While you’re not wrong, I think a lot of people misinterpret normal cat behaviour for actual malicious intent. As if they knock stuff over specifically to piss you off.
And like I mentioned in another comment cats intuitively use the amount of claw that’s safe with a fellow cat where there’s a coat of fur between claw and skin. So when they scratch at us, interpreting it as intentional hurt isn’t accurate.
Cats don’t wanna bloody each other during play, they just don’t know they have to use even less claw with a human than with a fellow cat, and yet people act like their cats are out for blood at the drop of a hat.
no but that’s what i mean, well treated cats don’t just randomly knock things off tables and shelves, they do that when they’re bored out of their minds and have to do ANYTHING to entertain themselves.
And if the cats get enough entertainment and exercise in other ways, they’re probably not going to have a desire to play-fight with your hands either (especially if you don’t encourage it). none of the grown up cats i’ve met have done so, they just merrily present the belly for petting and literally nothing i do to their bellies makes them react with anything but gratuitous purring…
Seriously, a well taken care of cat is just a fluffy ball of love and purrs and the most annoying aspect of them is that they want to headbutt you constantly meow loudly to beg for scritches and treats.
I’ve been working on befriending a local feral for two years. We’re working on “gentle paws please.” She’s gotten good at puncture free play fighting with my hands, she’ll be all happy-drooling and purring, but if she gets too into it she’ll forget herself and bloody me.
She also has a bad habit of grabbing my hands or feet/ankles as I’m leaving if she’s not done with scritches time. Those are usually bloody grabs. I’m like, dude, I’m just going to get your dinner! I scream and hiss when she does it, but we haven’t made much progress on that issue. And how can I be mad? She just wants more love.
But it’s definitely not because she’s bored, she’s still semi feral and spends as much time as she wants murdering gophers and field mice and bullying her still-fully-feral litter mate.
While you’re not wrong, I think a lot of people misinterpret normal cat behaviour for actual malicious intent. As if they knock stuff over specifically to piss you off.
And like I mentioned in another comment cats intuitively use the amount of claw that’s safe with a fellow cat where there’s a coat of fur between claw and skin. So when they scratch at us, interpreting it as intentional hurt isn’t accurate.
Cats don’t wanna bloody each other during play, they just don’t know they have to use even less claw with a human than with a fellow cat, and yet people act like their cats are out for blood at the drop of a hat.
no but that’s what i mean, well treated cats don’t just randomly knock things off tables and shelves, they do that when they’re bored out of their minds and have to do ANYTHING to entertain themselves.
And if the cats get enough entertainment and exercise in other ways, they’re probably not going to have a desire to play-fight with your hands either (especially if you don’t encourage it). none of the grown up cats i’ve met have done so, they just merrily present the belly for petting and literally nothing i do to their bellies makes them react with anything but gratuitous purring…
Seriously, a well taken care of cat is just a fluffy ball of love and purrs and the most annoying aspect of them is that they want to headbutt you constantly meow loudly to beg for scritches and treats.
I’ve been working on befriending a local feral for two years. We’re working on “gentle paws please.” She’s gotten good at puncture free play fighting with my hands, she’ll be all happy-drooling and purring, but if she gets too into it she’ll forget herself and bloody me.
She also has a bad habit of grabbing my hands or feet/ankles as I’m leaving if she’s not done with scritches time. Those are usually bloody grabs. I’m like, dude, I’m just going to get your dinner! I scream and hiss when she does it, but we haven’t made much progress on that issue. And how can I be mad? She just wants more love.
But it’s definitely not because she’s bored, she’s still semi feral and spends as much time as she wants murdering gophers and field mice and bullying her still-fully-feral litter mate.