I remember playing with my friends pet cats when I was little. One minute I was like: awwww funny cats, cute cats, lovely cats… the next I looked like casualty of war.

People with pet cats often make the mistake of using their hands and fingers as toys for cats while they are still young. This way your kitten associates your hands with hunting. Hunting is a hard instinct for the cat to break so never reinforce it by playing in this way at any time. Of course scratches make you vulnerable to cat scratch fever or cat scratch disease. In healthy humans, cat scratch fever usually clears up on its own without treatment but it can be very painful and it’s extremely dangerous to people with compromised immune systems.

So with variety of toys for cats, don’t use your hands for playing. And, no declawing either, because it can lead to physical, emotional and behavioral complications in your pet cats. It is not as trivial as trimming fingernails. A cat’s claws are a vital part of its anatomy, essential to balance, mobility and survival.

“Those who will play with cats must expect to get scratched.” ~ Miguel de Cervantes