Afraid of hands: what to do!

[TardisDance]

RobinsMom I have this same issue with play. I have found he likes those fluffy squiggly worms that can be attached to a wand, but he does tend to bite on the plastic a lot. I have to switch out the toy to a feather attachment about every other day or he doesn’t care too much about it. Funnily enough, he hissed at the toy the first time too.

We live in a suburban area and he tends to growl at deer from the window. He even growled at my husband from the window even though he’s perfectly fine with him inside. He’s from the nearby city so I would guess he’s not really used to wildlife except for mice and birds and windows must be new to him (no idea if he had access to a window in the foster room, just saw a glass partition door in a photo).

 

[danteshuman]

Hmmmm maybe clicker training can help with the warning nips?

I have heard lots of growling and fight like nooses but never hissing in a playful way. Cami hisses at her brothers when they jump on her/treat her like prey because she is smaller & they are bored.

 

[maggie101]

Hi everyone! Thank you for upcoming advice
So she’s not aggressive towards hands. Like TardisDance, she gives warning nips when she sees them but it has never been a full blown attack on hands.
I have been trying to interactive play more with her for the last couple of days. The only thing that seems to trigger the play is (you guessed it!) treats haha I don’t think she likes the want a lot. She doesn’t respond to the string at all. Sometimes she plays with the wand but hisses at some point and that’s when I take a break. Is it normal for cats to hiss while playing ??

If the toy has a mouse, my cat would grab it and run off growling!

 

[daftcat75]

Hmmmm maybe clicker training can help with the warning nips?

I have heard lots of growling and fight like nooses but never hissing in a playful way. Cami hisses at her brothers when they jump on her/treat her like prey because she is smaller & they are bored.

Many cats pull their punches with warning nips. They aren't serious acts of aggression. They are warnings. As long as they aren't breaking skin, trying to do damage, or still trying to nip you after you have removed your hand, I wouldn't want to clicker train a cat's warning nips out of them. They may resort to more extreme methods when they need to make their impatience or displeasure known.

 

[danteshuman]

No I meant clicker train to sit for treats, then drop said treats so your hands are far from a cats mouth. Partly because clicker training can help with bonding and help a cat better understand the human. It sounded like the cat got aggressive over treats, hence my suggestion of clicker training.

Generally I would say whatever you did to get a warning nip; don’t do. However my mom’s cat is a nipper when she gets brushed ...., & has a long haired kitty she needs it! So I’m her case training her not to nip and giving her a handful of treats after every grooming session has paid off. Plus she knows if she nips my hand she winds up with a hand towel draped over her face (just to block her teeth from connecting with my skin) while I finish brushing her. She can however nip and bite thd brush all she wants. Cami now tolerated my cutting bird from her fur, brushing her, trimming her nails and us giving her a silent shaver trim thing around her private bits do poop doesn’t get stuck in her fur.

 

[tarasgirl06]

I've never heard of a cat hissing while playing!