Cat tried to attack my baby

[inkxpencil]

We had a situation this evening between my 11 year old cat, my 10 month old son and my husband. My husband and son were playing while I was doing the clean up from dinner. My son crawled into the kitchen with my husband beside him, then out of nowhere our cat Rory appears, she was behind my baby, smelling his bum. She let out a weird meow and it almost looked like she was trying to climb on top of him and like she was stalking her prey at the same time. My husband quickly scooped the baby up, and seconds later she full out lunged and attacked my husband. His legs are both all scratched up. She has attacked people before, however in those cases it was fear based and in this case she came out of nowhere for no reason and attacked. Prior to the incident they were not bothering her, or in her space at all. It came out of nowhere. Currently, she is now barricaded in our laundry room. I’m not sure where to go from here with her. I can’t have her harming my baby. Any thoughts or advice would be appreciated.

For full disclosure, Rory has been treated for on going urinary infections since Easter. She is currently on a medication for one at the moment. We also have a feliway for her, and she has her own safe spaces.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hello-do you know anyone, who she knows that could take her?

 

[ArtNJ]

I'm not sure anyone will know what to make of this exactly, hence Furballsmom 's reaction. Unprovoked attacks on babies and toddlers are very rare and tend to involve redirected aggression or fear related aggression, neither of which seem to fit. So in trying to help, we'd be guessing, which you may not have time for.

If I was going to guess...it could be something scent based and/or it could be related to the UTI. Certainly this wouldn't be a normal UTI behavior, but cat behavior gets weird when they get sick, and certainly they do tend to get more aggressive when they don't feel well.

 

[inkysmom]

My dog gets aggressive when he's sick or in pain. He doesn't attack people he gets into provoked fights at the dog park or barks at people

I had a cat that peed on beds when he was on pain he had a painful cancer and needed pain meds

 

[inkxpencil]

I have no one that could take her. She has never been the friendliest of cats, she only really likes me. I have been amazed at how well she has done with my son. She has been on her medication for 4 days, she should be feeling better but I don’t know. I honestly have no clue what we should do next.

 

[ArtNJ]

I have no one that could take her. She has never been the friendliest of cats, she only really likes me. I have been amazed at how well she has done with my son. She has been on her medication for 4 days, she should be feeling better but I don’t know. I honestly have no clue what we should do next.

Human medications have a huge list of side effects from common to very rare, and I seriously doubt that is different for cats. So it stands to reason that a medication side effect could be another possible contributing factor. Although we don't know what caused this, I don't think it would be unreasonable to, at some point, try some supervised time in proximity and see if the cat acts like it never happened. Maybe when the medication is done, if that isn't too long to wait?

 

[Neko-chan's mama]

Since your cat was smelling the baby's behind, is it possible the smell of the diaper triggered him? There are a lot of things that go into making disposable diapers, perhaps they irritated your cat.

 

[inkxpencil]

Since she has had on going issues, she has a long prescription, 22 days. She has had other attack incidents, when my husband moved in she attacked him all the time. I think she was scared that he was in her space, even though he never bothered her. I worry shes going to start doing this to my baby. It was completely unprovoked and out of nowhere. I don’t know how I can ever trust her again.

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, I think a lot of us agree that any real risk to a baby is unacceptable, and that in that sense (as in others to be sure) the baby has to come first. So you will make the decision you have to make, but just saying it seems to me that it ought to be possible to put her on probation, and try close supervision for a bit, see how they do.

 

[Talien]

Do you have a room you could turn into her room? If you could give her a space that is just for her she may be calmer.

 

[Furballsmom]

I like Talien 's idea of a room just for her, with her things and also, have you tried any other calming products?

Here are calming products and music sources;
There's spotify, Youtube, Alexa cat music, RelaxMyCat and MusicForCats.

Only Natural Pet has a calming product called Just Relax Calming spray with essential oil (catnip oil).

There's this one, be sure and scroll all the way down the page;

Original Bach Flower - [email protected]

Dr. Bach discovered 38 wildflowers nearly 100 years ago, that positively affect our emotions. He created a simple system of healing and called it the Bach Flowe

www.bachflower.com

Also, there is ThunderWunders calming chews, Richard's Organic Pet Calm drops, Naturevet Hemp, HomeoPet Anxiety Relief, Head to Tail Calming, Relaxivet Quiet Moments Cat treats, GNC Calming formula, and there is Calm-o-mile, Natures Miracle calming spray, Vetri-Science's Composure is another item to look at, Pet Remedy - UK (it has valerian) is yet another, as is Essential Pet Pet-eze, Pet Organics No Stress, Only Natural Pet (brand and website) has other calming products, Pet Naturals also has one I believe, and there are others.

Lambert Vet Supply is a website to look at, and of course chewy, also there's Petwishpros, animaleo, 1-800-petmeds, Petco and PetSmart, and other pet stores.

There is also a product called a lickimat which could be helpful, as cats can be calmed by the process of licking.

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This post talks about some other products;

Calming Treats For A Very Picky Cat

I'm at a loss with my pickiest cat on what calming treats to give him. He rejects both that I've tried. NaturVet Quiet Moments was a straight no. Composure by VetriScience gave me hope at first, he ate one treat, but the next day turned up his nose, and hasn't gone near them since. He sees me...

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[inkxpencil]

We do have a room for her, she has been in our laundry room since this happened. The only problem with this is she is very social and wants to be where I am. She has been crying at the door the entire time. I was speaking to my vet, and I am going to start letting her out while the baby naps and after he goes to bed for the night. Once he is awake she will go back in. The babies safety is first priority.

I have a few of these products already, but I will look into some of them.

To be completely honest, I am getting a lot of pressure to euthanize. Its not something that I want to do. But the hard part is, it’s not the first time she has done this.

 

[ArtNJ]

It sounds like where you are at in your thinking, your decision is basically already made. No one should judge you for that, because baby comes first, but with the decision already made to not give further chances with supervised visits, it doesn't sound like much quality of life is left for the cat in your home. So I'd look for a shelter, post on social media, craigslist (if Canada has that) etc etc. I don't assume Canada is like the US, but my brother once found a shelter willing to take in an aged diabetic cat with a nasty disposition. So I have the belief that it is always worth trying to find a shelter to take a cat if that would be the best option.

 

[Talien]

We do have a room for her, she has been in our laundry room since this happened. The only problem with this is she is very social and wants to be where I am. She has been crying at the door the entire time. I was speaking to my vet, and I am going to start letting her out while the baby naps and after he goes to bed for the night. Once he is awake she will go back in. The babies safety is first priority.

I have a few of these products already, but I will look into some of them.

To be completely honest, I am getting a lot of pressure to euthanize. Its not something that I want to do. But the hard part is, it’s not the first time she has done this.

Rehoming would be a better idea. Infact there are no ethical vets who will euthanize a healthy animal just because someone doesn't want it anymore or because it has developed problem behavior.

 

[Willowy]

Infact there are no ethical vets who will euthanize a healthy animal just because someone doesn't want it anymore or because it has developed problem behavior.

Oh, that's quite a hot topic really. Many ethical vets will "euthanize" a healthy animal that's unwanted, because they're afraid of what the owner will do to the pet if they don't. There are worse ways to die than the blue juice.

But I agree that this cat is a prime candidate for rehoming, and I think most cat rescues would take her. She just can't live with babies/small children; that's fairly normal. Most homes don't have little kids.

 

[inkxpencil]

There can be no second chances when it comes to my son. She has turned like this before, she can and likely will be perfectly fine with him for awhile.But we will never know when she could turn again. I can’t risk it. She has had behaviour issues since day one. I have worked with her since day one. She isn’t unwanted. I love her. I do not want to euthanize.

I will look into recuses. I selfishly don’t want to let her go. I love her, I really do. The thought of not seeing her everyday makes me want to cry. I feel like no matter what option I choose the outcome is heartbreaking. If someone I knew would take her. That would be the best scenario, so I could visit her but no one will.

 

[jefferd18]

I have said it before and I will say it again, children under the age of five should not be around pets without close and constant supervision. Who knows what set her off, it could have been a number of things. I seriously doubt it was just pure aggression on her part. When the baby is out, the cat needs to be put in another room.

Please, either find a safe balance, or find your feline friend another home.

 

[inkxpencil]

I have done a bit of soul searching and looked into recuses. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is in Rorys best interest to stay a member of my family. I don’t think she would do well if separated from me. We are going to use gates to keep Rory and the baby apart. She will have the entire upper floor, and some of the downstairs so she can still be apart of things. We are also going to turn the laundry room into a cat room for her, so when she has to be in there so at leasts it’s comfy. When the baby is upstairs they will switch sides, and she can have time with me when the baby is sleeping or downstairs with his dad. I return to work soon, so for the most part she will have run of the entire house during the day. She will only be separated for a few hours in the evenings and weekends.

If anyone has any ideas of things I should add to her room I would love to hear them. I already have a bed for her, a cat tree and toys for her. I am going to get a bird feeder so she watch the birds. Any ideas?

 

[Furballsmom]

Bless your heart for your compassion and consideration for everyone involved!

There might be something here, but actually I think you have a terrific plan for her;
How To Make Your Home Bigger (at Least For Your Cats) – TheCatSite Articles

 

[gilmargl]

Lovely idea! I've been thinking a lot about this. As people have already pointed out, cats do not usually attack babies. I once witnessed a foster cat of mine attacking a visitor, a woman who was carrying a dog! It was excusable, because the cat still had 4 3-month old kittens with her, and had obviously no positive experience with dogs in her past. I wonder if a crawling infant is seen as a threat? When the father intervenes, then he is also a bad guy! I can well imagine that things will sort themselves out with time. I hope so!

When i was growing up, cats were rarely seen indoors, and then they were usually asleep. They lived their lives outside, coming home for food and shelter and to sleep. A new baby in the family had no effect on their space or their lives. Today, most cats are indoor-only. They share our lives and our homes. How many times have I experienced, cats being given up, because of bad behaviour, when a baby arrives on the scene. The cat is no longer allowed in certain rooms (previously her playing area) and a noisy infant takes most of the attention of her owners. We have made our cats more dependent on us and will, in future, have to accept more responsibility for their well-being as full members of the family.

You're obviously a wonderful cat-person. I hope Rory appreciates it and behaves herself in future!