Rough housing with Buddha?

Question

My husband has fallen head over heels with our 5 month old kitten, buddha.
But ...
He loves to rough house with the cat. He gets his work gloves on and rolls the cat back and forth ... rubs his tummy ... gives him a gently throw onto the couch ... holds and gives him kisses.

Buddha will run off and then hide and ambush my husband and seemingly wants to continue to play.

My hubby tuckered him out ... the little guy is fast asleep.

Here is my question ... is it ok to rough house (which includes Buddha biting). This has turned out to be a strong "bonding" time, but is it ok in the disipline area?

Some direction -- should I let them play or what??

Thanks much!

Answer 1

I would ditch the gloves and don't encourage biting during play. My husband did pretty much the same thing with our first cat-it was cute when she was little, but when she grew up she would bite so hard that she would sometimes draw blood. You'd be better off with chase toys-things on fishing poles, laser pointers, etc. so you can have bonding and chasing time, without teaching him that human hands are for biting.

Answer 2

If you and your husband could handle a fully grown kitty's bites *which can be pretty hard) and claws... well, its your call. Personally, I never encourage "rough play" with any animal(or children for that matter) becuase it could easily escalate into something vicious. You can still have heaps of fun with your kitty minus the rough play.

Answer 3

the prob might be that your cat will grew into an aggressive biting and want to have it his way type. its OK to play but its not OK to use the hands or any other body part as a toy. your cat will bite u playfully and then it'll bite guests or other family members. give him toys he could play with, not your hands.