Reply #18: You are the victim of your own gentle nature.

[Mike K]

A cat's claws are weapons as well as tools and they are well aware of that. A cat should be taught early on that using its weapons or its tools to motivate its human is not permitted and the way to impart that lesson is exactly as its mother cat would do it -- by thumping.

Anyone who has ever kept and observed a litter of kittens has seen the mother quite naturally discipline her brood by thumping those who misbehave, and the soundness of the thumping occurs in proportion to the severity of the offense. Your cats should have learned long ago that you do not tolerate the use of their claws on you for any reason. I have two big, healthy male cats, a Maine Coon and a Tuxedo, neither of whom ever use their claws in the house except on their scratching posts. They know better.

Failure to impart that lesson could have cost you your eye -- or worse.