My Cat Scratched My Baby...I Need Advice

I fear this.
My daughter is only 5m old - and so far my cats just keep away from her. I hope this continues to be the case. They dont loathe her - but they never stay in the same room.

I had those glue on caps for the claws. Two of my 3 cats - they didnt shed off properly and the nail grew so long it was pushing into the pads on their feet - I had to chew them off.
The other chewed her own off in a couple days - so not always a good solution.

I do however clip my cats nails routinely.

Wait a minute... you CHEWED on your cats claws??? How did this ever even become an option? Gross. :huh: :noway:

WHOA. How did we miss this! This is WAY more fun to critique than the OP. :glasses:

AGREED! I keep re-reading her comment thinking I must have misread the fact that she chewed on her cat's claws. How does one even come up with that as an option first of all... and secondly how do you rationalize that it's ok?

I am starting my own sanctuary for cats who are abandoned and I am against giving your cat away just because you now have a baby. My biggest pet peeve with people who own pets is that they think they can just get rid of it when they do not need it or want it anymore. You cat loves you and whether you think so or not and it will be confused and heart broken if you give it up. Your cat doesn't understand what it did was wrong it probably has never seen another baby in its life. I am also against declawing, it can lead to all sorts of problems with the way the walk and your cat could become even more violent because it now has to use a different method of protecting its self. I would also not force your cat outdoors. This could lead to being hit by a car, shot by a neighbor, killed by a dog, eaten by an owl (yes owls eat cats) and many other things. It would be scarey and scaring for your cat. Animals have feelings too they just aren't as advanced as a humans.

My suggestion would be to train your cat to behave around your baby. First off reassuring your pet while someone else is holding your baby that the baby is not a threat. Be nice to your cat, speak to it in soothing tones. Let it be in the same room but keep it a good distance away from the baby, so it can not scratch again. The casually and slowly let your pet get closer to the baby. You can't just expect a cat to know what your baby is or think that it is safe. If you still can't get it to work I would suggest to try cat calming spray which you can spray around the babies room to give your cat a sense of calm when it is near the baby.

Pets are work just like babies are. They are just a little more independent. I know it is upsetting but your cat loves you and I sure if it could talk and understand you it would be sorry for scratching your offspring. If you need any more advice or you have any questions for me I would be happy to answer them. I hope your baby is ok and I hope you can continue to love your cat.

I'll start by saying I love my pets.

However, your HUMAN family needs must come first. Declaw or get rid of it.

There is nothing wrong with declawing a cat. I've had several over the years and declawed only the ones that scratched a lot. When they played or fought with each other, they still used their paws in defense.

If your cat doesn't normally bite at you or your son then he or she wont after she is declawed either. Not every animal will sit

Humans take precedence, period. If you aren't willing to accept this point first and foremost, you shouldn't have pets if you have a family.

i'm not really a cat person so maybe i'm suggesting something impossible, but could another option be to talk to a vet or some kind of animal trainer, to determine if there's a way you could gradually get your cat to warm up to your little boy? or maybe this suggestion is even crazier, but i think they do have medication now that you can get for your pets for anxiety (through the vet)...maybe that would make her a little less scared of him.

This, we put our cat on antidepressants for a while while living at my Mom's house (she was letting my mother's cat harass her terribly and wouldn't fight back, instead she hid under a sofa, wouldn't let anyone near her, and was suffering from food anxiety) and it made a world of difference in her whole attitude. She started coming out more often, even sleeping on the same bed as the cat she hated so much. I also recommend keeping the nails clipped and trying the soft claws too.

What do you want to tell your child when they grow up without an eye? Declawing would have been mean to the cat?? Gee thanks mom.

That's my reasoning exactly.:/

You are reacting to an injury to your child and I understand. I mentioned before about having a grumpy cat before having my children and how we had to teach the kids how to respect the animal, and to give the cat an escape route. Just keep in mind that the cat did not go after your son. It did not stalk and attack, it swiped when threatened. Watch your cat and evaluate its behaviour, learn to read its body language. They tell a story with their responses and should you learn to read them, you will head off problems before they happen. Our cat never bared her claws to get the kids. She batted them away and scratches occurred if we hadn't kept her nails trimmed enough. Our fault. I was watching her for signs of aggression and being territorial, and she never was.

If you are experiencing this level of stress, I think a new home for the cat may be in order. Just, please, do not replace it with another cat. These things happen and if you are unwilling to supervise their encounters and teach your children how to handle pets, perhaps pets are not for you at this time.

call jackson galaxy and he can help you with your cat...you know he is the cat from hell guy...try animal planet.com

What do you want to tell your child when they grow up without an eye? Declawing would have been mean to the cat?? Gee thanks mom.

That's my reasoning exactly.:/

Because you're using reason and logic and you don't think cats are more important than people.

Don't listen to these people, many of them are seriously telling you to get rid of your child in favor of the cat.

I said before people with pets remind me of abused spouses, making excuses for why the animal would act that way and wanting you to teach your child how to behave around the cat so IT doesn't attack again.

F that. Get rid of the cat and raise your child without fear that it'll lose an eye because the cat decided it didn't want to be in a room with a closed door. If you wouldn't accept that sort of behavior from a person in your life why tolerate it from an animal?

I agree with most of this, however I also strongly believe that children need to be taught to respect animals. I can't tell you how many times I've seen kids of all ages walk up to a stray or find an animal outside and think it's okay to "play" with these critters and end up getting scratched and/or bitten multiple times. I'm not saying OP should put the cat before the kid, but at the same time, one scratch when the cat was trying to defend itself does not mean you should toss the cat out to fend for itself.

Bottom line, OP, don't leave the kid in the room unsupervised with the cat. And as I said in a previous post, unless the cat starts attacking the kid (unprovoked), find a way to work it out. Or ask around to friends and family and see if you can find a home for the cat yourself. Please don't resort to a shelter. You knew that the cat didn't like kids...no offense but you should've been a little more prepared for this, either by finding the cat a home prior to bringing the child in, or by making sure the cat was not left with the child unsupervised.

Yikes you guys are sensitive! I used to pester the cat ALL the time when I was really little and that little feline scratched the crap out of me. My mom would wash out the cut and tell me to stop pestering the cat. There was NONE of this freaking out involved. Give the cat a space or room it can be alone in if you are seriously concerned it is going to do serious damage but its not a wild tiger, its not going to prey on the kids so the real concern is kids being kids and running around pulling its tail and whacking it and all the other things that ANY normal kid would do when trying to play. A house cat is simply NOT going to kill a child or seriously maim it. A scratch, even near or on the eye, is not going to destroy your kid as long as its properly washed (kitty claws are nasty.) There are definitely ways to keep them both safe. Give the cat a space it can be alone, raise your kid to not pester animals. I know he's not old enough yet, but it seriously shouldn't be that hard to separate them. I'm massively perplexed by this entire thread.

:drinker:

Really? I wouldn't want to be the mom who put the cat before my child. :ohwell:

I am starting my own sanctuary for cats who are abandoned and I am against giving your cat away just because you now have a baby. My biggest pet peeve with people who own pets is that they think they can just get rid of it when they do not need it or want it anymore.