Originally Posted by Freebase Dali

I would imagine that if you're around an animal that has sharp claws, and it being an animal, there would be an occasion in which its claws made contact with a person's skin when he or she was handling such an animal.

Do I think it's a declaration of war? No. Cat claws are basically the equivalent of human fingers. It's how they manipulate objects. It's part of their nature. They can use them defensively, or beneficially. You will know by which measure a cat is using its claws simply by analyzing how you are treating it and paying attention to its body language.

The only reason any cat owner should be getting scratched is if they create situations conducive to it, which often times means they are creating a play situation with a cat that may take it further than you intend, since it cannot read minds. As such, if you don't want to get scratched, you create a contact boundary that extricates your presence from a potential situation that you do not wish to be involved in.

Cat's don't just randomly walk up and scratch the hell out of you. And if they do, you raised it wrong.