Unfortunately, George doesn’t know any better ’cause he’s been biting hands for a while with no repercussions. There’s a toy you can buy that’s a glove with long fingers and toys on the end of each one. I’ve seen it in pet stores as well as online. Maybe if you got your husband one he could play with George without getting bit.
It’s hard to train a cat, but not impossible. Cats just don’t think like dogs or people. On top of which, George is probably picking up your stress levels.
It sounds like you really want to be a good cat mommy, but you just don’t have the experience yet. It takes patience and more patience to train a cat. When he does something right, you need to lavish him with praise (treats help, too.) It just isn’t very effective to try and punish a cat after the fact; they don’t know what they are getting in trouble for. Like people, they react a lot better to praise.
When you are at the pet store, buy some sticky strips that you can put on your furniture to discourage scratching. When you see him eying the furniture, pick him up and carry him to his post. When he scratches it, act like you never saw a more amazing thing in your life.
Ditto with the hand biting. If he bites, pull the hand away immediately and say “NO”. Then replace it with something he can play rough with and tell him how cute and good he is.
It won’t happen overnight, but if you are patience and constant, he will learn.
And please, if he does become more than you can handle, let your TDK friends know. We will try really hard to find him another home.