When I was a kid, it took six years of consistent whining and pleading to persuade my parents to let me get a cat. I finally wore them down the summer following my first-grade year. When we went on our annual trip to visit my mom's famil...
When I was a kid, it took six years of consistent whining and pleading to persuade my parents to let me get a cat. I finally wore them down the summer following my first-grade year. When we went on our annual trip to visit my mom's family, my parents let me choose a kitten from my aunt's farm. After much deliberation, I selected a little black-and-white tomcat who started purring when I picked him up.
"He's so sweet," I said. "I'll call him Sweets."
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Me and my cat Sweets sometime in the 90s.
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Almost defiantly, Sweets did not live up to his name. Afraid that the cat would keep them awake, my parents insisted on keeping him in the basement at night. Sweets did not appreciate this, and he showed it through behavior. He made the basement door his own personal scratching post, an unwise move that landed him at the vet's office to be declawed.
Seemingly to spite my parents, he learned how to open the door just by watching us (because unlike my current cats, he was one smart fellow). He would free himself from his nightly exile to roam the house and wreak havoc upon all things breakable.
Perhaps worst of all, though, was the swift precision with which he could use his fangs to poke holes in human hands. This was partially a result of being declawed, of course, as he'd been stripped of his primary defense mechanism.
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Like my childhood cat, Sweets, my cat Bubba Lee Kinsey has been declawed -- and he also bites.
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But it was also a behavior learned through play. When he was a kitten, it was cute when Sweets clawed and gnawed on my dancing phalanges. But when he got older it just freaking hurt.
Turns out this behavior is a fairly common misfortune -- and you can correct it through proper training. Here are five ways to get your cat to stop attacking your fingers already.
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Kitten biting a finger by Shutterstock.com">
Kitten biting a finger by Shutterstock.com">
Dang it, cat, my finger is not a toy! Kitten biting a finger by Shutterstock.com
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1. Examine his behavior
What causes it? Are you doing anything to encourage it? Cats often bite or scratch in response to stress or in self-defense. It can help to create a calm environment for the cat by turning down the television or not singing along to “Me & Bobby McGee” by Janis Joplin at the top of your lungs. Cats can also become aggressive if children or others are playing with them too roughly.
Sweets, for example, became terrified any time he heard the doorbell ring, and Bubba Lee Kinsey cannot handle more than two houseguests at a time. Knowing this helps me to prepare and ensure Bubba has a safe haven in the bedroom if I'm having friends over.
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Hissing maine coon by Shutterstock.com">
Hissing maine coon by Shutterstock.com">
Cats often scratch or bite when they are afraid. Hissing maine coon by Shutterstock.com
