cat attacking my toddler over pop up tent

[stephiedoodle]

As stated in title my daughter whom is two has a pop up tent and ehen ever it up the cat will hide in it and not let daughter near swiping at her never hisses or growls no swishing tail or flattened ears on the off chance daughter gets I there first the cat will charge at her again with no noticeable warning. Lilly our cat is 1 year old is spayed and a happy well fed cat nothing in my home has changed except I am now about 4 month pregnant. Im thinking of trying some calming pills or paste I'd get feliway but its out of my price range at this moment in time

 

[andrya]

lt sounds like she's playing, is that possible? lf you're daughter's down low to the ground on all-fours and the cat thinks she's engaging her, she could just be playing with your daughter as if she's a cat. We have a small cat tent-thing and it sounds like what our cats do to oust each other from the tent when they want in it. Obviously this doesn't help your poor daughter get her tent back 

lt's hard to judge by a post, do you have a video?

 

[stephiedoodle]

She most cwrtainly is not playimg shes tried to bite my daughter and swipe at her face several ttimes and no I do not have a video my main concern was harm to my daughter not getting footage of my pain in the butt cat attacking her my daughters been on her two feet or sitring playing with the cat no where near when these attacks have happened. At this point im more concerned about my daughter and unborn child of the cat is expendable in comparison to that I love our cat but my kids come first

 

[andrya]

That sounds much different from the original post of swiping, charging, with no hissing or flattened ears, and that she's a happy cat. That gave the impression of playfulness (to ne anyway).

Yes the scratching her face, and moreso the biting! are much more serious.

l've never tried the calming pills but others do swear by them, or the calming drops you can add to food/water. Do you have access to Feliway sprays or diffusers?

 

[stephenq]

Hello!

Here is how i see it.  To your cat, you have given her the best and biggest cat house she has ever seen and she thinks its hers and your daughter is competing for it!  So I would get your cat her own cat house, something designed for her and that she will love.  And if you put it near where the tent goes, hopefully this could solve the problem.

I'm linking you to an example below.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3261+1883+20965&pcatid=20965

 

[stephiedoodle]

I forgot to add abput the boting but I did mention the swipping/batting shes never actually marked my daughter or drew blood but claws have been drawn I just dunno what to do seperating them isnt really an option we dont have much space and I could get feliway but I dont have the 30-40 pounds it costs at my local vets or pet store to buy it we do have some calming paste to mix in to her wet food hoping this works

 

[di and bob]

I think the same,

  she needs re own 'tent". A two year old is very intimidating to a cat, they are loud, scary and can hurt the cat when they grab them. Now is a perfect time to teach her how to treat animals, with kindness and respect. Right now she is just warning your daughter. she would be growling and hiss if she was serious. Children don't always learn until they experience something, so please try to teach her to leave the cat alone if she acts like that, or the kitty will scratch, it might take that. Just like when teaching something is hot, often times they don't learn until they touch. I hope everything goes OK, keep us posted!

 

[stephiedoodle]

My daughter is actually very gentle with the cat for the best part onlly when sje sees us holding the cat does she try to but we tell her ni and while she is loud this does not seem to bother cat lile I say all the times when my daughter has been attacked shes not even been paying attention to the cat also I neither have the space nor the money for a cat house I live in a first floor apartment which onlt has 2 bedrooms and we have a second child on the way

 

[lamiatron]

please invest in a fold-able kitty tunnel or cat tent. i think that's what your girl wants! if she has one of her own, and she still goes into your daughter's tent, you can pick her up and put her in her own tent or cat tunnel. and lilly will stay there. 

cat calming treats are a great investment, not just for the particular situation at hand, but in general. so please do try to get some.

my cat Charlie has a cat tunnel/cat cute (they can be attached to each other), and he does become quite territorial over it. I don't have children, so i don't exactly have the same situation as you, however, Charlie was being a bit greedy and mean, and wouldn't let my other cat Jet play in the tunnel too. I bought another cat tunnel and I haven't had that issue anymore. Now i just have two cats hiding in two tunnels that swat at everyone's feet as they walk by (this i think is play).

when neither of the cat tunnels are in use, they are easily folded and stored away. I live with room mates, so i also have issues with not having enough space 

I hope the advise that other's have given you, as well as the one I have works out for you.

 

[di and bob]

My daughter is actually very gentle with the cat for the best part onlly when sje sees us holding the cat does she try to but we tell her ni and while she is loud this does not seem to bother cat lile I say all the times when my daughter has been attacked shes not even been paying attention to the cat also I neither have the space nor the money for a cat house I live in a first floor apartment which onlt has 2 bedrooms and we have a second child on the way

You can get the calming treats at Amazon, they are surprisingly cheap.As for the 'house', it could be as simple as a big paper sack, or a cardboard box with some openings cut into it, your cat would love that! Turn it around and store the cats toys in it, or make it into a sleeping box somewhere out of the way, like get one that just fits under your bed, or behind the couch., hope this helps!

 

[kittywhiskers]

Have you ever thought that your lilly might be jealous of your daughter. It sounds silly but have you tried giving her more affection. I know it's probably the last thing you want to do with a cat that is attacking your daughter but it's worth a try at least.

 

[jcat]

You can get a Feliway diffuser at zooplus.co.uk for GBP 17.99. In the long run, that might be cheaper and more effective than calming treats. They also have a little tent for GBP 3.99

 

[stephiedoodle]

Thank you all I have made her a den from a box blankets and has her favourite toys in shes calmed down some and she gets lots of affection and loving everyday nut shes a love me on my terms kitty shes not one for being picked up and cuddled she alsp has a tunnel of her own which has been incorperated into her den she still makes a bee line for my little girls tent when shes not in it but the attacking has stopped for the most part thank ypu for all the links and advice hopefully I qont need to try all these suggestion but if it starts back up I have a few things to try

 

[stephenq]

Sounds like an improvement!  Keep working on ways to get your cat interested in other things. Consider moving the tent do a different location.  But Yay!

 

[stephiedoodle]

And we are back to square one as lil one was crawling out cat ran at her no warning and tried to bite my daughters face no sifns of her being agitated or angry and cat is now relaxing in herown box/tunnel combo daughter lying at enterance stroking her and they are getting on fine im at a loss we got some beef smelling calminf paste dr caulders I think it is I dont know what else to do have limited income so I dont wana waste money on pointless treatments

 

[stephenq]

And we are back to square one as lil one was crawling out cat ran at her no warning and tried to bite my daughters face no sifns of her being agitated or angry and cat is now relaxing in herown box/tunnel combo daughter lying at enterance stroking her and they are getting on fine im at a loss we got some beef smelling calminf paste dr caulders I think it is I dont know what else to do have limited income so I dont wana waste money on pointless treatments

OK well since your daughter and the cat have a good relationship when not connected to the tent, and given that you've tried a lot of things without consistent results, and given that the problem seems 100% connected to the tent, I would say this is about the time that you put the tent away.... or put it in a room behind a closed door and keep the cat out of the room when your daughter wants to play in it.  A cheap, easy and effective solution.