Kitty Tag?

banshee

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My cat is 18 months old, and has a really funny/weird habit. Every time I'm walking down the hallway of our home, she runs alongside me tapping my legs with her paw. It's almost as if she's saying "tag, you're it!". Sometimes she does it a few times with a couple of nips with her little teeth, sometimes just once before she does a kitty-collapse on the floor in front of me and rolls around on her back.

I understand she's no doubt playing and wants attention, but why does she do this just to me, not my husband or anyone else who visits? She does it alot when I've just turned the light off to go to bed, so I can't see her, and it feels like she's tackling my legs and I try to get into bed without a cat attached.

It's cutem amusing and all, but a little annoying - especially when I'm carrying an armload of washing and I can't see her - and I'd rather not have new kitty scratches on my legs every day. I'm not sure how to train her to not do it. Any ideas?
 

hissy

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Your feet are her prey, and she is attacking you. I would redirect her energy with a toy that she likes, so instead of attacking you, she is stalking the toy. You can do what I do, when I have an ambusher. I take a long piece of fishing line and attach a clip on one end, and a toy on the other. I hook the clip to my belt loop so the toy drags far enough behind me that the kitten attacks the toy and not me.
 

stormy

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Chuckie and Spyder do that ocassionaly. And they are almost 3 years old!

Though with Chuckie I don't have to be walking. Sometimes when I'm standing there washing dishes he'll jump up and grab the top of my leg with both paws (claws out) and give me a bite...ouch!! It usually makes me yell in surprise and he gets this innocent look on his face like "what'd I do?"
 

gargoyle

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My cat Sphinx used to do this. My condo was layed out such that I could walk in a circle through the hallway, living room, dining room, and kitchen, ending up back in the hallway. Every so often, I would chase her and (if possible) touch her tail, then run the other direction. She would then chase me, "tag" my ankle, then run the other way. We would go back and forth for a while.
She never used her claws, she understood that we were playing.
 

lucius&cissa

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When I walk down the stairs, Cissa ALWAYS sticks her paw between the banister for a sort of "shake" or "you're it." I'm not sure which...but I love to stop and touch her paw. My favorite is when she hides behind a wall and waits to pounce. She will sit at the base of the stairs too, as if I can't see her....LOL...and just wait to pounce.
 
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