> I'll never understand how cat owners are so okay with this … Cases of significant infection are rare enough that it isn't on people's minds, even more so for

> I'll never understand how cat owners are so okay with this … Cases of significant infection are rare enough that it isn't on people's minds, even more so for indoor-only pets that are not exposed to as many infection vectors as their roaming brethren. Especially these days when the vast majority of any such infections that do occur are easily treatable (this may swing back as resistance to current antibiotics continues to increase). > sometimes even finding it cute Often it is cute. A lot of the time it is kitten-like play fighting and most cats are careful not to puncture because it is play (though they usually don't quite understand that our skin is easier to break than another cat's) – some like my old boss will act all vicious (swipes, grabs, and disembowel-y kicks) with claws entirely retracted when applied to a hand/arm/leg but not when attacking a toy (they got the full tooth & claw treatment from her!). My current cats (adopted recently when they were >10 years old so not “play-trained” in my environment) don't mean me any harm but are less careful, so I need to be a bit more cautious as a result. Of course this varies a lot by circumstance. Particular cats have very different attitudes & levels even if brought up the same way from kittenhood, some cats could be OK but were not taught appropriate boundaries when young, and some humans are just too daft (ignorant to the body language of the animal they want to play with) to be able to tell the difference between play and a cat genuinely wanting them to get stuffed or die trying.