🚀 go-pugleaf

> My friend has a cat and I like to play with it. Once in a while
> the cat will lie on the floor with her stomach up for me to
> caress. But after caressing her for maybe 15 seconds, she would
> always grab my hand with her paws and bite my hand lightly (but
> still hurt a little).
> On one occasion she managed to scratch my hand.
> 
> Does anybody else have the same experience?
> Is it trying to tell me to get lost or is it playing?
> 
> peter

Every cat that I have known wants to wrestle when it rolls over on
its back.  That seems to be an invitation for a "mock attack".  It
sounds like your friend's cat is waiting for you to attack and, when
you don't, decides to take the initiative.  I'm surprised she waits
15 seconds; our cat, Florence, starts in right away.  Scratching and
biting are a normal part of such play.  I avoid getting my hands
within range of Florence's claws; she is usually happy just clawing
at a rope or piece of cloth bobing up and down over her.

Florence and our dog, Ada, love to go at it.  Florence will roll over
and Ada will stick her nose right down into Flo's stomach.  Flo will
then grab one of Ada's ears and chomp down.  Ada loves it.  Her fur
seems to protect her from any serious scratches; I've never seen
any ill effects from such play.  Eventually Ada (50 lbs) gets too
rough for Flo (6 lbs) and Flo ends the game by running off to wash
herself.

-- 

Ted Hopp	{seismo,umcp-cs}!nbs-amrf!hopp

> My friend has a cat and I like to play with it. Once in a while
> the cat will lie on the floor with her stomach up for me to
> caress. But after caressing her for maybe 15 seconds, she would
> always grab my hand with her paws and bite my hand lightly (but
> still hurt a little).
> 
> Does anybody else have the same experience?
> Is it trying to tell me to get lost or is it playing?
> 
> peter

Many cats seem to have this sort of response.  I would guess it's some
kind of sexual or nurture related pattern.  You also get these friendly
bites when otherwise petting a cat, even though it seems to be enjoying
it.

Your guess as to whether it means 'thats enough' or 'quit playing and
get serious' or just mock play...
-- 
George Robbins - now working with,	uucp: {ihnp4|seismo|caip}!cbm!grr
but no way officially representing	arpa: cbm!grr@seismo.css.GOV
Commodore, Engineering Department	fone: 215-431-9255 (only by moonlite)

> ******
> My friend has a cat and I like to play with it. Once in a while
> the cat will lie on the floor with her stomach up for me to
> caress. But after caressing her for maybe 15 seconds, she would
> always grab my hand with her paws and bite my hand lightly (but
> still hurt a little).
> On one occasion she managed to scratch my hand.
> 
> Does anybody else have the same experience?
> Is it trying to tell me to get lost or is it playing?
> 
> peter

I've had two cats (at different times), both of which I played with in
mock fights. (Basically my hand becomes the enemy for some fun rough-housing,
I assume that it was fun for the cat too as they were always free to walk
away if they didn't like it.)  Both would grip with their teeth, but NEVER
broke the skin with their teeth.  Occasionally I would receive a small scratch
from a claw (paws got invovled in the fun too), but NEVER a 'serious' wound.
Since claws are rather sharp, this must be expected.

In your case, I would assume that either she's had enough, or your rubbing
the fur the wrong way for that particular cat.  There is little reason for
attacking the source of a pleasurable sensation. :-)

			E. L. Wiles @ NetExpress, Inc. Virginia

()
In article <2030@uwmacc.UUCP>, wu@uwmacc.UUCP (peter wu) writes:
> ******
> My friend has a cat and I like to play with it. Once in a while
> the cat will lie on the floor with her stomach up for me to
> caress. But after caressing her for maybe 15 seconds, she would
> always grab my hand with her paws and bite my hand lightly (but
> still hurt a little).
> On one occasion she managed to scratch my hand.
> 
> Does anybody else have the same experience?
> Is it trying to tell me to get lost or is it playing?
> 
> peter

This is typical of cat PLAY. They love to do this, just be a *little*
careful of the claws  - they sometimes get a bit too serious about
their nibbling. When that happens, tap the cat's nose with your finger
and say "NO!" They'll usually stop dead in their tracks and look at you
with a typical "who, me??" look. Note the word "tap" - don't clobber the
poor thing. A feisty feline who persists would probably enjoy a catnip 
toy better than your hand.

AKL@DEC

Our female tabby did this with her kittens when they were only 4 or 5
weeks old.  She would lay on her side, hold one of them with her front
paws and then take a few shots at the kitten with her rear paws.  I've
known many cats that would do this with a human hand, but could not
believe it when I saw it happen with a young kitten.  Perhaps she was
doing some kind of education but it sure scared me the first time I saw
it.

Now the kittens ( we kept 2 from the litter ) do it to each other.
Those little suckers really play ROUGH!  They don't stop 'till one
manages to break the others' strangle hold.  Then they run arround the
living room, climb the drapes and do it all again.  I still don't claim
to understand what is going on, but it sure is entertaining!

-- 
Phil Cohen (phil@s3sun.CSS.GOV, sdcsvax!phil)

In article <2030@uwmacc.UUCP>, wu@uwmacc.UUCP (peter wu) writes:
> My friend has a cat and I like to play with it. Once in a while
> the cat will lie on the floor with her stomach up for me to
> caress. But after caressing her for maybe 15 seconds, she would
> always grab my hand with her paws and bite my hand lightly (but
> still hurt a little).
> On one occasion she managed to scratch my hand.
> Does anybody else have the same experience?
> Is it trying to tell me to get lost or is it playing?

	Hell, that cat's just playing with YOU.  All cats do that, unless
they are some sort of an unfriendly zombie.  Cats perform what I refer to
as a "triple threat", whereby they: (1) grab your hand with their front
feet so you can't let go, and maybe dig their claws in a bit, while (2) biting
you with their teeth, and at the same time (3) raking the hell out of your
arm with their REAR claws.
	That's just plain old fun for a cat (and people, too).

==>  Larry Lippman @ Recognition Research Corp., Clarence, New York        <==
==>  UUCP    {decvax|dual|rocksanne|rocksvax|watmath}!sunybcs!kitty!larry  <==
==>  VOICE   716/741-9185                {rice|shell}!baylor!/             <==
==>  FAX     716/741-9635 {G1, G2, G3 modes}    duke!ethos!/               <==
==>                                               seismo!/                 <==
==>  "Have you hugged your cat today?"           ihnp4!/                   <==

> > My friend has a cat and I like to play with it. Once in a while
> > the cat will lie on the floor with her stomach up for me to
> > caress. But after caressing her for maybe 15 seconds, she would
> > always grab my hand with her paws and bite my hand lightly (but
> > still hurt a little).
> > [...]
> > Does anybody else have the same experience?
> > Is it trying to tell me to get lost or is it playing?
> > 
> > peter
> 
> Every cat that I have known wants to wrestle when it rolls over on
> its back.  That seems to be an invitation for a "mock attack".  It
> sounds like your friend's cat is waiting for you to attack and, when
> you don't, decides to take the initiative.  
> [...]
> -- 
> 
> Ted Hopp	{seismo,umcp-cs}!nbs-amrf!hopp

Most cat's i've encountered seem to have some kind of pleasure/pain
threshold where they crave having their stomachs rubbed until some
moment when they abruptly do something to divert the rubbing,
usually attacking the hand and sometimes just jumping up and
running away.  There are a few cats i've met that are that way with
any petting; i've always been mystified by these.  Surprisingly,
both of my cats love to have their stomachs rubbed and never have
displayed that abrupt turnabout - in fact, they never seem to get
tired of it, though they don't always want to play that game in the
first place.  (In fact, they're unusual in other ways; one likes
(if that's what purring means) to be held over my head while i jump
around (calisthenic like) and even enjoys being swooped around like
an airplane, up to a point.  How'd i find this out?  One day when i
was feeling particularly exuberant and impulsive i picked up the
kitten and zoomed it around - lo and behold aggie liked it.  Molly
isn't similarly enthusiastic, though.)  I'd like to think that i'm
an especially sensitive and sensible petter, but i expect it has
something to do with some incidental circumstance.  I could never
tell whether the ambivalent response was neurosis or desire for
other kinds of play.  In fact, i suspect that my cats' tolerance
has something to do with the fact that they were neutered when they
were fairly young (6 mos), but i would hesitate to conjecture
further.  (?? Pretty peculiar if you ask me...-)

Ken Manheimer	...!seismo!nbs-amrf!manheime or manheime@nbs-amrf.uucp

(Everything leaks.  Not excessively; just enough.)

When cats play like that they are inviting a "mock fight" where noone
gets hurt.  It starts out to be just play but then the fighting
competitiveness comes into the battle and they start to get rougher.
They continue to get rougher and rougher until the submissive one
quits or one gets hurt.  The "winner's" ego is bolstered and that
animal further asserts his dominance.

You see this type of play on any wild kingdom show with young animals.
And you will see it in any pet which is growing up and finding its
place in the animal society.

When I play like this with my dogs or cats, sometimes I win and
sometimes I let them win.  It helps their self image of their fighting
ability and yet it keeps the cockey ones in their place.  If you win
all of the time, they soon will not want to play anymore with you
because of it.  They need to go into battle thinking that sometimes
they will come out the victor.

				Bill Landsborough
 
----

"Love is patient and kind; love is not jealous or boastful; it is not 
arrogant or rude... Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all
things, endures all things."   1 Corinthians 13:4-7

She is just playing....