Pet Owners :-(

AppleMomma

What would you do?

Our cat has been relatively kind towards DS, mostly ignoring him, however today she seems very hostile.Hissing at him when she walks by him while he plays on the floor, and she hauled of and nipped him, on the run, hard enough to draw blood and leave two pin marks on his precious little leg.

I am, of course, infuriated with our cat, and worry that this behavior may continue. 

She is a well loved kitty, and I don't understand why she did what she did. I told DH when he called me from work, and he suggested discussing giving her to a good home without children, but it breaks our heart to think about it.

I'm torn, I want to protect my child, but I love my kitty too...

Should we just give her some time, or should we give her to a good home? 

BeaverBeliever12

Has your LO started grabbing your cat?  We have a dog and DD is facinated with him.  She loves grabbing his fur and trying to "pet" him.  Is it possible that LO did something to cause the hostility? 

Is it possible to keep the cat in a seperate area of the house while LO is playing without you being right there?

I'm sorry you are in this situation. 

dragonsmercy

Is your cat fixed? I know it may seem a strange question, but sometimes cats act more territorial when they're not fixed. I have 2 female cats, and one seems to act like a "mother" to the baby, and the other is indifferent to her... the mothering cat actually hissed at my other cat when she came near the baby a few times, but neither have done anything dangerous towards the baby. I'm a bit worried about when she starts to crawl, that the cats might think she's "invading" their territory, but we've also been in the habit of putting the baby on the floor, or furniture, or putting her next to the cats when they're lying down, so they recognize that it's HER territory, even though she's the newcomer to the family. I also had both cats fixed just under a month before she was born... I don't know how they would've behaved with her if I hadn't.

AppleMomma

Yes, our cat is fixed, I never thought about that causing a problem as she seemed indifferent for so long.

DS hasn't grabbed for her (yet). He has started watching her more as she walks around.

Maybe when we move into our home, she'll find her own space to lurk around (we live an apartment right now). 

mandolynn81

she might feel threatened now that dc is more active. I would give it some time. if she is bad, give her some time out

livinreality

I trained my mom's cat to stay away from LO with a water bottle seems a little drastic but she was being pushy...

jrnewhook

Our tabby has been very aggressive since he was a kitten. He beats the shiit out of our little calico to the point that I have to intervene regularly. He's actually been grounded in the spare room for the last half hour because of this (and also lunging at me and biting when I tried to catch him).

I'm pretty stressed about him being around DD, but my actions would depend on who "started it". If he hurts her just because he's being his regular @sshole self, then we'll be finding him a new home. However, if DD grabs his tail or fur one day and he reacts, I don't consider that his fault.

staceyk110

Ugh, what a tough situation. We have a dog that was our "baby" before DS came along. So far she's great with Carter, but it would be so hard for us if she started getting aggressive. I'm sorry you're having to think about having to find a new home for your kitty. Good luck!

MiddMomm

livinreality:

I trained my mom's cat to stay away from LO with a water bottle seems a little drastic but she was being pushy...

 

this.  it works.

theduck808

i hope the new home works out as a bigger living space for all of you. our kittensley is upset because of our limited apartment space now - our home in cleveland had this nice long hallway where he could run up and down. now he's stuck in a tiny one bedroom apt with us and DS. he's mopey and acts up when baby is feeding. 

here's hoping you get to keep your lovely kitty too. if anything, you can ask your vet if they have any ideas. i remember mine suggest a eucalyptus-based spray that keeps cats away from certain areas. you might want to cat-proof the areas you keep DS the most.