"cat Etiquette"

[Suru]

Whenever my cat Baguette plays with his sister Pudding, Pudding gets super vocal. Even though it is obvious she loves playing with her brother, she meows and hisses constantly, even at the lightest tap from a paw. As a result Baguette is very gentle and will never have his claws out. In essence his sister trained him very well in the way of cat manners.... Ironically, my cat never hisses or gets vocal during play sessions and is very tolerant, so his sister doesn't have as much in the way of cat etiquette.

It's almost like she leaves her claws carelessly hanging about, she doesn't mind being picked up or petted but if I do so, I will inevitably end up with some superficial scratches simply because she grazed her paws against my skin. Her claws are kept very short so unless she exerts quite a bit of force it is unlikely they will do too much damage.

I'm wondering whether it's possible to "train" her to have gentle paws just like her brother?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Does Pudding use her claws on Baguette - or, just you? When does she do it, being petted, during play, etc? Is it accidental or deliberate?

You can try to say "OUCH" (not yell) and pick her up, if applicable, and move her away from you, then walk away and ignore her for a bit. Or, just grab her by the scruff and say OUCH or 'No", then let go and walk away.

On the other side of the spectrum, does she always have her claws showing all the time? If so, they are probably not being cut short enough, or not often enough. It is also possible that they grow faster than Baguette's if you cut both of theirs at the same time.

You could consider Soft Paws, which are soft rubber tips that are glued on a cat’s claws. They cause no pain, and prevent scratching. I have never used them, and not sure I would want to, as it appears they typically have to be replaced every 2-3 weeks. But, there are other members who have used them.

 

[danteshuman]

Yes you can train your cat. The key is to over react to the slightest hint of claw. Even if it doesn't hurt, pretend like you are drippingood on the floor. Say ouch or ow..... then ignore her for 15 minutes. Just walk away and ignore her.

I used to wail oooooowwwwwww then ignore my punk. I think the ignoring bothered him more than anything; because he was such a attention hog.

 

[LuvDeezKittez]

I 100% agree with both FeebysOwner and danteshuman , if Pudding can train Baguette how to "play nice", than you can train Pudding with the same method-- vocalization and disengaging when you don't like the behavior.
Very unique and cute names BTW!

 

[Suru]

Thanks, I'll try the yelp and ignore more often. Pudding isn't my cat, but I visit her a lot with Baguette. I'm 99% sure she has her claws out accidentally (and just doesn't care). And because of that I'm not completely sure that she will connect me ignoring her to her claws.