If your cat is breaking the skin, you’ve got a problem.
My hand usually ends up scratched to hell and back, but only surface, never breaking skin because I’ve taught my fur baby what’s too much and what’s okay for play. Also helps that I keep her toe knives clipped. No regrets, I love a cat that likes to play
I’ve seen bites by an actual angry cat and I can ensure you those aren’t bites by cat standards.
Mine only scratches bleeding me when he gets too excited or I don’t watch out and move too fast. When I don’t do anything he stops and lets me leave.
This only happens if you teach your cat that hands are toys, mine have never bitten me.
Having had several cats, it depends a lot on the individual cat. The one we have now is our first biter. We’ve never used hands as playthings, she’ll be enjoying chin scritches and suddenly grab with paws and teeth. She doesn’t mean harm, her claws are retracted and she doesn’t chomp down hard, just rakes, but she doesn’t understand how sharp her teeth are and how fragile and furless our skin is. It doesn’t help that she was a singleton kitten at the shelter and the only cat she’s ever had to play with was toothless, so she “knows” that bites don’t hurt. Obviously I have tried all the “teach your cat not to bite” strategies, but she just doesn’t get it. We also have to restrict her toys and ban all ponytail holders from the house because she finds and eats them. Had to have a whole bunch endoscoped out. Tries to eat yarn and string too. Has a “salad” of grass every day. She just chompy!
One of ours shows affection by biting feet. Not hard but still painful. I bite him back on occasion.
It doesn’t work but it confuses the hell out of him and I guess that’s enough.
i had an ankle biter. i really miss that. she’d jump from ankle to ankle as you’d try to walk up the stairs.
I mean, if they are over stimulated, I might get nibbled on but not like the comic. It’s two Maine Coons so it takes a long time to get there. Same on string related things, loves to eat them so balloon strings are not allowed if the cats can reach it but I do provide them with cat grass or regular grass once in a while.
