Discussions

I'm at loss of what to do. We have tried what the vet recommended with no avail. Our cat gets along for the most part with our 6 month old, except for when he doesn't want to be bothered. That is only a problem because he will continue to lay beside her when he doesn't want attention. My 6 month old will grab at him (yes we correct her into petting softly everytime, but she can't grasp that concept yet). His first reaction is to bite, not swat. My concern is cat bites almost always require serious antibiotics. My daughter can't crawl or walk yet so he literally can go anywhere else, he just decides not too.  
 
background: hes NOT declawed, hes 4 years old and healthy. Never been around kids or babies before. He hasn't liked kids that are on the move (learnt that way after the fact) and hoping it will be different with a baby hes watched grow and is use to.  
 
 
I really don't want to give him up, but I also don't want my daughter to be bitten because he doesn't want to go anywhere else.

Could you not just shoo the cat away if it insists on laying beside the baby? I'm a bit confused.  
 
Our cat years ago was okay with babies as long as they weren't walking. As soon as they walked she would just run away.

We do try to shoo him away, entice him with treats, play, cuddles etc. But he always goes back and plants himself right next to her.  
 
He's been around kids on the move one or twice now, but he follows them, watches them and jumps at them.  
 
My other cat buggers off when he's had enough and runs away from kids on the move. - What I assumed both cats would do. I have given them their own areas that are "baby free" and lots of cat trees so they can get up and away in every room. That's why it baffles me that he always goes back to her.

Maybe your cat is protective of her and that's why it keeps going back to baby. Also given her age of not knowing how to be gentle, the cat bites. The other question is, is the cat biting in a mean way or playing because it thinks baby is playing?  
 
Our cats sometime nip gently when playing.

Dr Liana Mawer of Petmobile Clinic in Brandon has some suggestions on her website. She can also come to your house to do an assessment of your pet and offer help.  
 
http://www.petmobilevetclinic.com/index.php?id=baby

 
 
Edited by Furrybabiesmom, 2017-02-20 13:28:15

How about a non electric scatmat I don''t know if they work but cats are not supposed to like the sound I think there like a foil mat you could put beside baby they do have one that give out small static shock but I don''t think they would be the best thing to have around baby or give kitty a haircut if she is pulling on the hair especially if kitty has longer fur  
 
Edited by Furrybabiesmom, 2017-02-20 13:39:49

And has never needed antibiotics from the cat nipping him?  
 
Our cat is the same way. He's over protective of my son, so he won't leave even when he gets tired of him. We've had once or twice the cat has scratched/bit him but it's never enough to even make him cry.  
 
Now that he's mobile he chases the poor cat.  
 
Your best bet is to give your cat a space of his own in the babies main play area. We've given ours a spot where he can still watch our little guy but be away from him. Seems to work for the most part.

Sounds to me like the cat is attracted to the baby like how cats are attracted to a load of laundry fresh out of the dryer. It''s not the kid he wants to be near/on, it''s the combination of the warmth, clean/fresh smell and the soft fuzzy fabrics of clothing and the blanket. Just be glad he didn''t jump into the crib when she was smaller and smothered her. You just may have to separate him from the baby (or watch him like a hawk) until she gets older. I was told years ago to never trust a cat alone with a baby. Some cats will treat babies as nothing more as a warm place to sleep on. So, we always kept the kids bedroom door closed and kept the cat at a distance if we were not within swatting reach (*joke* -we usually shooed, hissed or sprayed water to condition it to stay off the kid). There''s no "quick fix" to the problem, the cat needs to be conditioned. You need to train him to stay off and away. Just like you would to keep him from jumping up on the counters or scratching out the carpet/furniture.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong.  
 
Edited by snowman5, 2017-02-20 17:05:39

I am a pet owner and a parent, so I hate to say this, but...  
 
 
 
Have you thought of another home for the baby...

Stew Fair said "I am a pet owner and a parent, so I hate to say this, but...         Have you thought of another home for the baby... "

best post ever.

Love this post!

I am so worried about this happening to my family. I am pregnant and also have a cat who is kind of an ass... He jumps at our legs randomly and bites. Also turns on a dime whist we're petting him. Some days hes super sweet and loving, and the next hes a demon. We've tried scolding, spraying him with water, taps on the nose... everything. At a loss for what to do, or what we might have to do once baby comes. Hes only a year and a half... so im hoping he will grow up a bit, maybe even get attached to my child. But I still worry.

I have two cats, one friendly and declawed (adopted that way), and one really angry/crazy cat with claws that doesn't like people but picked me as her favourite. The mean cat developed jealousy issues before I gave birth and would attack the nice one if I touched him. The nice one them developed a habit of sleeping in crib (yes we constantly threw him out). I was terrified what would happen when baby arrived.  
 
Now our little one is 7 weeks and all our worries were wrong. Nice cat won't go near him, so crib has lost its appeal for him. As the weeks go by, he is avoiding the baby more and more. Mean cat has let the little one rip hair out of her tail and growled but did not even retaliate. She's even showing concern when he cries and cuddling up to me even when I have kid in my arms.  
 
Definitely not what I expected and the cats keep changing their behaviour gradually, so who knows if I'll be luck once the little one is more coordinated

This likely won't be received well BUT When my daughter was born out went the cats (we are in the country). I would never risk my child's safety for a cat. I love my animals but my child comes first. Cats are looked after and happy outside.  
 
Also keep the cats away from your face. A few years ago while cuddling a cat I got scratched on my eye. I still suffer long term affects from it. It can happen so fast!

Someone needs to watch the Dog Whisperer.  
 
In my past I was part of a dog rescue, and the biggest mistake pet owners do is turn the keys of their house over to the pets.