Our Cat attacked my son

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RICLARK

RICLARK

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Was just sitting here answering some thread earlier and I heard screaming. I got up and went into the hallway and our cat had my sons head in her paws kicking him in the face and biting him on the ear. She tore him up pretty bad and im not sure what the hell happened, I dont know if she was trying to play and was being to agressive or if she was really trying to hurt him. Cats cannot be disciplined like dogs because they dont respond and I dont know if I should get rid of her or give her the benefit of the doubt. I was so freakin mad when I broke it up I wanted to strangle her but I controlled myself. She has never done anything before and usually just plays with him and the dog but I do know cats are wild animals and can do crazy things sometimes.What are your thoughts?
 
Get rid of it. There's no point in taking a chance again. Kids like to play with small animals. Most cats don't like to be screwed with. Not a great combo.
 
Sounds like play to me. Young cats are hard to predict. My 9 yr old cat hates my 3 yr old, but she NEVER uses claws on him. it has taken all of his 3 years to be able to "kind of" pet her.
 
I guess my first question would be what was your son doing? I'm not blaming your child, but there may be something in particular that led to it. Cats seem to go from fine to $hit-house crazy in 0 to 2 seconds, and if he was maybe nuzzling the cat with his head or had his face close to the cat, that would present an opportunity if the cat decided he'd had enough.

I would just recommend for now keeping an eye on the cat around everyone else in the family, and telling your son to maybe calm the playing down and to definitely keep his face away from the cat's. I hope your son's ok.

EDIT: Didn't see your son's age. DEFINITELY keep an eye on he and the cat, two year olds don't understand "gentle" very well.
 
Im not sure what he was doing, ever since he knew what animals were we have been very very firm about teaching him to be gentle with animals and to pet them and not pull on them or be rough. I have a feeling he was out there laying his head by her trying to pet her and she was trying to play but a little too rough, she tore the hell out of his face.
 
I *doubt* the cat was trying to hurt your son, but it may well have been trying to get him to leave it alone. I know how The Bean can get with the cats; thankfully, one of our cats (Pepper, who she decided on her own was a doctor and now calls her Dr. Pepper), is incredibly tolerant of child behavior.

The other possibility is that the cat isn't well, and reacted out of pain or illness. Animals can lash out if they're hurting.

I'd definately keep a very close eye on the cat... and if I had any friends who I knew might like a pet, I might start asking around.
 
Liquidicem said:
Maybe get the cat declawed if you decide to keep it around.
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Not a bad thought. I *hate* it when people declaw their cats just because they're scratching at furniture (you're basically pulling off their fingernails), but it sure would seem to be a valid course of action in this case.
 
Cats usually do not stick around for a long attack on a kid- they usually take a quick attack, smack once or twice and run off - that the cat stayed in for the long haul is not a good sign. Was the cat stuck to your son (claws in clothes, hair, can't get free) or was your son holding on for dear life to a paw?
 
Ok, I just watched the damn cat go total ape $**** on my dog. He didn't do crap he was sleeping on the floor and the cat ran up and lit his face up. I locked her outside on the balcony in a kennel, something is wrong with her.
 
The only time ive ever had problems with a cat are:
one when it was injured (hit by car with a broken hip, bit my mom trying to catch him to bring to the vet) and
two I have a very territorial cat that goes nuts when it sees a strange cat in the yard it goes into a frenzy and can bite if im not careful.
But as far as just flipping out for no obvious reason ive seen that problem with dogs but never cats.

Im always very careful with young children and animals of any type, children dont always understand that warm furry things have a mind of their own, in the pre-school my mom works at they often have problems with kids squeezing and hurting smaller animals when they try to move away, they dont understand that its an independent living thing that you cant control.
but if the cat proves to be a threat you can either give it away (to a shelter if need be) or keep it separate from your son closed in another part of the house or something. Im glad you have the restraint not to hurt it, I doubt it would understand why it was being punished.
 
RICLARK said:
Ok, I just watched the damn cat go total ape $**** on my dog. He didn't do crap he was sleeping on the floor and the cat ran up and lit his face up. I locked her outside on the balcony in a kennel, something is wrong with her.
Click to expand...

That's not good. Get her to the vet ASAP, sounds like there's something wrong with her.
 
Cats are tasty critters...


Just so ya know...


j/k Seriously, declawing a cat is ok for the front, but even a declawed cat can and will injure with their hind claws. Never heard of declawing in the back, but I suppose it *could* be done.

Then again, Walmart often has free kittens, so it's not like there's a huge investment.
 
RICLARK said:
Ok, I just watched the damn cat go total ape $**** on my dog. ...
Click to expand...
Definitely contact your vet ASAP and explain what has happened. It sounds like the cat may have a real problem. Your vet will probably want to take a look at the cat. Could be physical, could be mental, but it definitely needs to be addressed.
 
I dont want to get rid of an animal that I have taken the responsibility to raise and take care of. However if that is what needs to be done Ill do it, I just called the vet and we will take her in tomorrow and see what he says.
 
Yikes! I'm really sorry to hear this. Hopefully boy, cat, and parents are all doing well now.

I have two young boys (2 and 5) and two cats. My wife and I are aggressive about teaching the kids appropriate ways to interact with the cats because we want to avoid the exact situation you encountered.

Encounters like this are almost never the fault of the animal. It sounds to me like your boy put himself in a situation where the cat felt like it had to defend itself, or your boy was playing with it inappropriately and the cat was just responding. I see no reason to declaw or get rid of the cat because of this event.

We've taught our sons how to read cat body language (watch the tail and ears, listen to its voice) to know when to leave the cat alone. We've also taught them appropriate ways to touch and pet a cat (use gentle touches, never put your face near the cat, etc.) The kids get punished when they don't follow the rules about the cats.

I'm sorry this happened. Hopefully your boy will be ok and there won't be any scars. Keep an eye out for infections.
 
RICLARK said:
Ok, I just watched the damn cat go total ape $**** on my dog. He didn't do crap he was sleeping on the floor and the cat ran up and lit his face up. I locked her outside on the balcony in a kennel, something is wrong with her.
Click to expand...

Ok, I just read this. It does sound strange. Time for a visit to the vet.
 
Beerthoven said:
Yikes! I'm really sorry to hear this. Hopefully boy, cat, and parents are all doing well now.

I have two young boys (2 and 5) and two cats. My wife and I are aggressive about teaching the kids appropriate ways to interact with the cats because we want to avoid the exact situation you encountered.

Encounters like this are almost never the fault of the animal. It sounds to me like your boy put himself in a situation where the cat felt like it had to defend itself, or your boy was playing with it inappropriately and the cat was just responding. I see no reason to declaw or get rid of the cat because of this event.

We've taught our sons how to read cat body language (watch the tail and ears, listen to its voice) to know when to leave the cat alone. We've also taught them appropriate ways to touch and pet a cat (use gentle touches, never put your face near the cat, etc.) The kids get punished when they don't follow the rules about the cats.

I'm sorry this happened. Hopefully your boy will be ok and there won't be any scars. Keep an eye out for infections.
Click to expand...

We teach our son the same thing, But like I said the cat went crazy on our dog too while he was sleeping. We are taking her to the vet in the morning to see what is wrong with her. My son seems to be just fine he was mostley just scared and has some scrapes on his scalp and cheek from her claws, but he will be ok.
 
If the cat has been fine all along, and then this happened, then I agree on the vet. However, we once took a kitten that seemed very loving at the shelter, but when we got it home it was incredibly nasty.

Most cats are ok, but there are some who are just "crazy".
 
Homercidal said:
If the cat has been fine all along, and then this happened, then I agree on the vet. However, we once took a kitten that seemed very loving at the shelter, but when we got it home it was incredibly nasty.

Most cats are ok, but there are some who are just "crazy".
Click to expand...

Sounds like a change in behavior, though, which is key. Cats act differently when they get sick; some withdraw into a corner or the back of a closet, some act out.

Good luck.
 
RICLARK said:
We teach our son the same thing, But like I said the cat went crazy on our dog too while he was sleeping. We are taking her to the vet in the morning to see what is wrong with her. My son seems to be just fine he was mostley just scared and has some scrapes on his scalp and cheek from her claws, but he will be ok.
Click to expand...

I'm sure you're doing the right things with your son. Didn't mean to come off sounding snooty. Sounds like your cat might be having some issues.

I had a cat once that would tear through the house like a speed-demon and attack my legs for no reason. Since I couldn't let it outside at the time, I had to play with it for an hour a day to get all its energy out so it would be tolerable.
 
Sorry to hear that man.

When cats hook in and start shredding away with their rear legs they are not playing.
 
Beerthoven said:
I'm sure you're doing the right things with your son. Didn't mean to come off sounding snooty. Sounds like your cat might be having some issues.

I had a cat once that would tear through the house like a speed-demon and attack my legs for no reason. Since I couldn't let it outside at the time, I had to play with it for an hour a day to get all its energy out so it would be tolerable.
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No I didn't think you were being snooty, Just saying that we have taught my son that if he cant be nice to animals he wont be allowed to play with them. The story about your old cat had me thinking, My sister had a cat a while ago that did that same thing tore up the house everyday, as well as everytime my dad went to here house it attacked him. The cat got him one day on the underside of the wrist where all of your veins are, my dad almost had to have his arm amputated from that scratch. He spent 3 days in the hospital with some sort of wierd infection.
 
You guys are much more patient and understanding than I am......cat attacks kid AND the dog.....and it's still around?

However the wife just told me last week we will be getting a cat soon. not sure what I think about that yet. Its a Bengal F4 whatever that means
 
Chimone said:
You guys are much more patient and understanding than I am......cat attacks kid AND the dog.....and it's still around?

However the wife just told me last week we will be getting a cat soon. not sure what I think about that yet. Its a Bengal F4 whatever that means
Click to expand...

I think that is a friggin tiger! :D
 
the_bird said:
Not a bad thought. I *hate* it when people declaw their cats just because they're scratching at furniture (you're basically pulling off their fingernails), but it sure would seem to be a valid course of action in this case.
Click to expand...

Please don't declaw a cat. If the cat is an issue, give it to someone who can deal with it. Declawing a cat is more than like removing fingernails; it removes the last segment of their toes - it'd be like having your fingers cut off at the first joint. Declawed cats have sore foot issues and can't clean or scratch themselves well or at all. It's a recipe for a miserable cat.
 
Buford said:
Please don't declaw a cat. If the cat is an issue, give it to someone who can deal with it. Declawing a cat is more than like removing fingernails; it removes the last segment of their toes - it'd be like having your fingers cut off at the first joint. Declawed cats have sore foot issues and can't clean or scratch themselves well or at all. It's a recipe for a miserable cat.
Click to expand...

If I have to get her declawed I will give her away, It causes them great pain after the procedure is done until it heals. Also all the other stuff you mentioned.
 
I would probably get rid of the cat if it attacked my (young) son or daughter. On the other hand I know you are probably fond of the cat so that would be hard.
 
I once had a dog that was my best friend in the world, she bit me once (not playing) and I put her down. One of the hardest things I've ever done but there was no way I was going to have an animal in my house that could do that. If it were just my ex-wife (hmmm... maybe I should have just trained the dog to go after her :D) and I, I may have let it go, but my oldest daughter was 2 months old at the time.

kids > pets.
 
Cat claws and teeth are serious sources of infection. they bury their crap, and if it has caught any rodents or bugs, then both their claws and teeth can harbor bacteria that can be potentially dangerous. The prey item pieces that stick to teeth and claws rot increasing bacterial growth. Every cat scratch I have ever had has left a scar. Use plenty of antibiotic ointment to help reduce any scarring and promote faster healing.

Oh, get rid of the cat. How would you feel if this happened again with the same animal?
 
we use this on our cat instead of declawing:
http://www.softpaws.com/
It's kind of a pain to keep up with, but better than declawing or having our furniture and kid torn up.

Having had a lot of pet cats in my life (growing up on a farm), I've noticed their personality varies greatly. Some get along great with people and kids, others act like the spawn of satan when it comes to putting up with stuff and not getting their way, and then you have everything inbetween. I'd give the cat another chance, but if it happens again, time to find it a new home. good luck.
 
ohiobrewtus said:
kids > pets.
Click to expand...

+1 - I don't have any animals because I have small children. When my youngest is 5-6 I may get a dog. He (Evan) is just too young (15mon.) to play with animals, we went to my uncle-in-law's house and my boy was playing with their cat and it gave him a pretty good swat (luckily,) it previously scratched him. Not bad, and on the arm - Evan just doesn't get it yet and probably won't for a while.

Hold judgement until you get back from the vet - if it was mine it may not have made it there, but it may be sick and it may still make a fine outdoor pet.
 
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