Warning For New Kittens Guardians..do Noy Use Your Hands To Play

[Colourcloud]

When Rudy, (now ten years old) was a baby kitten..against all warnings we used our hands to play with him.It was just so convinient..whenthis little kitten wanted to play, and we didn,t have a toy near, AGAINST all warnings of wiggling our fingers and having him play with them.it was cute THEN, his tiny teeth didn,t do much damage, how bad could it be? Well, fast forward 10 years later...when a 14 pound kitty with sharp teeth is obsessed with your hands as his #1 preferred toy..he is SO FOCUSED at grabbing my hands no matter what toy I try to get him to play with, all he wants is my HANDS.
I used to volunteer at a no kill car shelter, and was bitten once..the swelling has bad enough to land me in ER..soplease no matter how convinient it might seem..don,t use your hands as a toy. You will regret it in the long run. I cannot even put gloves on and try to play that way..nope. He wants FLESH! Good luck.
Rudy’s mom.

 

[Furballsmom]

Thank you for posting this - it is much appreciated.

 

[bear]

I used to tell the Rescue Volunteers and Foster Families.
"Hands are for loving."
"Toys are for playing"

"Don't do anything to confuse the kittens".

 

[rubysmama]

Colourcloud : I know your boy is 10, so more than well set in his ways, but have you tried hissing at him when he bites you? Or saying "owwwww" in a high pitched tone? That's how cats let each other know they are being too rough, and it does sometimes work for cat parents.

For anyone with bitey kittens, here's an article from the Humane Society that might be helpful: Teach your kitten how to play nice

Plus this TCL article: How To Stop Playtime Aggression In Cats

 

[bear]

Your fingers can trigger a prey response in him.
If you think he might be going to o after them, close your hand into a tight fist.
This reduces that trigger. It also mikes it harder to bite, since he needs to have mouth open wider and harder to get to the leverage of a less open mouth bite.

 

[danteshuman]

I am very strict on the toys not hands motto ...,, that said my hyper kitten gets to attack my hand when it is under a nice thick lap blanket. He knows the difference and never goes for my hands.

Good luck with your boy. You can train him it will just take a long time.