Well, sure, but where do Jews come from? :)

Joyce

Except...fang and claw are normal parts of a cat's vocabulary, and
essential for  the full range  of expression. It's often  not even
pretend-hostile  --  and,  when  it  is, it's  the  same  kind  of
``hostility'' as you see when teammates whop each other upside the
head by way of congratulations after a great play. Or it's part of
the play, itself.

Of course, cats  have thick fur that's designed to  take the brunt
of  such ``attacks,''  and  we don't. But  they're also  perfectly
capable of learning  to moderate the force of the  bite or scratch
so  they can  both  express  themselves fully  and  do so  without
causing harm.

A  great way  for both  furred  and furless  to learn  this is  by
playing patty-cake. If  the cat's in  a playful mood,  lightly and
quickly  touch the  top  of one  of  her front  paws  -- and  then
withdraw your hand very quickly. Repeat a couple times, and she'll
start to  try to reciprocate. Pretty  soon, you'll both  have your
forelimbs going in a circular motion, like in an exaggerated thumb
war. And, just like in a thumb  war, the winner is whoever manages
to catch the top of the paw.

You'll  both score  multiple hits. Naturaly,  her hits  will leave
marks.   If you're  both experienced  at  it, the  marks won't  be
anywhere near as bad as what  you'd get if you went blackberrying,
and you'll both have at least as much fun.

If she's inexperienced, when she scores she may draw blood or even
get her  claw caught in  your skin. Don't panic! Say,  ``ow,'' and
let her know that she's hurting  you -- but also make it perfectly
clear that you don't blame her  and nothing bad is going to happen
to  her as  a result. Once  you two  extricate yourselves,  if you
think she still might  be in the mood, feel free  to pick right up
where you left off.

If she goes after you with more than just the one paw, especially if she
was slow to react or looked annoyed, she's probably not having
fun. Respect her wishes; ``no'' means ``no.'' This either isn't the
time for the game, or it's not the cat to play it with.

But, if  it is and  she is,  she'll quickly learn  that scratching
/per se/ isn't bad -- which  it isn't. She'll also just as quickly
learn the  boundary between ``vigorous communication''  and injury
and attack. She'll learn that there's no need to attack you, since
you're  not gonna  attack  back  -- she's  safe,  either way,  and
attacking only upsets you both.

Plus, the  next time she thinks  you /do/ deserve to  be attacked,
she's much /much/ more likely to limit herself to just barely more
than the  symbolic attack. You'll get  the message, but  you won't
get hurt. Much.

It's  a similar  kind of  process  that kittens  learn with  their
mothers  and  playmates --  all  sorts  of pseudo-ferocity  that's
recriprocated or  tolerated...to a  point. And it's easy  to learn
and remember just where that point is.

And, really, it's not surprising at all. Empathy is as essential a
survival trait for cats as for any other social species, and we're
such close cousins  that our languages are still  quite similar --
and humans  have enough  extra brainpower to  learn enough  cat to
fill in the gaps.

Provided, of course,  you don't mind letting her  spill your blood
from time to time. But, believe me, it's worth it....

Cheers,

b&