As the others said, keep those little kitty claws trimmed. You'll have to do it a LOT, since baby claws grow so fast, but it'll be worth it, because they'll get used to having their nails trimmed, and you won't hurt so much.

Our Mozart used to be BAD about it, and he's now a 10 lbs fatty who just lays around all the time. Noodles would climb all the way up to my hip! Keep those claws trimmed discouraged it, because he couldn't get a good grip, and fell down a lot, so he quit bothering.

Good luck!