cat biting when I stop petting

Question
When I want to stop petting my cat she bites and scratches me.  I am 79 yrs old and adopted her from a shelter a couple of months ago.  She is about 1 yr old.

Answer
Hi Cathy,

I have a cat who does this too. She is doing this because she is trying to capture your hand and not let it go because she likes what you are doing. She doesn't want you to stop. She doesn't know that it is hurting you. She hasn't been trained not to grab without her claws. You can do a couple of things to stop her from doing this. When she goes to grab your hand blow in her face. Not a big breathe, just a puff.  This should start to break her of her habit of grabbing you. You can also grab her paw and gently squeeze it close so her claws aren't out. Or you can tell her "NO" in a loud voice when she tries to grab you. Anyone or all of these will stop her from doing the grabbing. Good luck and let me know how things work out.

Ciao, Karen