How do I stop my cats from biting?

[SilveryMoon]

I have 2 7 month old cats. They are lovely, very relaxed most of the time, but very playful and boistrous with each other.
My only problem with them, is that they keep biting me! Not in a nasty way, I think they're just playing but it still hurts a bit and is a PITA when they're doing it at 3am!
They are also using my legs as their scratch pads although they have a very big scratch tree.
What am I supposed to do to stop the biting? A friend suggested squirting them with water. Seems a bit mean though.......

When our cats bite (I think they all do this, because they do it to each other as play), I just remove my hand/arm/whatever they have bitten and say Ow! loudly and then leave them alone for a bit. After a while they get the message.

Ok. Thank you. That's what I've been doing.

You've just brought back memories of when my cats were younger and went through the 'bite your feet under the duvet' stage ahhhh, what a great phase that was!

The only consolation I can give you is that they WILL grow out of it, honestly!

In the meantime all you can do is hiss at them when they do it (they understand a hiss better than shouting), and hope they gradually get the hint! You could use a water spray but I don't like the risk of getting them in the eye, and you don't want them to become afraid of you (or water!). A tin with some coins in is also a good deterrant, just shake it at them when they do it.

In the meantime, lots of savlon!

Ok, thanks MrsL Will try those. The water spraying seems a bit brutal so I will try the hissing and the money jar.