If your cat attacks you to play, he may pounce on you, attack your feet or legs , nibble, scratch and do anything to get you to play with him. If you want your cat to stop attacking you with it, here’s why it does it and especially how to stop it.
My cat attacks me to play: The causes and their different solutions
If your cat attacks you to play, here are the different causes that can push it. For each, I explain to you how to be sure that it is the good cause and especially how to make sure that your cat stops its behaviors
Know that in general, ignoring him will make him stop, and that punishing him violently will make him lose his confidence in you and he will end up being afraid of you.
He has energy to spend
Your cat, if he wants to play with you and attacks you to play, has a surplus of energy to spend and you must ensure that he can spend all his energy, especially if he is an indoor cat. For this, you can obviously play with him, even if that is not enough, make sure he can take care of himself.
For example, when you’re not around, you can make sure he has something to play with, balls or mice are a good start, but for maximum energy expenditure, there are other much more effective toys.
For starters, the cat wheel, allowing her to run on it for hours and hours whether or not you’re present in the room. Especially young cats need a lot of exercise.
Then, to help him also sharpen his hunting instincts, which is why he plays, you can take him a food puzzle, which will also allow him to be able to manage his food intake.
Finally, interactive toys can excite him for hours and he will be much calmer when he sees you. For example, the famous interactive fish on which he can let off steam for hours, allowing him to sharpen his natural hunting instinct.
He wants to strengthen his bond with you
If your cat jumps on you to play when you come home or leave, he probably wants to spend more time with you. So if as soon as you come home or leave, he jumps on you, make sure you spend time with him, like sleeping with him or spending time with him.
In the first stage of their life, cats will need a lot of attention and will be able to bond. You can even sleep with him to make him feel close to you.
Your body is a toy
Yes, said like that, it’s very weird, but cats love their feet, for example, because their feet look like mice and they love attacking them, sometimes it’s even their legs, which are slower and height.
So if your cat has his specialties in your body, redirect his attention and be firm without being violent to make him understand. But again, giving him a toy that trains him to hunt will then give him another more interesting object to train him to hunt.
He has a behavior problem
A cat that is restless all the time is probably hyperactive and in this case, if you have a cat that is out of control and never loses its energy, going to see a behaviorist will help you get its behavior corrected.
Cats weaned too early have not learned good behaviors well and are more likely to be restless all the time. As a last resort, going to see a veterinarian will be essential.
He is not neutered
An unneutered cat is necessarily more violent and more aggressive, and if it cannot mate, your cat may attack you to play, to get rid of all its energy due to the heat. I can only recommend that you castrate him in the future.
If your cat has access to the outside, then it is even more advisable, even if it seems paradoxical, because cats which have access to nature and which are not neutered take much more risks, and their life expectancy is greatly reduced.
You hit a nerve
Cats don’t like having their ears touched, for example, so maybe you touched an area they don’t like, such as their belly or tail, to name a few. If the sensitive point is not normally problematic, there may be a problem at this level, not necessarily external, and which must be closely monitored.
For example, it could be internal bleeding in the worst case, so if your cat shows signs of weakness, such as mobility problems for example. In this case, take him to the vet if the situation does not change quickly.
He was badly weaned
Cats are weaned by their mother, and it is necessary that the weaning takes place naturally, otherwise the cats will have behavior problems. If yours shows this type of problem, it was probably weaned too soon or late and you will have to go see a behaviorist if ever the education of cats is not possible by natural means.
Generic solutions
There are several generic solutions if you want immediate results. The first is to pace the game, slowing down when your cat is going too hard to get his energy level under control.
The second is to punish him by ignoring him, so that he associates excess energy with something negative. And if he behaves well, reward him for creating a positive association in his head.
Finally, if he is too aggressive, diffuse an anti-stress spray for cats which will ensure that he naturally stops being too violent.
My cat attacks me to play: The final word
It is normal for a young cat to want to play, but there are limits and if he does it too violently, make sure he can stop his behavior by finding the precise cause and acting on the root of the problem. of your cat.