need advice re: pets and baby

livvielo · February 2011

We have had our 2 cats since they were both young--they're now 11 and 12. The boy, Harley, has always been ambivalent about the baby. The girl, Molly, really loved her at the beginning (would come lick M's head while I nursed her). But Molly has always been unpredictable--she'll be super loving, and then turn around and flip out and hiss and bat at you. When we take her to the vet, we need to sedate her because she's flips so hard (and even under sedation they need to wear long gloves to deal with her).

Anyhow, Mallory is really really interested in the kitties now and wants to pet them all the time. She's pretty gentle most of the time. The problem: Now the cats--Molly especially--have started swatting at her if she annoys them. Molly has scratched her a few times, and now usually-lethargic Harley is doing it, too. We always keep a close eye on her when the cats are in the room. I'm still worried that they're going to slice her eye or something (they both have claws, which I do keep trimmed).

What else would you do?

robynlesley · February 2011

I wish I knew what to say... dogs are SO different than cats. If you had dogs, I'd say training and working with them. But I know you can't really do that with cats, right? I know you live in a condo, so it's not like you have a lot of space to keep them separate. But whenever you can, I guess that's the best you can do.

daisydana · February 2011

livvielo:
But Molly has always been unpredictable--she'll be super loving, and then turn around and flip out and hiss and bat at you. When we take her to the vet, we need to sedate her because she's flips so hard (and even under sedation they need to wear long gloves to deal with her).

This was my cat. She would turn on a dime. The vet would have to sedate her TO CUT HER NAILS before they would do anything to her. Of course, she was super sweet when she wanted to be. And cuddly and loving when the mood struck her. I had to put her to sleep a few months before I got pregnant with Sydney

I have no advice. I can only empathize. I'm sure you are always on guard and stressed about it. Just keep doing what you are doing and keep an eye on them.

I worry about my MIL's dog with Sydney. He is a Husky and SO SWEET. He has never nipped at anyone (except accidentally when taking a treat). Even still, I am always super alert when Sydney is around him. We tend to forget that they are ANIMALS.

Peppernut · February 2011

Our cats have a baby-gated "safe room" where they hang out most of the time. We put their food and water in there. They do come out and hang with us, but when they start getting annoyed at the giant, hairless kitten, they just go there.

These aren't aggressive or older cats, though. Good luck!

stever · February 2011

Peppernut:
Our cats have a baby-gated "safe room" where they hang out most of the time. We put their food and water in there. They do come out and hang with us, but when they start getting annoyed at the giant, hairless kitten, they just go there.
These aren't aggressive or older cats, though. Good luck!

I think this is a really good idea. We haven't done that but, as of right now, we've been really lucky. Our cat spends most of her time in another part of the house from M. She has swatted at him before when he's grabbed her tail or something but she's good about keeping her claws retracted. It might be because she's younger and more tolerant though - she's a little under 4.

Anyhoo, I'd do what Amy does.

peeper72 · February 2011

Imagine it from their perspective: life was peaceful and predictable until the screaming hairless kitten (as we call Ada) came along. The normal exhuberance of a child can be completely overwhelming for a cat.

A lot of monitoring and supervision of any contact.

Close nail trims, maybe even soft paws.

Some time for them in play, if they will engage, with distal toys (laser pointer, things on the ends of sticks). Check out https://indoorpet.osu.edu/ for other ideas about how to keep them otherwise occupied.

A place to escape, be it a room like Peppernut has or a tall cat tree (armarkat.com is a great resource for this)

Feliway diffuser

If that fails, Prozac. It can be compounded as an ear gel. We use it for Frances and it has been great.

livvielo · February 2011

Thank you all so much for the advice! I walked over to our little pet-gear store in town and got a laser pointer and a little stick with feathers on the end (plus some catnip toys). I'm also going to order the Feliway and look into a cat tree (we are in a 550 sq ft 1BR apt so no extra cat room). I'm also going to look at the soft paws, too.

Again, thanks--I don't want our kitties to be stressed out by M and unhappy!

ateytelb · February 2011

We also have two cats. One of them liked scratching, and he was scratching us all the time. We didn't think much of it until Jason started walking and the cat would scratch Jason in the face. As much as we hated the idea, we had the cat declawed. I remember I cried for a few days. Now the cat is fine and happy. He walks all over the house and we don't worry about him scratching the babies. You should definitely try to avoid declawing, but we felt pretyy desperate and nothing else worked.

Lex78 · February 2011

I've never really been a cat person for those reason exactly. I know some people consider it cruel, but have you considered declawing? It's good that you are letting Mallory interact and understand how to interact with them, but yeah, getting seriously hurt sounds like a possibility.

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