My Cat Scratched My Baby...I Need Advice

While I don't typically agree with declawing, if you really wanted to keep the cat and ensure that your little one doesn't get hurt, I think I could make an exception in this case.

Claw clipping could "help" but it's not going to solve the problem, they can still scratch though the scratches won't be as bad with blunt claws. Also consider that your cat might not even let you do that, depending on it's personality. The same thing goes for those rubber tip thingies. Though they might be a great solution, kitteh might kill you in the process!

What a situation to be in...it's hard for me to even think of one solid suggestion for you. I have two cats and can't imagine what I would do in your predicament. However, I can safely say that baby's welfare needs to come first...so...I would go with the following suggestions (in this order:

Try to clip/tip, see how that works for you.
Give kitty a squirt from a water bottle when he's near the baby and say NO!...hopefully he'll associate the squirt with baby and keep his distance. Hell, I taught both of mine to give paw and that's much harder! :laugh:
Declaw or find a new good home if all else fails.

Good luck!

I don't think you have to get rid or her or declaw her. Declawing is, without a doubt, pretty damn awful. They do, however, make these rubber cap things called "Soft Paws" that you can glue to your kitty's claws after to trim them which make it so she can't scratch things. As you said, also make sure she has an escape route at all times. It doesn't sound as though she was being malicious. She just felt cornered and lashed out.

I also agree with maab_connor. It's never to early to teach your child how to act around an animal. You can always expect an animal to act like an animal, but it's difficult to gauge what a human is going to do. Your son should be old enough to understand that playing rough with an animal is going to terrify it and trigger nasty consequences.

I would get the cat declawed. Even if you are against it or typically don't think it's necessary, it seems to be the best option.

Putting the cat outside when it's typically been an indoor cat IS irresponsible and you're putting the cat at risk.

Giving it away to a non-kill shelter won't be easy as most don't take in owner surrendered cats because they are full to capacity with strays (I am a animal shelter volunteer and cat rescuer.)

Giving it away to just turn around and get another cat is even more irresponsible, especially since you said "a baby kitten." Take it from me, I just adopted a 3 legged 6 month old cat from an abuse situation (how he lost his leg) who is the SWEETEST kitten you'll ever come across but he still bites, scratches, claws at stuff and plays just like ALL kittens will. Just because you get a kitten who someone says is good with kids, doesn't guarantee he/she won't scratch at them, it's natural instinct.

Your best bet is to get your cat declawed.

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.

This is what I would do... Cat's don't just scratch for the hell of it... they are usually either playing or agitated. Also if the cat agitates easily I would get a pheromone diffuser and place it in the areas the cat frequents. You can buy them at Petsmart or the Vets office. It should calm the kitty down.

If the stars line up right, and it's a full moon tonight, you could be the proud mother of a Were-cat. With a little determination and hard work, your baby may join the ranks of the Thunder Cats.

Seriously, declawing hurts the cat. The cat hurts the baby. The baby is defenseless and you can't always be around. You know what you have to do. Give the cat away to someone with a lot of love in their heart.

I would find a loving home for the cat. If you take the claws off, the cat might resort to chewing on the baby's face.

My cat scratched my 14-month old toddler in the face last night, narrowly missing his EYE. She has never liked children, and we knew that, but last night the door to where she hides from our boy when he tries to play with her was closed. This can never happen again. One half of an inch higher, and my son would be in the hospital right now, being fitted with an eye patch. His life would be ruined forever.

My options as I see them:

*Give her away. I don't know of anyone who would want a cranky old brat cat that hates children, so that would probably mean a no-kill shelter for her. That would break my heart.

*Make her an outdoor cat. SHe has little to NO outdoor skills, and between her yowling outside the door to get back in, and joining the pack of wild cats that infests our apartment complex, this option seems pretty irresponsible. Plus, it wouldn't solve the problem; what if she just went and scratched somebody ELSE'S kid and blinded them? :noway:

*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.

If we get rid of her, we will get a replacement baby kitten, that we will raise to be comfortable around small children. The cost of vaccinating spaying/neutering it will be probably more than what we'll be charged for declawing Elphaba. So cost isn't really a factor in our decision.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, and had to make this decision? What did you do? Your thoughts? (Please no douche or smart-alec comments, like "I'll taker her, my snake needs food" or "just get a dog". I have enough on my plate right now without dealing with internet jerks. I'm not in the mood. Serious advice, only please.) Thanks!

I have two cats that have scratched my daughter before too. Close to the eye too, which makes me sick to think of what had happened if it were on her eye. Anyways, our cats are part of our family so our solution involves trimming the cats nails weekly (the same time I trim my daughter's nails) and teaching my daughter how to handle the cats properly.

One of our cats is a cat we got as a kitten when my daughter was younger and that has made no difference in her getting scratched, so don't believe that replacing your cat with a kitten will solve anything. I'm not trying to be a jerk, btw, just speaking from experience.

^This! I was raised in a house full of cats and dogs and I had my fair shair of scratches and bites. The animals were all raised around my sister and I and none of our animals were aggressive. Yet things happened!

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.

I like this idea!

Get rid of your cat.

Household felines are disgusting.
They *kitten* in a box, rub their feet in it, then walk all over your kitchen countertops and scratch babies with their poo claws.

I'm not sure whose bright idea it was to domesticate these animals.

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.

[/quote]

You won't have a toddler forever, but you'll have your child around longer than the cat.

Get a real animal, like a dog. They'll actually protect your child.

A declawed, nasty cat will still be a nasty cat. With teeth. And the surgery kind of sucks for the animal. So I'll repeat what others have said - cap the claws.

Or you could try kitten mittens. Look at how happy this feline is!

OMG I love that!

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.

Yeah, not happening. I absolutely hate dogs.

Good call.

Get rid of your cat.

Household felines are disgusting.
They *kitten* in a box, rub their feet in it, then walk all over your kitchen countertops and scratch babies with their poo claws.

I'm not sure whose bright idea it was to domesticate these animals.

:laugh:

I would personally avoid declawing of an older cat. I have seen it ruin a cat when done too old. Like stopped using the litterbox because it must have felt odd. I have 3 cats that have all been around since before my 3 kids. One is deaf and has her claws and is sort of a spasti-cat. She has nipped/scratched my 2 boys when they got too rough. Granted, we never had a near-eye injury, but the boys learned quickly to leave her alone. They mess with the other 2 super tolerant cats. I would recommend the claw tips, or second cat (if current kitty would tolerate). Hope you find a solution!

You made a commitment to the cat when you brought it home. I understand that you want to keep your kid safe, but that means making sure the cat has an escape route or a "safe zone". In my opinion, getting rid of your cat isn't an option.

BUT, I'll tell you that I had a cat for 16 years that was the meanest thing that ever lived. He bit me all the time, we weren't allowed to pet him (my husband could sometimes, but never me), often I'd be asleep and would wake up to him biting me through the comforter so hard he broke skin because my leg accidentally touched where he was sleeping. A few times he went nuts and acted feral, attacking us and acting like he didn't know us. We had a vet visit after the first time and they couldn't find anything, the other times we had to have them do a house call to sedate him. No vet could explain it, but the closest thing we got to an answer was that there was just something wrong with his head.

Since we brought him home as a kitten, so tiny he fit into the palm of my hand, we committed to taking care of him. Getting rid of him was never an option.

When I had my son the cat learned to hide, my son learned to avoid the cat, once my son was bitten so hard it broke skin and we had to have a course of antibiotics, but for 4 years we made it work and my son learned not to bother the cat. When he was too young to understand this we used a baby gate with a cut out place in the bottom so the cat could go in and out of our bedroom (his safe zone) and my son couldn't get in there. He died last year of cancer, when he got sick we did everything we could for him because we chose to bring him home 16 years before and that was a commitment we made, in the end he could no longer eat or walk and we had to have him put down. It was really sad, and even though he was a beast, we miss him. I would never get another cat again because of this experience (not a kitten, at least), but when you make a commitment to an animal you don't have the right to throw them away just because you changed something in your life. We moved a lot, we sometimes had to pay more to keep him, we sometimes had to pass up beautiful apartments because they didn't allow cats, but getting rid of our cat was never an option. I volunteer at a shelter and the number of people who take on a pet and then dump it when they decide they want something else in life makes me sick. I met a dog yesterday who was the sweetest thing ever, 8 years old, his family had him since he was a puppy and he never did anything wrong. They dumped him at the shelter because they were moving and didn't want to bother with him, they were just "too busy" to have a dog anymore.

So, make it work.

She has never liked children, and we knew that, but last night the door to where she hides from our boy when he tries to play with her was closed.

Why didn't you teach your child to not play with and corner your cat who you know doesn't like children?

I am sure someone without kids would be willing to adopt your cat.