Don't pet her tummy.

No idea about the hair-fetish thing.

pat

I call the kangaroo thing "bunny kicking," but I know what you're referring
to.

I suggest getting your cat some stuffed animals or toys that she can play
rough with.  Da Bird, available at www.go-cat.com, is an excellent
interactive toy that your cat can hunt.  There are also some cat toys that
you can put over your hand like a puppet.  One of my cats has a small
stuffed purple puppy.  When she starts to play rough with me, I get out her
purple puppy and she abuses it :)

Some cats can also become overstimulated by too much petting or playtime.
If you're petting her and all of a sudden she starts getting very rough
with you, it's best to take a time out.

Do you clip your cat's claws?  Clipping the sharp tips with a fingernail
clipper is very effective against sharp cuts during playtime :)

Hope this helps!

Catherine

One of mine (Kitty) used to do that until it got to the point where I got infection in my
hand and it started up my arm even though she had ALL her shots including rabies.  I ended
up in the hospital for 2 days until it started going down.

To her she was probably just playing but I started telling her no in a stern voice (Not
yelling or hitting her), pulling my hand back and ignoring her.  After a while she
stopped.  Now she will occassionally mouth my hand but she has stopped biting.  Even
through sometimes I can barely feel her mouth I suppose I should try to stop that but ---

http://members.aol.com/larrystark/

*****************************************************
E-mail address altered to foil spam.
Remove spam and junk to reply via e-mail.

*****************************************************

I taught my kitties "ouch" or "ow" at an early age. When they would
start hurting me I would stop and say ouch or ow and if need be, grab
the offending paw. Now when my cats seem to invite a tummy rub, I will
comply but if they start to scratch or kick like you describe, I say ow
and stop playing immediately. I have two that enjoy tummy rubs and two
that don't.

Our Tango is maybe 6 months old, and he does the exact same!  He is the
friendliest, cuddliest cat I have ever been lucky enough to own.  When he
starts his playfighting, I just roll my sleeve oer my hand and let him get
on with it :)  99% of the time, he doesnt want to bite or scratch, its
normally when he is on a hyper spell he starts.

PS - Tango picures on my site:

www.cutecats.co.uk

Gary.

Biting can be a problem with a declawed cat but others do it also.
Sometimes it's a cat that was taken from its mother and siblings
before it learned how to play gently. You will have to teach her that
it hurts when she bites too hard. The momcat would HISS and bop her
gently on the nose. I find HISSING works pretty well. Some find that
yelping in pain will work.

Try to read signals. How long can she play before becoming over
stimulated? Keep a wand toy close to distract her. If she bites, hiss
and then ignore her completely.

barb

Hi Beth!

My kitty has been doing the same thing, it seems to have started two years
ago, after I went away for 5 days and left him outside with my neighbor to
take care of him.  When I came back, he started attacking me.  Viciously
attacking me, though he is not a "mean" cat.  I noticed that he would always
head right for where my veins are located, too!  He also does this with his
toys!

After working with him for these two years, I have noticed that something
"sets it off," and it is almost like a chemical reaction.  He will be lying
on my lap, and almost every day we have this problem.  I will see his eyes
dilate, and he jumps toward my arm with his teeth.  I have learned not to
react, but to become very still and catch him before he goes into full
attack mode.  I talk to him very softly and say "no, you don't really want
to bite mommy; I know you love me." and it has worked quite well.  The only
thing is, he will jump down from my lap once he has had this change.  Even
if he stops in time, he will sort of go "huh!" and jump down.  So this has
been pretty successful, and no blood drawn in a long time.

There is another thing that is puzzling.  I will be in bed with the blanket
over me, and Kitty comes up onto the bed, and he starts feeling with his
paw.  he finds my toe and then takes a bite out of it!  One time I watched
him as he found something else that he thought was a part of me.  He went
into the full-on Bunny Kick thing, and I just sat there and thought, "I am
sure glad that is not my toe!"

I hope some of this might help.  I have had to be very quick to catch him at
the very beginning of his attacks.

Best Regards

Boo