1. I know there are a couple times when it may sound/look like he got thwapped against the couch, he didn't. Sometimes a tail whack to the floor sounds worse than that. But anyone that's had a Coonie knows their tail is one of the strongest of domestic cat tails.
2. I know he sounds pissed off, and he kinda is. But as you see, when he really wants to go, I let him go. If he didn't want to play, he wouldn't.
3. Don't EVER try this with your cat. I've had 8 years to figure this cat out. Why do you think I have the big ol' winter glove? He can bite and claw through that, but rarely does. It's a safety tool. Notice also you never see my head in the shot - I'm not stupid enough. Sweet and bonded as we are, he's fighting with instinct at this point. The bigger the target, the more likely he's going to go for it.
4. Always give an animal an out - and a way to know it's over. That's why the glove is left in the middle of the floor - so he knows it's over. I do this with Boo also, though he gets a kiss on the head as well. Different cats, different styles. This is why I don't want to see anyone replicating - or trying to replicate - my style. If I tried to kiss Curzon after a boxing match, I'd be mauled. But if I just put the glove on the floor, Nimbus wouldn't know it was over. Please, do NOT try this at home!
5. ENJOY THE PLAYFIGHT! And remember, it may be just play, but this is how I trained my cats from the beginning, and why I am so confident in them as hunters. Jadzia has had her issues, yes, but even she survived her bouts of freedom because I taught her how to fight. This is stuff a mamacat would teach her kittens, but since I rescued these two so young, I had to teach them. It was a learning process for all of us. And don't think they fight alike, because they don't. Jadzia won't playbox with me, only with one of the other two cats (poor Nimbus especially).
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