. The "sorry mommy" is a good sign that he doesn't mean it. When my kitten accidentally scratches in play, I immediately replace my hand or arm with a toy for her to play with. As a general rule, I usually don't use my hands as a plaything as this teaches the cat that it can chase fingertips and go after hands, which is undesirable as it gets older and may encounter people beyond myself and family. He is only 8 weeks, which is very young for a kitten. Most kittens from reputable breeders won't leave the Queen until 12 weeks; Ebai is going to be glued to your hip for a bit longer yet. 

This goes without saying but never yell or discipline the kitten. Only positive reinforcement works. My husband and I have been scratched accidentally by our girl, but she doesn't mean it and over the weeks, she has gotten better at not getting caught up in play. The behavior was easily corrected by attention diversion. If your kitten seems to be caught up in chasing his tail, that's a good indication of his young age; he should improve in the coming weeks.

If not, find his favorite toy and each time he goes for his tail, divert his attention and get him to respond to the toy. Eventually, the tail obsession should go away and he'll re-focus on appropriate play methods.

Yea I would never grab his tail or yell. When he does scratch he's not really aiming at me he's trying to get his tail or something else most of the time and I am just there and he misses Thanks for the advice!

@grizzlysapien That's true lol. He usually lets me push his claws out and I feel like I could cut his nails with no problem but I have decided to go to the vet to get it done every month along with his revolution flea treatments. I have cleaned his ears and comb his fur and he doesn't fight much but I don't want to cut the wrong thing! He doesn't scratch me on purpose but when he misses his target and I'm in the way its no fun. I have already made the appointment. Thanks so much for the advice

@SunOerSea yea he is very young. I'm just realizing that people usually get kittens a little older but I have gotten everything and have started his vaccinations and will keep up with it. Yea I have not been playing with him with my hands. Another tip I saw somewhere is to try saying a word like no claws and not giving him attention if he does begin to scratch my hands. So far I just say no and gently move him away or walk away from him. He has been well behaved so far. I was expecting behavior issues because he is so full of energy but he uses his scratching posts and everything is fine other than the accidental scratching. I will definitely try your tips Thanks so much for your help!  

Warebubbles said:

 
@grizzlysapien That's true lol. He usually lets me push his claws out and I feel like I could cut his nails with no problem but I have decided to go to the vet to get it done every month along with his revolution flea treatments. I have cleaned his ears and comb his fur and he doesn't fight much but I don't want to cut the wrong thing! He doesn't scratch me on purpose but when he misses his target and I'm in the way its no fun. I have already made the appointment. Thanks so much for the advice

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Of course he doesn't scratch on purpose   I'm sure he's not the "evil spawn" or anything! 

I used to trust the vet more too at first, to do Grizzly's claws.. But then I started doing it myself and it was easier down the road.. I mean, everytime I trim his claws, we get to have a "bonding moment".. He learned to trust me with the trimming, plus we got rid of his anxiety of going to the vet everytime.. Just watch what the vet does and you'll get the hang of it   I think Ebai will prefer you doing it 

I never thought about it like that!

Katherine is for me, a more aggressive cat than the previous cats i've owned. Part of it is youth and part of it is just personalities. the stuff about Katherine that's her age i'm slowly seeing age out and the stuff that's personality i'm learning is just Katherine. She also likes to take a swipe from time to time and seems more aggressive than my cats i had as a kid, but not maliciously so. What i do to keep some of this down is trim her claws regularly. hard to take a swipe if you're all nubs. don't declaw, just trim. saves the furniture too. the other thing i do is just pay attention to katherine. i don't come at her quickly or from behind. for some reason that just seems to put her on guard. i think being respectful to this person's personality helps a lot. Your kitten probably wants to please you but just like some people like pizza and some dont, your cat may just not like the tail thing. try something different. learning boundaries is what makes you two a team.