View Single Post
  #3  
Old July 17th, 2014, 09:14 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
Senior Contributor
 
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 4,371
Quote:
Originally Posted by Longblades View Post
First I would Vet the cat. There may be a medical condition prompting his behaviour. Hyperthroidism is one but it still remains peculiar he targets just the one child.

In rare, rare, rare times I think declawing is justified. It will be hard to rehome the male because ethically you will have to disclose your reasons. But of course you should try. I think you should rehome. I hope the cat simply sees the toddler as a walking, catchable playmate but the lunging at him may not be and it's dangerous to your child. And in the time you take to try to train the cat out of this behaviour your child could be injured, in his eyes as I am sure is your biggest worry.

I have a cat who lunges at me and scratches me too. She's a former feral and her timing might be days, months or years apart so very unpredictable. But I can read her pretty well and see when she is getting over stimulated and distract her or move away. A child cannot do that.

If there is no underlying medical reason, or even if there is but treatment does not resolve the problem and you cannot rehome I fear your only options for your child's safety are PTS or declaw. I would certainly choose declaw first. Declawed cats sometimes use their teeth more so it may not help much. And it can make them more aggessive as they realize they are impaired and get their licks in first. The best defense is a good offense so to speak.

I really hope someone else comes along with a better idea for you, but that's all I can come up with. A co-worker of mine was engaged to a man who was afraid her two cats would wreck his expensive furniture. No one would take them, she had them PTS. I wish she had tried declawing. It isn't always a fiasco. Good luck.

This is what declawing a cat it like. The OP needs to keep the child away from the cat , and maybe try using a spray bottle filled with water and spray the cat if it think of going near the child. I use a spray bottle for a cat and after getting sprayed a few times I just had to pick up the bottle and cat would run. It helps to have a smart cat too.






Reply With Quote