My cat is mean...

[Socks]

My cat always wants to play mean. I know they are going to play once in a while, but not this rough. And she does it all the time like when I pick her up or when I try to pet her.:mad: I don't know what to do! Can anyone help me.

[Mkitty]

Hmmmm... Maybe ure kitty has an intestinal problem or something like that, and maybe it hurts ure kitty. Our kitty Nikka is sitting on my lap, and she has a kidney problem, and so when she needs to go to the bathroom and you pick her up, she can sometimes meow pretty loud. ;)

[felinefanatic]

I also have a cat with, at times a very nasty little attitude! Infact my little tuxedo cat "Catrina" looks like an angel but she hates to be picked up and often when she is playing, the claws come out for no apparent reason at all. :mad: :mad: But I still love and accept her for who she is and not for what I want her to be. Besides I know that under that cranky exterior of hers, she is hiding a heart of Gold! :) :)

[hootchlid]

what i would try doing is,find a toy they like to play IE A feather on a string or something they like doing.use it as kinda of a bribe,Let them play IE jump and chase and pet them and praise them alot when they catch the feather in their mouth.Just use it as a special time thing.I think after a week or so just make it short play times so they know they have to enjoy it while they can.I am sure the mean kitty will come out and go away for the most part,if they get mean put the feather straight away and say bad kitty or BK.Let them know "they have to be good"to play.Or use a sponge ball or what ever they like to play with..its worth a shot..

Hootch

[moosmom]

If you pick her up and she gets rough, put her down IMMEDIATELY, say "NO!!" very firmly and then walk away. This will let her know that kind of play will not be tolerated. It should take her long before she gets the idea. You can also try a spray bottle. Say no firmly and squirt her with the spray bottle, anywhere but in the face.

Good luck!

[BigCharles]

Originally posted by moosmom
If you pick her up and she gets rough, put her down IMMEDIATELY, say "NO!!" very firmly and then walk away. This will let her know that kind of play will not be tolerated. It should take her long before she gets the idea. You can also try a spray bottle. Say no firmly and squirt her with the spray bottle, anywhere but in the face.

Good luck!

The "NO!!" does work. I would also cry when the boy cat would try to hurt me. Loud, like a baby. I knew that he did not like loud noises. He would try to sulk off in the corner but he could not get away from the long, loud moans I would make.

[Pizzigatto]

What do you mean by "playing mean"? Is she literally playing roughly, or does she act agressively?
One of my cats used to play roughly when he was still a tiny little furball. It was quite funny to look at... but it was not fun at all when he grew up and kept playing that way... now with considerably more strenght and a better set of claws and teeth. He's not mean, in fact, he's quite sweet, but he somehow didn't grew to understand that he should be a bit easy on the game. This kind of behavior often results in a more nervous cat, because he feels he's being challenged all the time. Picking up and petting her might often be taken as a threat...
If the cat is already an adult, it's going to be hard to change it, so maybe you'll have to respect the fact that it's a permanent part of her caracter.
Try keeping a little treat at hand, so that whenever she plays nice or let herself be pet, you can reward her and make her understand that's the way to please you...

Hope this helps...