How to I get my roommate's cat to stop jumping at me with his claws out? Or putting his paws on my leg and extending his claws? Or using his claws on me in general when he wants attention? this post brought to you by guess what
I have a reputation as a cat-whisperer. I might be able to help. How old is this cat? Do you love/like/tolerate/hate this cat? Does your roommate take care of this cat properly? How often is this cat left alone? Does this happen mostly during the day, or at night? Define "jumping at me with his claws out" - is he attacking, or jumping up onto your lap, or? Does this cat have toys to play with?
Secondary question: When was the last time his claws were clipped? (I've noticed that even when they aren't trying to, our cats have a tendency to claw when they're getting close to needing clipped. It's hard to stay on a schedule with them because Hermes is a freak of nature who grows his nails at lightspeed while the others are more reasonable animals.)
Eris is generally pretty slow with claw-growth (I think?) - we try to keep on top of it anyways, though, because she's got one wonky claw that tends to not shed properly. Usually, if Eris is clawing, I go "ow" in a way that indicates that hurt and I'm not happy about it. And then try to remove her from my lap or otherwise push her away from me for a bit. Cats do notice if you're indicating a thing they're doing hurts! It just might take a bit for the behaviour to change.
He's about 7-8 months so still young. He's fixed and has toys and plays with the roommate's dogs. He gets on his hind legs reaches for me with his claws out and sinks his claws in my pants legs. His latest thing is getting on the counters and trying to jump into my arms whether or not I want to or am able to hold hold him at the moment or he'll jump at the doorknob I'm reaching for and catch my hand. He does it any time of day, but he's worse about it at night. He's a sweet cat otherwise just young and wants attention but doesn't know how to properly ask for it. (New idea, put cat on Kintsugi :p ). I'm not rewarding the behavior, I push him away, go "OW" and don't catch him when he jumps, and I'm trying to reward when he actually asks for attention without using claws. So hopefully it'll get better with time, but I'd appreciate any other tips!
"ow" and "no!" are your friends here, yeah. It sounds like you're doing the right things - and he's young enough to catch on reasonably quickly, he's at the age where he'd be play-fighting with siblings and learning "don't use your claws, that hurts and makes no one want to play with you for a while".
I agree with @turtleDove Kittens are notorious for not knowing what "ow" means until you teach them. With my cat, he'd play bite and so one day right after he bit me and dug claws into me, I bit his ear. (Not hard, but enough that he wasn't impressed), and he never bit/scratched me hard again. With the clawing of the leg, cats HATE it when you clap your hands suddenly - that's how I stop Dracula from clawing/scratching things I don't want him to claw/scratch, I just clap my hands and he flinches and stops. Spray bottle is another option, or hissing at him when he does it. Basically, communicate like a cat for a bit, and he'll figure it out (hopefully). All the best! (Also, putting cat on Kintsugi would be great. I feel like that would be an excellent thread to start - we create sub accounts with our pet's names and go to town, heh)
*looks at cat bites* Don't tempt me. This cat was a confirmed biter at the age of 5 when I got him 6 years ago. Yelling "ow" scares the shit out of him and also my neighbour. He bites when he's settled comfortably and I move, usually. He used to bite my other cat, who usually didn't care. But since my other cat passed away, he's been biting me. Unfortunately I don't have a thick coat of fur. I have *knock particle board* never got an infected cat bite but on at least one occasion he's bitten me hard enough to bruise. It doesn't seem to be play aggression although I know I should play with him more (spoons, also he's half blind and it's sometimes hard to play with him in a way he can SEE); it seems to be "you're supposed to be cat furniture now, stop moving". There's a reason the arm that uses the wireless mouse has the most marks. I love him a lot, he's very dear to me. Most of the time he's a sweetie. BUT.
I highly recommend laser pointers or feather chaser toys for this kitty. Jumping at you is an invitation to play so long as his body posture is open and friendly. I have a young kitty who behaves very similarly when he has extra energy. Sometimes he will go play with a toy or another cat, but he loves his people and wants to be the center of attention (even if the attention is negative). He will play until he is panting heavily (longer than that if we'd let him) and he spends the rest of the day blissed out. Leaving the cat alone when petting time turns into biting time is a great to show him that assholes don't get to spend time with their human friends. Yelping or going "Ow!" really loudly is another good deterrent.
As a long time rescuer of cats and rehabilitator of cats with behavioral problems my strong advice is thus: tell your roommate to get a second cat. A single young cat is not going to be socialized properly. ESPECIALLY a single young cat that only has dogs to play with. We have one cat who we had to do major behavior modification training with because all he played with as a kitten were dogs and he never learned how to cat properly. After being socialized with other cats his age he's 100% mindful of his teeth, claws, and behavioral outbursts with both other cats and with humans. Kitty politics are not only fun to watch, they're integral to the healthy emotional and behavioral development of any cat. So, if it's at all possible, I highly recommend getting another cat either his age or younger.
