# Cat thinks my hands and feet are toys



## stormydown (Jul 1, 2015)

A few weeks ago I adopted a tortie named Catabal LectPurr who was a stray for about a year. She was found with a collar so she must have been an indoor cat at one point. She was pregnant at the time, but after she had her kittens, she was spayed. She's about 3 years old.

In general, Catabal is a great cat. She's not a lap cat and doesn't like to be petted for long periods of time, but she rubs against my legs, follows me around the apartment, sleeps on the bed with me at night, etc. She's affectionate, just not in the super touchy-feely way (except when I first get home from work and she wants attention). She doesn't jump up onto counters or knock things over, doesn't relieve herself in weird places, nothing that raises major red flags.

The main problem I'm having is that she thinks my hands and feet are toys. I sort of get the feet thing -- if she's bored, she'll pounce while I'm walking from point A to point B, etc. I have a fairly small apartment but she likes to explore and be active, so if I'm not actively playing with her using toys, she finds other ways to amuse herself, like hunting my feet. It sounds like it's fairly common.

The hands thing is a bit more frustrating. If she's in a playful mood, I can't put my hands or arms anywhere in her vicinity without her frantically trying to grab onto them with her paws and bite. It's certainly not aggressive biting -- I can tell she's just playing, because she does exactly what she does with her toys -- but it's still biting. Half the time she seems to even lose interest in toys like Da Bird because she sees my hands waving the toys and she becomes interested in my hands instead. She only really likes toys on sticks or wands so she can hunt and chase them, so most of her toys involve me being on the other end waving them around. I tried a laser pointer and she couldn't care less about it. I don't know if her former owners encouraged playing with their hands or what, but once she decides she's interested in playing with my hands, it's a lost cause.

I did some research and tried a few of the suggestions I saw, like exaggerated yelling in pain when she bites, firmly telling her "No bite" in a raised voice and walking away and ignoring her, etc. Obviously distracting her with toys doesn't work because they involve my hands. It's only been three weeks since I got her, but I haven't noticed any change in her behavior at all. If I say "no bite" after she bites my hand or ankle and I get up to walk away, she'll just follow me and try it again, like she thinks I'm just playing a game instead of trying to get her to stop.

I think things will improve once I get a bigger place (and probably a second cat to help amuse her and hopefully release some of her play aggression), but I want some kind of solution in the meantime. I've read conflicting reports about blowing a short puff of air in the cat's face to annoy her when she bites me and hopefully she'll become conditioned to stop. I certainly don't want to make her scared of me, but I can't have her thinking she can bite me whenever she feels frisky, either.

This is hardly the worst problem in the world, but it's still annoying. Any suggestions are much appreciated. Thank you!

This is a pic of her, btw:


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## Nuliajuk (Oct 25, 2014)

This is not uncommon, unfortunately. Her previous people probably used their hands (gloved, no doubt) and feet as toys when she was a tiny kitten, and it seemed really cute. Then she became a full sized cat and it wasn't so cute any more. If she didn't live with other cats, that could contribute to a lack of inhibition as cats are good about letting other cats know when they've gone too far.
You need to use the fishing pole type of toy where the toy dangles from a string and your hands are well out of reach.
When she grabs your hand, go dead still and try to growl. If she tries to bite, push your finger into her mouth instead of pulling away. Pulling away will only encourage her to treat you like prey.
E.T.A.: the fact that she's a black tortoiseshell may be contributing. They are sort of notorious for having minds of their own!


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## TabbCatt (Mar 26, 2014)

stormydown said:


> It's certainly not aggressive biting -- I can tell she's just playing, because she does exactly what she does with her toys -- but it's still biting. Half the time she seems to even lose interest in toys like Da Bird because she sees my hands waving the toys and she becomes interested in my hands instead.


I think this is called, "play aggression". Since you already have Da Bird, have you tried using other attachments they offer besides the fluttering feathers? My cats also tend to get bored with the "same-o" toys, so I buy a bunch of different lures on the end and switch them around to keep their interest. Catabal may like ground prey more like mice or bugs, especially if she's not much of a jumper to chase after feathers (or "birds"). 

When I play with my cats, I pretend to be the real prey. Don't hover the lure over their head or right in front of her face, but sprawl it onto your empty floor, and use jerky movements, slow and fast, to get her attention and then make it hide and scurry around the corners of your sofa (where she cannot see), and place a paper bag back there. Drag the lure on it so it makes some noise. If your Catabal is like my Maya, she won't be able to ignore that and will begin to stalk/pounce after her prey. You then can make her chase her toy to up to her cat tree, alongside baseboards, on top of your furniture, your bed, etc and get her to keep chasing her prey. Sometimes I follow a pattern but I keep active and will lure my cats all over my apartment to tire them out. Once they start literally panting and are forced to lie on their side, you know they've had a good, intense workout. Workout sessions can vary, however. An active cat may need more than a single play sesson (which typically last 20 minutes or so). Follow with her regular meal of wet food or a small treat, and she should be a calmer cat! If it's after a meal, usually my cats will groom and evenutally sleep. Hopefully after many play sessions like these, your kitty will decide her toys are far more interesting than your hands or feet, but once it starts up again, I think it's likely she's bored and has some excess energy that needs to be worked off.

I also purchased a window bed, similar to the Sunny Seat Window bed which keeps my two kitties interested in birds or other wildlife while you're gone or to catch some sunny naptimes. Maybe, if Catabal doesn't have one, that can be included so she doesn't hide under furniture to attack your ankles while you walk by?


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## stormydown (Jul 1, 2015)

Nuliajuk said:


> You need to use the fishing pole type of toy where the toy dangles from a string and your hands are well out of reach.
> When she grabs your hand, go dead still and try to growl. If she tries to bite, push your finger into her mouth instead of pulling away. Pulling away will only encourage her to treat you like prey.


Yep, the toys on poles and wands are pretty much the only ones I use, other than when I toss her little catnip mice and squeaky mice around (although she really doesn't find those toys fun unless she's in a crazy mood and pounces on them by herself). Still, she sees my hands holding the wands or poles and gets distracted, like, _why is she making me chase these things on sticks when I could be wrestling with her hands??_ I think I do a pretty good job of being very clear when playtime is over by letting her make a final catch, putting the toys away, and then feeding her and walking away to do my own thing, but she has a lot of energy and she often still wants to play after a session is over. She'll calm down enough and sit with me on the bed or whatever, but she won't waste an opportunity to pounce on my hands and feet.

I've never read about pushing a finger into her mouth -- I'll have to give that a try and see if it helps.




> Since you already have Da Bird, have you tried using other attachments they offer besides the fluttering feathers? My cats also tend to get bored with the "same-o" toys, so I buy a bunch of different lures on the end and switch them around to keep their interest. Catabal may like ground prey more like mice or bugs, especially if she's not much of a jumper to chase after feathers (or "birds").


I only have the fluttering feathers attachment right now, but I use it exactly as you describe it in the next paragraph -- jerking it around the floor like a floor critter, hiding it for her to hunt, etc. Catabal is definitely a floor cat rather than a climber, which poses a bit of a problem during playtime. I don't have a ton of open floor space for all-out running during playtime, so I had hoped to get her to jump on my sofa, bed, counters, cat tree, etc. when chasing her toys to create a more varied flow of activity, but she is very reluctant to jump up on anything at all. If I have her chasing the toy and then jump it up to my bed, she'll stop dead and just stare at the bed and not get up on it to follow the toy. Same with all of the other furniture. It sort of limits what I can do with her, and I'm sure she doesn't get as tuckered out as she could, though I try to do two or three play sessions a day. I'll give other attachments for Da Bird a try, and I guess I'll have to keep encouraging her to get up on the furniture.



> I also purchased a window bed, similar to the Sunny Seat Window bed which keeps my two kitties interested in birds or other wildlife while you're gone or to catch some sunny naptimes. Maybe, if Catabal doesn't have one, that can be included so she doesn't hide under furniture to attack your ankles while you walk by?


Yep, she has a cat tree with several levels facing the window so she can look outside and see everything happening on the street. I often see her sitting on it when I get home from work, so I'm sure she uses it/naps on it quite a bit during the day, but when I get home I guess I'm more interesting! Especially at night when there isn't as much going on and it's harder to see things happening outside.


I do think a lot of the issue is probably my apartment configuration and Catabal's particular personality. My ex's cat was a total vertical explorer and loved running full-out on top of all the furniture, so playing with her was a breeze even though my ex's apartment wasn't big either. I knew my apartment was big enough for a cat but I didn't really consider the possibility that a cat wouldn't take advantage of all the space in the apartment. I'm going to move as soon as I get a new job, so I know the situation is temporary and will probably be a minor blip in Catabal's hopefully very long life, but it's still making things frustrating in the meantime.

Thank you both so much for your replies!


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## Marcia (Dec 26, 2010)

It's fairly easy to train cats to avoid hands, although it could be painful. No matter how much they clamp down screech like a stuck pig and remove your hand. "OOOWWWW!!!" is what I do and normally they will back off and lick the wound as if saying "sorry, I didn't mean to bite so hard!". I've seen this time and time again.

Having said this, never use hands or fingers or toes as toys.

Any apartment is bigger than a shelter cage so the size of the space does not matter in this regard.


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## stormydown (Jul 1, 2015)

Marcia said:


> No matter how much they clamp down screech like a stuck pig and remove your hand. "OOOWWWW!!!" is what I do and normally they will back off and lick the wound as if saying "sorry, I didn't mean to bite so hard!". I've seen this time and time again.


I've tried that and it really doesn't seem to make a difference to her! I'll let out a loud and startled yell if she gets my ankle or hand and it doesn't faze her at all. She'll just try again. Maybe she's a feline sociopath.


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## imuneekru (May 27, 2015)

My first cat was also a tortie, AND an only cat. She had a habit of attacking your feet and ankles as you walked. Especially when she was a kitten. She would scratch a lot, too. She just wanted something to wrap herself around and be the recipient of every single pointy part of her body at once. 

One of her favorite toys was the "**** Tail." It was a large piece of real fur wrapped around a paper towel tube with a long elastic lead, which, because of the striped fur, looked like a raccoon's tail. Besides being able to chase it, when she caught it she would wrap herself around it, chew on it, sink her claws into it, etc. This seemed to be a great way to release her play aggression (until she at last tore it to bits--it lasted a long time, though). 

You might want to try something large like this, that she can go after--"big game". Maybe a stuffed animal on a string, or something constructed of real fur that has a more animal smell than the fake toys made for cats.


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## stormydown (Jul 1, 2015)

This is a good idea. I hadn't given toys like this any thought. I'll definitely give it a try, thanks!


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## mizzcriss (Jul 8, 2015)

One of my almost 12 week old kittens does this too. She likes to bite and play with our hands and feet and with her little razor sharp teeth, it's extremely painful! It doesn't help that my stubborn husband continues to use his hands and feet as toys with her despite me telling him that it will only get worse  we just got a boy kitten who, interestingly, doesn't do this at all even though they are the same age.

Based on what I've been reading online, what I've been doing is saying "Uh uh!!" in a loud voice and then when she STOPS biting, I'll give her a toy to play with instead. I've been doing this for almost 3 weeks now and now about 90% of the time, when I say "Uh uh!!", she'll stop right away. I know you've been using a cue word but maybe having a toy on hand to give her as alternative when she's in a playful mood will help reinforce it  HTH! 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I337 using Tapatalk


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

TabbCatt said:


> I think this is called, *"play aggression*".


Play aggression is more when the initial intent of play turns to frustration because of your response - or actually actively hunting a person and biting to the point of blood. Luckily it sounds like this isn't quite that serious - but how it's handled is very important.



stormydown said:


> Yep, the toys on poles and wands are pretty much the only ones I use,


You are definitely headed in the right direction with this. But you need to be able to give her something she CAN bite and claw. I recommend big stuffed animal toys - you grab the back, then use the front to 'wrestle' her. This is similar to how she'd play with another cat, but will keep your hands safe. Once she's got the hang of it you can add in some basic rules, like 'if we purposefully ignore the toy and go for mommy the game is over'.

In the beginning just use the toy to block her, get a fair sized toy so this isn't difficult.



stormydown said:


> I've never read about pushing a finger into her mouth -- I'll have to give that a try and see if it helps.


This is bad advice...SOME cats will be deterred, but others will full on bite you. Not worth the risk, IMO - especially with a cat who is already actively aiming for hands and feet. Stick to shoving an 'approved' item right in her little kitty face.

To keep the chasing issue down I've found 'drag' toys work well. And can be nice and cheap. Get an old towel (either one you have or from a good will), cut it into three strips, and braid it. If you're pretty sure she's in 'hunting' mode keep it nearby and drag it on the ground right beside you as you're walking. Sure, it's inconvenient...but much less inconvenient than a naughty kitty attaching herself to your leg 



stormydown said:


> I've tried that and it really doesn't seem to make a difference to her! I'll let out a loud and startled yell if she gets my ankle or hand and it doesn't faze her at all. She'll just try again. Maybe she's a feline sociopath.


I've found animals have one of two reactions to this method - most will be surprised, stop what they're doing and are easily redirected...about 1/4 will bite again HARDER. You may have a kitty in the second group, in which case it's more a matter of yelping, then inserting an approved item between yourself and her. If you redirect enough, and make the toy much more fun, she'll eventually start directing her initial attack to the stuffed animal. But it'll take a while.

With a 'bite harder' kitty you will also need to be careful not to yank your arm away from her, and this is 'running' and will often re-spark the hunting behavior. Instead, grab a toy (or couch pillow...lol) and literally stuff it into her face. Feel free to make growling noises, jerk it around, and generally make it more fun to bite and wrestle than your arm is - that's the goal.



mizzcriss said:


> One of my almost 12 week old kittens does this too. I know you've been using a cue word but maybe having a toy on hand to give her as alternative when she's in a playful mood will help reinforce it


You, newby, are on exactly the right track  Great advice, and welcome


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## stormydown (Jul 1, 2015)

This is a good idea, and one I've sort of pursued myself -- I have a stuffed Pokemon toy my mother unearthed from like 15 years ago and I've been trying to use that, with the growling and such to indicate play, but she just seems confused/annoyed by it rather than wanting to engage with it or wrestle with it. She ends up walking away, so I think the time for a learning moment passes when she does that. Maybe it's the toy she doesn't like? It's a Pikachu, the yellow mouse thing, so maybe it freaks her out.

Sometimes I'll just be petting her and she'll be purring, no warning signs of distress/not liking the petting at all, and all of a sudden she'll turn around with the intent of grabbing me and biting. I've watched her closely over the past few weeks since I adopted her and there are no indicators that it's about to happen, so I can't tell if she gets annoyed with the petting or if she just wants to play. My gut says play, since she also has moments I discussed previously where she'll try to grab me and bite if I put my hands anywhere near her, but it seems like a grey area. 

Cats are tricky! I love Catabal and if I could train her out of this she would be the perfect cat. (Well, as perfect as a cat can be. :wink

EDIT: I just tried the Pikachu toy again to wrestle with her and she hissed at me/it! I don't think she's ever hissed before. She must hate the thing.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

It sounds like you've got two different things going on - when you're petting her and she turns without warning, and when she's in 'play mode'. They need to be dealt with similarly, but not exactly the same, since the root causes are different.

When you're petting her and she turns to grab you it could be one of two things - if she's suddenly turning quickly to chomp you very hard, with pinned back ears and dilated pupils, that's over stimulation. It could also be love bites, that would be the case if she turns slowly and gently takes your hand in her mouth.

I, personally, allow love bites from my cats, after I teach them how hard is too hard.

Over stimulation is a bit trickier, as to stop it you usually need to change HOW you're petting her. Instead of ruffling fur, or fast circle movements switch to long slow strokes. Watch the fur on her back, if you see it rippling, or if her tail starts to twitch when you're petting her overstimulation is likely and the way to handle it is to be softer, gentler, and calmer when petting her.

The play mode is the one you want to manage with a toy - it may be that you're moving the Pikachu too much. Instead of moving it towards her when she's playful just insert it between your skin and her when she's already playing - don't move it around too much if it makes her nervous.


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## stormydown (Jul 1, 2015)

librarychick said:


> When you're petting her and she turns to grab you it could be one of two things - if she's suddenly turning quickly to chomp you very hard, with pinned back ears and dilated pupils, that's over stimulation. It could also be love bites, that would be the case if she turns slowly and gently takes your hand in her mouth.


It's not really either, or at least it doesn't look like it -- she does give me the gentle love bites on occasion, along with licks afterwards. But it also doesn't really resemble the over-simulation signs I've read about or you mentioned. Nothing about her changes from when she's stepping all over me wanting to be petted and when she turns around and tries to bite/grab. Her body language is the same, her pupils and ears are the same, etc. She'll be blissfully enjoying the petting with eyes closed and then in a split second try to grab and bite. That's why I thought it might be some kind of extension of her desire to play, since she seems to always want to play, particularly with my hands and feet (so I thought maybe she gets excited that my hands are in her vicinity when I'm petting her and she sees it as an opportunity to play). But I'm not sure. Maybe she just gets fed up with the petting super fast without any warning signs. She loves having the sides of her face and her ears/head scratched and I tend not to venture too far from there, maybe the occasional stroke down her back.



> The play mode is the one you want to manage with a toy - it may be that you're moving the Pikachu too much. Instead of moving it towards her when she's playful just insert it between your skin and her when she's already playing - don't move it around too much if it makes her nervous.


I'll give this a try and see what happens.


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