My Cat Scratched My Baby...I Need Advice
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I'd install a cat door to your cat's hidey hole. That way, closed or not, your cat has an escape route from the toddler. Also, keep in mind, you won't have a toddler forever. This too shall pass.
Actually, we plan on having more kids. So there will pretty much always be small kids in our home for the next 10 years or so. I also have lots of small nieces and nephews that come to our house.0 -
What about shutting the door for the room that your son sleeps in so the cat can't get in by him?? I have 2 cats and they were both declawed when they were a baby. I don't think it would be good to declaw a cat who is as old as yours is.0
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I had a similar situation with my first child....I had 2 cats at the time, one was fine with my son the other one was not and I ended up taking him to a no kill shelter....generally they have insanely long waiting lists but I gave them $ to buy another cage and they took him. I would wait on getting another kitten when your child is older.
Edited to add that declawed cats especially when declawed later in their years will want to protect themselves in other ways and may start biting. If this cat does not like your child then I don't think there are that many options.0 -
declaw the cat. I am an animal lover and have rescued stray dogs and cats just in case ppl start flaming me.
I would do this.
thirded. Every cat I've ever owned has been declawed & spayed. They were indoor cats.
^ This. If you really find it difficult to choose between declawing a temperamental cat that has already hurt your child, and your child, then I think a little contemplation of priorities is in order.0 -
We don't have a cat, but a dog, and I can tell you that if there was any indication that our dog would hurt ours, or anyone elses kids, as much as we love her, she would be finding a new home........the kiddos come first!!!
And keep an eye on that scratch........cat scratch fever isn't just a song!0 -
I am a veterinarian, and declawing is not sick! I don't agree with it 100% of the time, but if it is a means to keep a cat in the home instead of turning it loose outside, giving it away, or relinquishing it to a shelter, I am for it. But, you must take into consideration, cats have teeth too, and even if you declaw, a cat that does not like a child may still find other ways to express this behavior.
I don't think it is fair to replace your cat with another kitten. You're just perpetuating the idea that pets are disposable if they do something you don't like or agree with. I understand the risk to your baby, but think of the emotional trauma it may have to your cat.
Declawing is an option, there are pain medications, and if done properly, all cats heal and do just fine.
Consider this, the new kitten you get may in the end decide it does not like your baby either.
I would accept responsibility for the one you have, or find a loving home for it elsewhere.0 -
I had a mean cat and she started biting. I had to take her in to the shelter. I like to think that some nice person took that fat mean grey cat home. She was a PIA. I too have kids and always had kid friends over. Not a risk we were willing to take. Best of luck.0
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If it's a territory issue isn't it a risk to have her around the baby, declawed or not?
yes, and no.
if you declaw a cat, and it feels threatened, it will bite.
but cats can be trained.0 -
declaw the cat. I am an animal lover and have rescued stray dogs and cats just in case ppl start flaming me.
I agree...The front claws are only distructive claws they use the back ones for defense and climing. So leave the back ones in case the cat gets outside.0 -
I would declaw the cat. Your toddlers safety should trump the comfort of your cat. Then you get to keep the cat without worrying about this or something worse happening. Especially if you plan to have more kids.0
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"She has never liked children, and we knew that..."
And yet you still brought a baby into the home? :huh:
You have a few choices, but bottom line: your baby comes first. I love animals, but humans matter more.0 -
Honestly, getting a new cat that is raised around kids isn't going to solve your issue. The cat could still get pissed off and scratch your child.
Giving your cat away seems more inhumane than declawing it at this point. I am all for declawing because that is what we have done with the multitude of cats we have rescued, but if you are truly against it then I would file and cap the cat's nails.0 -
*Declawing her. I've always been sort of against this procedure, as I feel it's inhumane and usually unnecessary, and putting my six-year old adult cat through a painful and whoppingly traumatic surgery (that is usually only done on small babies) that could very well depress her and alter her personalty for the rest of her life, well, that also breaks my heart.
You should talk to your vet, I know there are caps you can have glued overtop of their claws. Kind of like fake nails but doesn't harm them in anyway but dulls the claw. My friend does them to her cats all the time (they will eventually grow out and need to be replaced periodically)0 -
I am glad that your son is okay. Very fortunate! I think you see lots of suggestions beyond giving your kitty away or declawing her. Animals - even non cranky ones - sometimes bite and scratch. They don't mean it. If you love the kitty and want to keep her as part of your growing family, trim or cap those claws, give her a place to escape that is kid-proof so that she isn't "bothered" by curious little ones and as early on as possible, teach your babies that "kitty is afraid of you" so they don't approach her. Just my thoughts...good luck with this and again, I'm glad your son's injury wasn't super serious (even if it is still super scary!)0
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Time to get rid of the baby!
(*gets shot*)
I love animals, but in this situation, I don't think de-clawing is inhumane. Good luck!0 -
My advice is to get a dog.
Agreed! And a puppy at that. (Sorry, we take from the OP's post what we want to!)
We had a dog that had to be re-homed when he started growling at our then 7 month old daughter. The other dog she could pull the ears off and he'd let her but I'll never leave them alone together.0 -
Get rid of that old, crazy cat. Your child's safety comes first0
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My cat has scratched my son on multiple occasions, never with the intent to hurt him, but merely as a byproduct of her swiping at him.
She's never been big on kids (namely loud, screechy kids like my kiddo), and we knew this when we had our son. But giving her away was never an option, and frankly, my son eventually needed to know that you need to respect the personal space of animals as well as people.
Unfortunately, he's going on 3, and has selective hearing, LOL.
So when we tell him, "Ben, leave Sabrina alone," and he doesn't, and continues to pester her, yeah, he gets a little scratch on the leg or hand or arm. He gets his feelings hurt more than anything, we clean it up and put an Angry Birds bandage on the scratch.
As time has gone on, though, he's learning more and more to just leave her alone. If it had been more of an issue, say, if she were scratching him out of pure evil malice, yeah, we'd take more drastic measures.
What it sounds like is your cat was scared and reacted because you guys didn't make sure his perceived "safety" was handled. That's more operator error than kitty's fault, in my opinion.
Take the time to really socialize your cat with baby, to show your baby that firstly, kitty needs their boundaries respected, and to show kitty that, despite the loud noises, baby is mostly harmless. Getting rid of a cat because of something like this is really unfair to the cat.0 -
Id say get the caps or go with getting declawed! A lot of people are against it but do what you have to Id much rather get my cat declawed then have to get rid of it! we have 2 cats and we had to have them declawed to live in the house we rent one is older and was cranky he has actually become a lot more cuddly and friendly since but im not saying thats why and the other cat acted fine as well no visible changes in personality in a negative way0
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I had this situation when my older daughter was younger. And believe it or not, it worked itself out. Your kid is not stupid, he will learn to leave kitty alone. In no way am I trying to minimize what happened, but it probably isn't as bad as it seems.
Now my grumpy cat gets along great with my now twelve year old daughter. But my now 16 year old cat hates my two year old with the intensity of the sun. So we relearn how to leave the kitty alone and everyone is happy.
I would never declaw.0
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