Owners should avoid wrestling or using their hands and feet as toys for playfully aggressive cats. It is better to use a stuffed sock or one of the toys mentioned above to play with your cat. Remote forms of punishment may be used as a means of discouraging inappropriate play only if the cat also has opportunities for acceptable play. This approach seldom corrects the problem and can have some nasty results. Your cat may become more aggressive, afraid of you, or both.
Punishment alone is never an effective treatment.
Resolving play-motivated aggression problems must include encouraging the cat to play appropriately and may include remote punishment techniques designed to discourage the cat from showing undesirable play behaviors. It is not uncommon for cats to suddenly bite while being petted. This behavior is not well understood, even by experienced animal behaviorists. For whatever reason, petting which the cat was previously enjoying apparently becomes unpleasant. Cats vary in how much they will tolerate being petted or held.