Kitten-Claw Advice Wanted
Hello.
We have kittens. They are very cute. They chase each other up and down the stairs all day. The dog chases them up and down the stairs. They chase the dog up and down the stairs. They sit on my lap. The dog sits on my lap. The dog growls at the kittens when they sit on my lap. They ignore her and sit on my lap all the same. We are one big happy family.
Apart from the sitting-on-the-lap thing. Which is very nice, don't get me wrong. They snuggle and purr and nuzzle and stick their bums in my face and try and eat my food. That bit's not so great. I sometimes chuck them out when I'm eating. Unless, like this morning, I forget to close the door and one of them runs into the room, jumps on my chair, runs across my lap putting one foot square in the middle of my cereal bowl and runs out again. But apart from that. The snuggling thing. That's nice.
Except.
When they are happy, they do that stre-e-etchy thing. Very cute. Only they don't only stretch their legs, they also stretch their claws. Then forget to retract them. Then stick them in my leg. OW!
So, does anyone have recommendations for how to train cats to snuggle without making holes in you with their sharp painful piercey things? I've tried giving them little pats on the claw and saying "NO!" firmly. I've tried throwing them off my lap and shouting "OW!" loudly. It makes no difference. They jump straight back up and do it all over again.
I could relent and just put a layer of protective padding in my lap whenever I sit down, but this seems a little cumbersome. Maybe I just need more patience with the "NO" thing?
All suggestions welcome.
___
We have kittens. They are very cute. They chase each other up and down the stairs all day. The dog chases them up and down the stairs. They chase the dog up and down the stairs. They sit on my lap. The dog sits on my lap. The dog growls at the kittens when they sit on my lap. They ignore her and sit on my lap all the same. We are one big happy family.
Apart from the sitting-on-the-lap thing. Which is very nice, don't get me wrong. They snuggle and purr and nuzzle and stick their bums in my face and try and eat my food. That bit's not so great. I sometimes chuck them out when I'm eating. Unless, like this morning, I forget to close the door and one of them runs into the room, jumps on my chair, runs across my lap putting one foot square in the middle of my cereal bowl and runs out again. But apart from that. The snuggling thing. That's nice.
Except.
When they are happy, they do that stre-e-etchy thing. Very cute. Only they don't only stretch their legs, they also stretch their claws. Then forget to retract them. Then stick them in my leg. OW!
So, does anyone have recommendations for how to train cats to snuggle without making holes in you with their sharp painful piercey things? I've tried giving them little pats on the claw and saying "NO!" firmly. I've tried throwing them off my lap and shouting "OW!" loudly. It makes no difference. They jump straight back up and do it all over again.
I could relent and just put a layer of protective padding in my lap whenever I sit down, but this seems a little cumbersome. Maybe I just need more patience with the "NO" thing?
All suggestions welcome.
___
Labels: Cheese Sandwich
3 Comments:
Hi, Clare. I landed here from Anna's blog. Just wanted to let you know that if you're patient, the little guys will learn how to put the claws away on demand. When they're small it's pretty much involuntary. Good luck!
To teach them you can gently push on the pads of their paws.
Hurrah! People have suggested similar things elsewhere, and this gives me hope. I will be patient and keep going in my attempts to train them.
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