Cats scratch nail marks!

[soomboom]

I have recently bought a persian kitten.it was one month old now its age is 2.5months.
Since the kitten plays with my hands all of my hands have been stamped with ugly scratch marks of my cat, i am sad and tensed.please someone help me out:'(

 

[fleabags mom]

Wow, one month is very young to buy a cat..  bit too young to be away from mum and this may cause you some troubles with behaviour.

And am afraid your cat is being a cat! She/he is only young and will scratch and bite, they explore the world in many ways, and this is two of them.  Now is the time to teach, gently, that this isn't ok. Give your kitten plenty of things to scratch on, varied types (sisal, cardboard) and various angles (one on the floor flat, upright against the wall or a cat tree/post). 

Any time she/he goes to scratch you, stop playing or give your kitten something to play with instead. Teach it that there are certain things that are ok to scratch and some things are a big no! Your hands, furniture etc.

It takes time to teach your kitten. Time, patience and a lot of love. Always reward good behaviour, lots of praise and fuss.  I don't think you would, but please never shout, hit or scare your kitten, this will not teach it anything other than fear and aggression.   Please hide your sadness & feeling tense - your cat will pick up on this and possibly make the scratching worse. Try and speak in soft tones and keep things calm. Try vitamin E oil - fantastic for fading scars.

Good luck!

 

[soomboom]

I try a lot seriously:/ but the times he scratches me soo hard that it starts bleeding i tend to shout :'( which i no is bad but bleeding is something that causes too much pain:'( i will try however. Can you plz tell me something to apply on my scars?

 

[Draco]

Hands are not toys. If the cat is playing, do let let Khmer play with your hands- a toy or a stick with string are excellent toys.

As for the scars- I use cocoa butter lotion. It helps

 

[mservant]

I think Fleabags mom has given you some excellent advice here.  Your little kitten is still very young and only now reaching an age where youngsters would have learned most of what they need to from their fur mom and become confident enough to leave her, and the warmth and compnionship of any siblings.

Because kittens learn most of their acceptable social behaviours from their siblings and mom it is quite possible that your little guy will need some extra tuition from you.  He or she may also like a little cuddly toy or small soft fleece as a comforter or lovie, and continue to find this helpful into adulthood.

When you are interacting and playing with your kitten try to use fishing rod and feather wand type toys for play and hands only for stroking and petting, then if scratching and biting happen when stroking you stop and freeze, only restarting when your kitten is settled.  It is very important to be clear and consistent in the message that hands, feet and other bits of your human body are not for playing with or biting and scratching, that when you play it is with toys.  If you want boistrous play then use a larger soft item like a kickeroo so your hand is still at a good distance from the biting and bunny kicking.  Your kitten is still small but over the next 3 or 4 weeks time a lot of growth will take place and more serious injury can happen without any bad intent from your cat, you can get more nervous and then the cat will get more confused.

With scratches, they can hurt but they can also get badly infected so you must keep them clean and if there is swelling and inflammation that starts to spread  you should see a doctor.  Once you have scabs and scars there is little you can do but let them heal.

I agree that what is happening sounds like play but it is important that you both learn to communicate and set boundaries now while your kitten is learning so that you do not start to have other problems.  Have a look at some of the articles on the site as these can be quite helpful too.  I have put links to a few related ones here:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/playtime-aggression

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-discipline-dont-mix

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cat-aggression-toward-people

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/20837/ouch-how-to-stop-cat-aggression-toward-people

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/problem-scratching-and-how-to-stop-it

 

[murr7maggiom]

Very good advice about not playing with your hands.

 

[StefanZ]

 but the times he scratches me soo hard that it starts bleeding i tend to shout :'( which i know is bad but bleeding is something that causes too much pain:'( i will try however.

ah, but you SHALL give pain-noises from you in such situation!  Not yell at the top of YOUR voice, but loudly enough so kitten undestands its hurting you, and shall stop immediately.

He is not mean, he just dont knows the boundaries.  Usually they wrestle with siblings, and bite tail on their mom, and they teach him all these how much and where the boundaries are.   It is one of the reasons we recommend they shall be at least 8 weeks when sold, preferably 12...

Here YOU must teach him all this.   Unless you get another one, friendly and sociale cat, who will help you with the teaching, playing with him, and holding him company when you are out to work and so.

Cats usually do prefer company of another cat.   They get friends with their human anyway.

Good luck!

 

[fleabags mom]

I try a lot seriously:/ but the times he scratches me soo hard that it starts bleeding i tend to shout :'( which i no is bad but bleeding is something that causes too much pain:'( i will try however. Can you plz tell me something to apply on my scars?

Am afraid it takes time.. lots of time & patience. Your cat is still so very very young and doesn't know better yet and you will not get results overnight. It's just a baby, please try to remember that and that you will still get plenty more scratches before he's learned. You can help yourself by being consistent, kind and patient to help your cat learn. Sorry scratches hurt, they do loads! Makes it more important to keep working at it before your cat becomes fully grown and a lot stronger.

My cat never scratches, occasionally I get caught when playing and he misses the toy, but it's never done intentionally.  He's actually so well trained that when he once woke me up he hurt my hip by jumping on it just at the wrong point and since then he has never woken me up the same way. All I did was say 'oww' in a normal volume and he knew it hurt. I didn't scare him or shout and still gave him a good morning cuddle, but he knows now the noise I make when it hurts. If you keep teaching your kitten, you'll get to the same stage, honest! Just don't give up or get frustrated. Kindness is always the best teacher :-)

 

[soomboom]

Ok... I will try then...thankssssss a lot for your help. I will try my hard to train him
Can anyone suggest any cream or oeinment plzzz

 

[soomboom]

By the way my kitten is now 2.5 months old...is this good or bad?

 

[mservant]

2.5months is a lovely age and kittens are learning fast at that age so you should be able to train him as long as you are consistent, calm and patient with him.  He will have a lot of energy and want to play a lot and training is easiest if you do play with him rather than let him get bored or a lot of kitten energy build up to frustration.  It is good to play with a kitten until they are tired, let them have a rest and something to eat, then when they have energy again start to play again as many times through the day as you can.  This also helps to teach them to sleep more at night.

I am sorry I have no advice for your scratches.

 

[fleabags mom]

Can anyone suggest any cream or oeinment plzzz

What is it you want? Are the scratches becoming infected? If so, speak to a doctor or a pharmacist. If it is just to stop some of the scaring, use anything that moisturizes and it can help.  I do not know what country you live in, but I am guessing that English is not your first language, so I can't help you with brand names etc because I am in the UK and do not know what you have in your shops. Sorry!!

 

[soomboom]

No its not like that they are not bleeding its just the scars no infection etc . I want to get rid of the scars i am asking this question of suggesting a name of cream etc because many cat owners might have scars too so any effective cream could help

 

[fleabags mom]

Glad no infection. I've already suggested pure vitamin E oil - I use this for scars. As mentioned, I do not know names because I do not live in your country or know what is for sale. Go to the shops and have a look around? Perhaps ask someone in the shop what they recommend for scars.

 

[cattreedepot]

Try intoducint a scratching post, if you are unsure of what material they like to scratch try something with sisal rope, carpet, and wood. 

 

[soomboom]

Yes sure I will .thanks

 

[stephiedoodle]

Any moisturising cream will help with scars tbf thats something better suited to aska pharamsist

 

[soomboom]

Okie dokie