Dewey is not, generally, a nippy cat. Sometimes, however, he just for some reason will chase your ankle, wrap his legs around it, and give you a nip. I suppose this is either some prey drive or a way they play amongst themselves, but I don’t want it to continue. Yelling “Goddamn it, asshole!” doesn’t work. In fact, I can’t imagine that punishments or anything would really work on cats at all. I don’t know what makes him decide to do it sometimes and not others - there doesn’t seem to be a common thread. Opinions?
That’s how my cat tells me she wants to play. She usually gets me on the way down the stairs. I turn quick, thunk my hand on the step, and wrestle with her for a few minutes. She understands pain, though, and won’t scratch or bite too hard. She retracts her claws when going for the ankles, so I don’t find the “attack” bothersome.
Start carrying a water-filled spray bottle. And laugh like a maniac when you shoot 'im so he knows someone else has the upper hand.
Have you tried wearing army boots?
I’ve heard that rubbing catnip on your ankles is a good home remedy. Let me know how it works out.
He knows the spray bottle, though. When I’m holding it (or even reaching for it) he’s on his Best Behavior.
I can’t just let him keep doing it, one day I’m going to accidentally kick him in the head! (Well, I do that all the time anyway, but no need to do it more often.) Also it scares me, makes me nervous, and might trip me. I think he’s treating me like another cat, but I don’t have all kinds of fur and a low center of balance.
When I was dating my now-husband, he had an obnoxious, nasty cat that would attack your ankles whenever it wanted to be fed. It did this to me one day when I was carrying a heavy book, and I dropped it… right on to the cat. From then on, my ankles remained unmolested though others weren’t so lucky (dear kitty nearly took a one-way trip to the vet when he pulled this stunt on poor frail Grandma, who was staying at the house while recovering from a stroke).
Obviously I wouldn’t recommend dropping heavy items on your cat deliberately, but it did show that they can be taught an aversion to the behaviour. The squirted water suggested above is perhaps the kindest way to make your cat think twice.
I tap them on the nose every time they do it. It doesn’t prevent it from ever doing the nipping. I does stop most of it.
Punt the little fucker across the room. Either it’ll work or you’ll feel better. Or both.
Truthfully, it won’t hurt it.
What cazzle did, only in my case the ankle attack caused me to spill coffee. Hot coffee.
The ankle-swiping has not recurred.
Hell, that broke me up.
I second the opinion that your cat may be looking for attention, either for food or play. I’ve usually seen this behavior in young cats who are kept by themselves. They get so bored, that when you finally get home, they go cazy and try to wrestle with the only part of you they can reach, your ankles.
Try keeping toys scattered around the house so you can grab one and play with the cat the next time she does it. Laser pointers are favorites for cats with too much energy. Increasing the number of times you play with her overall will likely help reduce the frequency of attacks. Most vets I’ve worked with recommend 5 minutes a day for kitty’s physical and mental wellbeing.
Probably don’t want to feed her when she does it, though. Not as good an association to make, and most cats have weight issues already (not to say your kitty is chubby, just a standard response)
Make sure you don’t have any bare skin on display - apparently the little blighters like the “feel” of flesh in their teeth…
I’ve actually been considering getting another cat as a playmate for Dewey, maybe after I get back from a trip I’m taking. Thing is, the dog’s already all messed up because he hates the cat and has to be seperated, and my boyfriend doesn’t like the idea. I also don’t want to accidentally upset poor Dewey, who has gotten to like being top cat in this house. So I was thinking, maybe a kitten. But I don’t really want a kitten - adopting adult cats makes me feel virtuous, and I don’t want to have to deal with kitty adolescence.
He is practicing cat things. He is a little killer wrapped up in a cute little body. My cat waits outside and grabs your leg like ali on attacking a zebra. I am glad when I have thick pants on.
I’m betting you were going for “A lion attacking a zebra”, but the mental image of Muhammad Ali punching a zebra in the face is making my day.
This might not be a bad idea. When my boyfriend and I got our first cat, Tyberius, he was hell on wheels - attacking my feet (or any other available body part), getting into things he shouldn’t, waking us up in the middle of the night by jumping all over the bed, and on and on. I was pretty upset, because I loved him to pieces, but he was making me miserable.
Then we got our second cat, Isadora, and he mellowed out more than I would have thought possible - it’s like he’s a different cat. Sure, he still has his moments, and now we get to deal with he and his sister waking us up by scuffling on the bed in the middle of the night, but he seems much happier. I know I am.
It’s the only kind of pouncing he’s really good at. He’s not exactly a great hunter - he catches flies pretty well, but then can’t figure out how to kill them. He met his first giant cockroach a few weeks ago - it was hilarious, bad hunter against stupid cockroach. Dewey was scared to death of the roach, and the roach thought it was hidden under a piece of paper when its whole back end was sticking out. It was a clash of the mental midgets. I had to go rescue the cat, who had scared himself into a corner and wouldn’t come out past the roach. I guess my ankle is prey he can actually catch.
Now, that’s funny right there…
Almost as funny as when our dog (then 6 month old pup) took 20 Minutes to defeat a leaf (yes, a LEAF from a TREE) that had wandered (been blown) into our backyard… didn’t help that everytime the pup thought the leaf was ‘defeated’ that the wind would make it move just a bit…
Never a video camera around when you need it…
That’s the first thing I thought of too.
If the cat is truly feline, it will then bide its time until you are asleep and then use your legs as a scratching post.
Wrap your ankles in double-stick tape? 
You know, that’s really not a half-bad idea. I mean, it sounds ridiculous, but then it would probably only take a few pounces for him to realize that, like the windowsill and the side of the laundry hamper, my ankles are no fun to claw and chew. And I don’t have to be carrying the water bottle or kick him in the face (and honestly, he’s faster than I am on the face kicking thing. He just often puts his face where my foot is.)