My Friend's Cat...To Pet Or Not To Pet

[iamjoy]

so, my friend recently moved to central Florida from Albuquerque and while he is getting settled in to his new apartment, his cat is staying with us.

The cat has this beautiful, thick black coat. Right now, he is lying on my desk doing the cute thing with his head curved over, looking all cute and sweet, practically begging to be pet.

But, I know this cat. He tends to bite. And he has set me up before, rolling over on his back and looking at me all sweet then when I go to rub his belly, grabbing my arm with all four paws and tryin to take a chomp on it.

So, do I take a chance? If not, how do I resist?

[DS1]

1. that's the game

go for right between his front legs, not the softer underbelly, and you might be okay

[Ratty]

2. How hard does he bite?

I'm a very bad cat owner as I've trained Kitty to fight and wrestle with just about anyone. I encourage her to grab ahold of me with her claws and dig in when I make a grab for her soft belly. I love to wrestle with her. We have unspoken rules--I never use both hands (she runs away immediately if I bring the other hand into play), and I can't overpower her with my strength. If her paw blocks my grabbing hand it is blocked. If she pins my hand down and starts biting I can't just pull it immediately away but have to flop it like a bird and struggle and squirm to escape. I only realize how bad this is when a guest goes to play with her. But she does not bite hard nor do her claws penetrate very deeply, she really is just being playful. Now the OTHER cat where I live is a true bitch. You comes up to you wanting to be pet and after a couple of pets she literally turns on you and bites HARD drawing blood. It is not playful because hisses and flattened ears follow. I just don't know what's up with her but I don't like her at all.

[iamjoy]

4. More Like The Second Cat

draws blood.

But, he doesn't hiss after it. He stays where he is and just looks at you like nothing happened.

[RevCheesehead]

3. Put your hand nearby and let him sniff you.

When he rolls over (right-size up), you should be able to pet safely. And never, ever, ever pet a cat while towering over them - approach them from the side, and let them see what you're doing.
Let them sniff, let them see what you're doing, and you should be fine.

[Poiuyt]

5. Try petting the whiskers alongside his mouth (go with the grain)

They like the feeling since they have scent glands there. Just use the back of your fingers