Thread: Does Your kitten Scratch You!

I have had cats all my life but never a Maine Coon until 'Spartacus'...and he is the only cat that has ever played so rough. After an attack (play) by him I am always bleeding in several places. My arms are so scratched up it's embarrassing...the doctor actually asked me the other day how I got all the scratch wounds on my arms. My ankles look like I have taken a razor blade to them in places.

Spartacus is just playing, and he's still growing and maturing (will be 2yo in July). I am wondering if this is something he will outgrow as he matures or if I am in for this the rest of my life! LOL

It's not necessarily a Maine Coon thing, I just think some kittens are more gentle than others.

I used to get a lot of scratches when my 2 litter brothers were kittens, because of rough play and getting 'caught in the crossfire'.
Larry is obsessed with the kitchen cloths, so when wiping a surface he would grab the cloth and my hands were often caught. He still loves this game but we are wise to it now, and always keep an eye out, and if necessary we grab another cloth and throw it to distract him.

The other 'danger zone' when it comes to getting scratched is the feeding of treats. If I hold a treat out and they reach up to grab it, sometimes they will catch my fingers. So we've learned to hold a treat nice and low for them so they don't have to stretch up for it. They have also become much gentler now they're older, and usually keep their claws in.

So you are very lucky to have such a gentle young kitten. She must have a wonderful temperament!

I find Rasputin doesn't intentionally scratch although as he's so boisterous he does occasionally catch me accidentally when jumping for the bird or similar. He is a bit of a nipper though although we're finding that's calming down as he's maturing (he's almost 18 months now).

You are so lucky to have a kitty that doesn't bare her nails. I agree with Musicalife it all depends on temperament. I had moggies that scratched us while playng too. Our Whiskey tends to bare his nails as he reaches out to grab us during play. We look like we've been playing with barbed-wire. To keep the scratches to a minimum we've learned to not pull away when he grabs us. Yet sometimes we forget & get torn apart. Also, keeping the nails trimmed helps to keep the scratches to a minimum.

My girls never scratched me. Sometimes I start playfully rub their tummies , and they kick my hands with their paws and try to
bite me very gently, without ever piercing the skin. I often wonder how do they know how much pressure to apply on my skin to avoid any harm. Couple times Ariella got carried away by passion and started biting by husband's fingers, but after he said "Be Gentle!"
she released her teeth immediately. Even if they were scratching me I would still proudly wear the scratches as a badge of honor.
Being marked by Maincoon is a privilege!

I think it depends on their temperament too - or probably just how excited they get when they're playing! One of our old moggies was terrible - she'd launch herself at my husband and gave him huge scratches all down his arms!

Our 3 coonies have varying degrees of roughness when they play but the worst thing has got to be when they're on their backs and the back legs come up for a kicking session! Sunshine's started doing this when I brush him - so I put a kicker toy (or the brush bag) across his thighs to remind him to keep his legs down - looks so daft!!!