FYI for those with cats

Kashy

So DS likes to try and "play" with our cat.  She tries to keep her distance.  Well this morning she bit him on the cheek because he cornered her and now he has two little marks. We called the nurse at the Dr's and she said we should bring him in. 

So I guess when you get a cat bite they give you antibiotics every time because of a certain bacteria in their mouths.So now he has a medicine to take for the next 5 days as a preventative measure. 

My H is worried that we have to get rid of her, but to me she only was trying to get away from him and was not being randomly aggressive towards him.  So I'm not sure what to think.......she just wants to be left alone and he wants to play....ugh.....

You can see the two little red dots on his cheek.  This was right after it happened, but now it looks way less red.  He only cried for a second so I think she just scared him....poor guy

Oohgurl

You can't get rid of every dangerous thing in your baby's life. It sounds like you let him regularly play with the cat, which i am sure the cat hates. Boundaries. Shoo the cat around the baby and redirect the baby. 

botanicalbliss

I'm sorry!  I've been bitten by our cat before and it was horrible.  I was on antibiotics, and it got very very infected.  We still have the cat, and I still let G chase him around - I just watch them very carefully.  I don't think you need to get rid of the cat - just be more careful from here on out.  Poor little guy

mommatotwo2

I'm sorry this happened to your LO. I don't know if I would get rid of the cat right away, but I'd keep a very close eye on them together and consider that you might have to re-home her in the future.  Especially being that she's had almost a year to get used to your LO. Also, I was attacked by my cat when I was a teenager, when a friend brought their small dog over and after that, anything mildly traumatic, a loud noise on tv, something falling near her (like a pillow or blanket), really any small thing set her off and she'd attack me. Maybe consider talking to friends or family members that don't have small children and see if someone would be interested in taking her.

pnutg

Im with @KateRN08, because I would be paranoid from here on out and I'm not a fan of cats partially due to a mean cat in my past.

delino

I'm sorry your LO got hurt. I wouldn't get rid of our cat in that situation. If he purposely sought out to hurt the baby, yes I would. The cat was scared and defended himself.

Kashy

Usually the cat gets away in time, but for some reason this morning she was a little slow to escape.  I don't let him play with her or touch her unless I'm there showing him how to pet her and such and usually she just stays in our room and hides in the closet. 

Yeah, and she was defending herself so that is what is making me think that it's not a "omg get rid of her" like my DH.  Of course I'm concerned that she did this, but I think I would feel differently if it was a random act of aggression towards him.  kwim??

ugh and now that he crawls he is fast like a ninja dammit

and why can't we all just get along??? (  lol  (as in the cat and the baby that is haha)

huzzahuzza

Just FYI and not completely related but a little... I read your post aloud to my dad who is a PA and he said that even with antibiotics, something like 80% still react.
I read it aloud though because my DH and I are having a similar issue with our cat, only she's getting more and more aggressive with us. She must think we're trees or something because she will take a flying leap and jump on our backs.

Shoegal36

I agree that I wouldn't get rid of the cat. Maybe from now on she will keep her distance even more? We've been pretty lucky so far that our cats just stay clear of LO. 

Schell2013

I would get rid of the get in my opinion. Or you need to keep the cat locked up away from your LO. Trying to teach LO to be "nice" or not touch at all is just going to make him want to more. Just like PP stated it won't be the first time the cat get cornered.

Cat bites can be quite serious. I don't know about you but literally watching my DD and making sure a cat isn't going to bite them is nearly impossible to do all the time. What about when you go pee, cook supper, switching laundry over. It only takes a second for it to happen again. And saying your LO maybe learnt from it is unlikely. How many times did they smack their heads learning to sit, it would likely take that many times to be bite by a cat to learn not to touch it, and honestly why put yourselves through it?

It's simple get rid of it or keep it locked up away from your LO at all times when LO is awake.

Lolalipsy

Even if I didn't get rid of the cat I am afraid it would seriously fall from grace for me. I get skittish around cats to start with.

We have an incredibly soft dog but I still get nervous if E pesters her and unless Lola tells me herself that she won't bite her I will always keep in my mind that it could happen.

Kashy

Well it seems things are normal today.  She stuck to high ground or hid in our closet like normal.

I do know if it happens again we will have to make the hard choice of getting rid of her....   

Kashy

Question for dog owners - what would you guys do in this situation?  If your LO trapped the dog and the dog bit to defend itself?  and it was not out of random aggression.

My IL's have dogs and while they were gentle around DS while we were there my MIL was always still cautious because they are still dogs and all dogs have the ability to turn and bite at any time.

*I'm asking seriously and not in a mocking or rude way.

nbatchen

We have a large dog. He is very tolerant but does get annoyed at some points. I always make sure to put him behind the gate when he gets like that. For me it would depend on the circumstances. If I felt it was aggressive enough yes I would have to get rid on my dog. It is my biggest fear which is why if he even grumbles I separate them.

Oohgurl

I feel it is a different situation with dogs. Dogs should not bite to get away. If they do, there is something in their demeanor that is never going to jive with a kid. Cats are known to be 'anti social' if you will. So in this case your cat is doing what cats do. 

I have 2 dogs and just put down 2 cats last year. Jack crawls on the dogs, pulls on the dogs, cuddles with the dogs and I have no worries and would never worry about aggression. Although I still always watch. If my cats were still here, I would not let Jack play with the cats plain and simple. Because even after 17 years with the cats, there is no 'teaching' at cat to be nice. I would redirect Jack and shoo the cat in our situation.  Just like when I got my dog as a puppy. He chased the cats, chased the cats and eventually learned they were off limits. I couldn't teach the cats to be nice to the puppy. 

Lolalipsy

Oohgurl said:

I feel it is a different situation with dogs. Dogs should not bite to get away. If they do, there is something in their demeanor that is never going to jive with a kid. Cats are known to be 'anti social' if you will. So in this case your cat is doing what cats do. 

I have 2 dogs and just put down 2 cats last year. Jack crawls on the dogs, pulls on the dogs, cuddles with the dogs and I have no worries and would never worry about aggression. Although I still always watch. If my cats were still here, I would not let Jack play with the cats plain and simple. Because even after 17 years with the cats, there is no 'teaching' at cat to be nice. I would redirect Jack and shoo the cat in our situation.  Just like when I got my dog as a puppy. He chased the cats, chased the cats and eventually learned they were off limits. I couldn't teach the cats to be nice to the puppy. 

All of this.

john5111

Our cat was so scared of my Lo in the beginning shed hide from him and did not sleep or get onto his things which I was worried about. When he started sitting shed go by him and rub against him and just loved him. Now that he is crawling all around she is back to being afaid of him. Shell usually go up high where he cant get her. THe times when he does pull on her fur she just takes off.  I still shut his bedroom door at night though because I worry shed jump in his crib and smother him..Ive heard stories.. I highly doubt she would though.

Kashy

john5111 said:

Our cat was so scared of my Lo in the beginning shed hide from him and did not sleep or get onto his things which I was worried about. When he started sitting shed go by him and rub against him and just loved him. Now that he is crawling all around she is back to being afaid of him. Shell usually go up high where he cant get her. THe times when he does pull on her fur she just takes off.  I still shut his bedroom door at night though because I worry shed jump in his crib and smother him..Ive heard stories.. I highly doubt she would though.

Yeah our cat has always stayed away from him since the day we brought him home.  Just in recent weeks she has gotten a little more adventurous and has been coming within arms reach of him.  But now that he is a crawling machine she just hadn't figured out that he is a lot faster now and that is when she got cornered. 
I think she figured it out now since she has not gone near him since the incident.

Schell2013

Kashy said:

Question for dog owners - what would you guys do in this situation?  If your LO trapped the dog and the dog bit to defend itself?  and it was not out of random aggression.

My IL's have dogs and while they were gentle around DS while we were there my MIL was always still cautious because they are still dogs and all dogs have the ability to turn and bite at any time.

*I'm asking seriously and not in a mocking or rude way.

I got rid of mine for this exact reason. Wasn't a chance I was going to take. If she bit her in the face and really hurt her I would never forgive myself.