My thoughts too. I allow all of my cats to wrestle with me and teach an appropriate level of response. In the case of Hemmy, this took some work as he came to me as an adult and had to learn to curb the intensity of his bite. He did learn, however, and we have a good time "fighting" with each other these days.Originally Posted by cesg
I know the prevailing thought is to not allow your cat (or kitten) to bite your hands in play because they will continue to do so...
but after fostering kittens for many many years, I have found that if I don't teach them how hard they are allowed to bite my hand then they tend to increase their bite strength as they get older - which we all know is very dangerous.
I start when they are young, allowing them to chew on my hand (a natural behavior not only for cats but teething cats) and gently repremand them when they bite too hard with either the "ow" cry that their siblings do or a soft and kind "gentle". When they don't listen, they are placed on the floor and ignored for a few minutes.
In the hundreds of kittens I've fostered I've only had one kitten who didn't care to learn to be gentle.
I think it is very important to teach kittens that they need to be gentle when biting, because no matter how much you love them and how careful you are with them, there is going to be a time when they feel the need to give you a warning bite. Several of my own cats have done it to me for various reasons (One while grooming the other was in pain and I didn't realize I was making it worse), and they know to gently put their mouths on me and not bite down. Very effective for both of us.
I really think teaching my cats how and when they may play bite is one of the best things I ever did. They know the boundaries and I just enjoy the game, even if sometimes I end up with a scratch if someone gets really wound up (they are corrected for it!