Cat Attack

[curlily]

Cat owners: How do you prevent your cats from scratching at your head? My kitten is obsessed with playing with any loose strands of hair, and I like to wear my hear loose.

[-Fern]

:hmm: I don't believe it's ever come up for me. The only time my cat messes with my hair is if I'm trying to sleep in and she wants breakfast. She's very effective at making sure I stick to her routine. :lol:

It seems like it would be relatively simple to keep a kitten from reaching your head during playtime. Can you be more specific about what's going on when she's scratching?

[littlestarface]

Cats can't be controlled sadly I remember when I would visit my mom her cats would climb up my braid and another cat would try to chew it and another cat would paw at it. I had several chunks missing once and that's when I knew always wear it up no matter what.

[goneJackal]

My cats do play with my hair sometimes when it is hanging behind my chair or besides my bed.
One of them (Branquinho) particularly.

The solution was to educate myself to keep my hair out of his reach. It's easier than educating the cat. https://felipesv.websiteseguro.com/forum/k_gargalhada.gif

[Sarahlabyrinth]

It's probably just a kitten thing. Keep your hair out of his reach until he is older and more sensible.

[embee]

A dangling braid or tassel is irresistable. A curtain of hair is also irresistable. Hairsticks help a lot.

[MusicalSpoons]

I'd have thought the answer was obvious?

Our cat is now getting on for 18 and has never shown an interest in hair (though he was ~1yo when we got him) although it is possible to train him to relearn better behaviour when necessary.

I sometimes house-sit with a cat and a kitten and the kitten just goes wild whenever she sees hair, to the point where I have to make sure she can't see when I'm combing my hair in the morning. She's tried climbing up my braid, climbing up my loose hair, and when not climbing she tries to bat and play with it anyway - the only answer is to keep it up, unless I'm happy to sacrifice some hair in the name of cat training (I'm not). The family all have short hair so I *might* be willing to find a way of training if it were my own cat - wrap a scarf around my braid, or something; I don't know.

[CindyOfTheOaks]

My cat Louie doesn't mess with my hair but he will come running up to sit on the back of the sofa if I am re-doing a bun there.
Seems he has to watch to make sure I do it right :lol:

[Kalamazoo]

My cat has shown no interest whatsoever in my hair. But when she was a kitten, I trained her not to play with electrical cords. Whenever she took an interest in becoming an electrician, I'd gently say, "No, that's an electrical cord. Here, play with this string instead," & then play with her with the string.

[Cg]

My kitty, who slept with me his entire 19 years, pummeled my scalp and pulled at my hair every single night just as I lay down. (He also pushed my head off his pillow.) Since he didn't thump with any great force and it rather felt funny, I just let him.

[lithostoic]

What do you mean? Just move them away and say no. Then give them an appropriate hair-like toy, such as a shoelace. They will grow out of it as they get older. All 4 of mine did.

[Kalamazoo]

Paracord. Ah yes, paracord. Makes a great toy.

[Jo Ann]

I house-sat four cats for about six months, and two were still kittens. If I slept with my hair loose, one kitten in particular LOVED to play with it! I just put it in a rope braid and, whenever she tried to play with the braid, I would tell her "No" and set her down.

She eventually got the message :flower:

[Hexen]

I cant recall a time when my cat smacked my hair around. Upon thinking about it though, I kinda wish it would happen. Seems cute. (even if annoying). Have I been slow blinking at my cat for naught all this time though? She doesnt even give a crap about a laser pointer. I almost cant even believe how uninteresting it is for her. The lack of interest on her part was unexpectedly humorous though. :hmm:

[Kesali]

My oldest cat used to jump at loose strands of my hair when he was a kitten (and a scamp), but it's something he grew out of. Maybe yours will too? In the meantime, watching for signs of mischief should help.

[zashin66]

Hmm... I've had cats who play with hair and cats who could care less. I always appreciated the cats who knew how to give nice kitty massages on my shoulders and back.