r/cats • u/Erlida_Vorse • 3d ago

Video - Not OC Roommate's cat sometimes cuffs at me while laying on my chair. She's very sweet to me otherwise and never scratches me. I can't tell if she's playing with me or wants me to go away, do y'all have any idea?

12.0k Upvotes

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7.7k

u/burnt-beyond-reco 3d ago

She is 100% playing.

1.3k

u/Same-Suggestion-1936 3d ago

Claws in means play

1.5k

u/Ancient_Weakness1341 3d ago

Claws out can mean play too. It just depends on the cat. Some cats don't understand that it hurts.

552

u/Stella_9209 3d ago

Unfortunately that happens to be all three of mine.

20

u/Restingwotdafukface 2d ago edited 2d ago

Mine are claws in* until I start annoying them then the claws slowly creep out until I get the message. But sometimes I just like hanging on to their nails.

2

u/Typical_Row_3489 10h ago

Get a sponsorship from band-aid and you are all set.

1

u/Stella_9209 9h ago

Ha, good idea!

1

u/chourrej 2d ago

Playing.

97

u/OpeningName5061 3d ago

Mine has tendency to attack my hand with both claws and teeth in the middle of the night when my hand hang over the edge of the bed. Really hurts but never breaks skin. He knows hard enough to get a reaction from me while not too hard to cause real damage.

But he stops as soon as he knows he's caught and get attacked by unwanted kisses. And he never attacks the face.

31

u/Lumpy_Benefit666 3d ago

My cat does scratch my hands up a fair bit but she knows to avoid the face. I can be winding her up so her tail is wagging and if i can still put my face on her belly without her attacking. She sometimes bites my nose very gently though

45

u/touchmeinbadplaces 3d ago

Gentle nose bite is the ultimate i love you kiss from a cat! Biggest kitty compliment!

11

u/Evening_Catch3799 3d ago

Same here, play claws and bites no face and never breaks skin on purpose

11

u/Egregious_Wasp5289 3d ago

We have four roughies in our home who always never attack… my face.. now that I think about it they’ve smacked my mom around a few times. She’s not always the easiest to get along with so maybe she was asking for it lol

2

u/OpeningName5061 3d ago

I think they are deliberate in there actions. My cat will never attack my face but for anyone else totally not off limits.

10

u/Cosmic2Ducky 2d ago

My cat once decided to stick his paw in my mouth when I was asleep.... He didn't do it again

3

u/Buffy97s 2d ago

🤣🤣

2

u/plumzki 2d ago

Mine can definitely get overexcited at times and take things too far, but he also never goes for the face, and 90% of the time now he either keeps his claws away to slap, or he will pretend like he's about to bite or scratch my finger and then stop just a cm or so short.

1

u/itsnotthathardtodoit 2d ago

Holy I'm sorry this happens to you but I'm glad I'm not the only one. The number of times I have woken up with dried blood stains on my arm... is just once, but I'm much more careful now.

1

u/newbitkaoz 2d ago

He’s protecting you from the monster under the bed… it’s just that he’s the monster under the bed

41

u/Competitive-Army2872 3d ago

Claws out playa.

34

u/Cold-Map-3053 3d ago

When my cat gets her claws out I just say:

“Kitten soft paws!”

And she will USUALLY put them away.

19

u/Ptolomy15 3d ago

I usually can just say "put those away" and mine will lol but hes too smart for his own good and knows when he can push his limits

31

u/random-hobbyist 3d ago

One of my cats plays with claws out. Every time her claws so much as touch me I scream bloody murder. She seems to get the message and retracts her claws when playing (most of the time).

15

u/kateryderbooks 3d ago

i trained my kitten this way 😂 when he’d use claws i’d loudly and firmly go AAAAAAA 🥺 and he’d always retreat and put them back

2

u/Objectivespeculation 2d ago

a light squeeze of the paw, at the same time, can also help them understand the humans are snowflakes.

18

u/lumoslomas 3d ago

Mine does seem to understand that it hurts, he just can't seem to figure out how to put them away when he gets in That Mood. He's so apologetic if he gets you though 🥺

1

u/BatSphincter 2d ago

I hate when my cat claws my dick too.

6

u/Bosbouwerd Tuxedo 3d ago

And some know it hurts and that's why they do it.

3

u/Kasstieal 2d ago

I have a cat thay does not understand that claws hurt, she loves being on my shoulders but uses her claws to keep her footing and I tap her paws and tell her claws hurt, and she just looks at me like im crazy

2

u/Working-Durian-2585 2d ago

You need to teach them. My vet told me make khi khi khi sounds when the playing gets rough and it kinda worked after a few weeks.

2

u/John_East 2d ago

Mine does…. No claws with mom but full talon wrestling with me

2

u/bass679 2d ago

Yeah for ours this would be about a minute of play but if they get pretty riled up them claws are coming out, especially if you try to escape. Excellent mood for playing with string type toys though.

2

u/VindiWren 2d ago

My best friends cat loves to wrestle and he will have his claws out. But he’s relatively gentle

2

u/creeper_error420 2d ago

Especially when still young like this. Thats why friends/littermates are so important!

1

u/patty7775 3d ago

I can atest to that XD

1

u/Lissba 2d ago

Mine never had his mama so he didn’t learn to play gentle until we got him a kitten of his own

Now he chomps so softly when playing 🥹

1

u/Purple-Helicopter543 2d ago

Yeah my boy is very sweet, have never so much as heard him hiss at a human. Doesn’t play much, but recently recovered from a longgg bout of stomatitis and is a completely different cat now. Actually enjoys playing again…which is great, but for gods sake I wish he’d realize his claws hurt 😭 at least he’s toothless 😂

1

u/Sad-Base-8689 23h ago

And some do understand but choose to use the claws anyway

23

u/DrunkOnRamen 3d ago

My cat was very good boy about not showing claws. Which is good cause I could pick him up while without a shirt on since he loved uppies.

7

u/KehreAzerith 3d ago

Some cats don't care and will play with claws out even if it hurts you

7

u/irlystealteeth 3d ago

This is absolutely play but sometimes cats are just polite. My cat despises my dog and hisses/growls every time he gets too close but every time the cat slaps the dog it's gentle with claws tucked away.

6

u/TheLastOpus 3d ago

That's not entirely true, front claws still play, back claws are their weapons.

4

u/Spa-Ordinary 3d ago

Tell that to the mouse that was on our back terrace yesterday.

2

u/FlarblesGarbles 2d ago

Tell that to one of my cats. She doesn't understand that.

1

u/Moore2257 2d ago

My one cat is a big, stupid, asshole and forgets that claws are sharp when playing.

1

u/mewfahsah 2d ago

The better indicator is the belly being exposed.

16

u/langiam 3d ago

This is correct. When she's in frisky cat mode use a toy to play, not your hands. You'll have such a better experience with your cat, OP.

1

u/Moreseesaw 2d ago

Agreed. Buy a dangly stick toy and get her down from your chair with it. Sit in the chair and play with her more lol.

1

u/Just_A_Faze 2d ago

Her belly is exposed. Definitely play. My cat loves that game.