How to get a grown up cat to stop scratching while playing if it was used to it since it was a kitten?

Question

I have a female cat that rips my hands while playing, but that isn't really the problem. The problem is that I used to always take her scratching and only stop playing when it got far more out of line because I felt a little sorry for her and didn't really mind the scratching (not sure what you'll say about this but I really didn't care about her scratching). I'm used to her and whatever scratch she causes will heal much faster than if some other cat scratched me. How I know that is because I'm a little allergic to cats (males mostly) so when a cat scratches, the area gets a little swollen. And most cats cause the area to get more swollen than if it was her who scratched. It's kinda like my body got used to her a lot.

But now it's time for change. I'm afraid I'd have to give her to my friends or an adopter some time in life and I'm pretty sure no one is going handle her the way I did. And...I can also use the change for my advantage ya know. She is used to word "No" and usually stops when I say it, although a lot of times when she's hyper enough, she'll ignore me and rip, kick, and scratch even more. The reason I play with her with my hand is because she's been an orphan as a kitten so she hadn't a play mate to play with her the way kittens do (we weren't able to bring her a play mate due to our situations which didn't allow it at the time). She doesn't like to play with toys as much as she loves to play with her family of people, especially me. The rest of the family plays with her with their hands as well. It seems she goes softer on young ones, but they don't take her scratching for too long and start chasing her like another cat would do instead. They may even get mad about it but I always tell them it's their fault for making her such a cat, as it is, because when she was a kitten they all used to enjoy her biting and scratching while I wanted to teach her to stop. Anyway as for now I'm pretty much her only play mate, or mostly (as my family members do play with her sometimes but rarely). And for that she gets pretty bored a lot of the time and starts trying to play with me by meowing, puffing herself as play (and believe me when I say as play, I'd usually know and it's obvious when it's not play), and then running away as so I would chase her and vise versa. Again, I'll say she doesn't like to play with anything unless I'm and usually only I am moving it. She'll ignore the rest of my family unless it was for treats. Also I'm always looking in every shop for cat toys but all I find are dog's or cat collars and leashes. So all I have are whatever is in the house.

I'd like to state that this issue is going no matter what, but I don't really like to end play season every time she scratches me and I'm afraid that she'll end up not listening to the word no if I do that every time, as she may get upset for the play stop and every time I say no.

Please understand that the hand play thing will no be going anywhere, and I'll still play with her with my hand and feet if necessary. I'm convinced this until we manage to get her a play mate that won't be killing her instead of playing (if not SHE killing it).

So any tips are welcomed although I don't think a lot would be at help. If not I'll figure it out on my own. Thanks a lot.

Answer 1

They make products that protect you from scratches. Or you can just use a pot holder to protect yourself, I discovered that they act as "Kitty Kryptonite" and it tends to subdue them.

However, if you want them to remain fully active, try something like the Love Glove. It's good for grooming them while you play.

However, I should tell you that absolutely no cat expert I know will tell you to play with your cat with your hands. You should always use a wand or a glove with playthings hanging from it or something that avoids contact with your skin. Cats can do an incredible amount of damage by accident, and they carry tiny bits of everything that's in their litterbox around with them, which could lead to infections if they get in your blood.

Answer 2

If you really want to go along with the hand playing without getting hurt it's very simple. (Now that I am the person who posted the question I don't think anyone should have an objection to this answer since it worked and I'm happy with my results.)

For a cat that's used to the word "No" it's even easier. When the cat bites too hard tell it "no". if it bites harder tell it ''no'' again and hiss at the cat, but here's the important part: do not hiss all of a sudden, do it normally. Do not hiss with madness, hiss normally again (let's not mention how stupid and immature that would look like). If you do not know what normally here means, it means hiss like a cat, when hurt occurs make the response be a hiss, just like you respond to a person that didn't know a certain something was too annoying for you to pretend nothing happened. Stop resisting and do not move your hand in a ''try to break yourself free'' form, it's how prey acts and it's only natural for a cat to get more excited and fight more when it's prey displays this behaviour. More importantly NEVER hit your cat in response to a bite or scratch. You are huge compared to your cat, and seeing you being aggressive towards it will make it fight hard to protect itself.

Stop playing and hiss. The cat should let go at that point, and this rough play should stop for now. However, playtime shouldn't. Once the cat lets go and understands to stop, just change the game. Throw toys or things the cat likes to play with or even treats to make the cat use its extra energy on. If the cat really likes to play with you it will probably return to try and play with you. Don't reject the animal by saying ''no'' or hissing whenever it comes to play, just play softer and notice how it reflects on your cat. You will realize that the cat is starting to play softer so you won't end its favorite game. Of course encouraging the cat with a praise word and handing over treats whenever she plays nice makes the process a lot faster.

And that's how I did it, and my results were a happy friendly house cat that plays with humans and treats them like litter mates but with more respect I guess.