i can't believe i am typing this but i have got to re home my kitten, she keeps attacking my 1yr old. he pulled her tail a few times (when we first got her) and now if she sees him she gos for him :( he as scratches on his hands and a few on his legs and its not fair on him and its not fair on the kitten be put out of the room all the time.

shes fine with my other son (3 yrs) , me and my partner. she is very affectionate and loves nothing more than curling up on your knee.

ive tried everything sitting with them both getting him to stroke he nice but she just scratches and bites him.

if anyones got any tips that would be fab as i would hate to have to re home her.

How old is the kitten?

shes about 19-20 weeks but a small cat, i understand that because shes young she will scratch more but she dose not do it to anyone else

I may be leaving myself wide open to criticism here, but you could try a sprayer... an old spray bottle full of water, and when the cat goes near the baby just give her a quick spray.
It doesnt hurt her, if anything its just a bit of a shock.
I know this works, not with cats scratching babies but with cats and pretty much everything else - years ago we had a moggy that was just into everything. He used to bother the budgie and the hamster no end. We used to spray him, just one quick spray, and within 3 days he was leaving them alone.
This worked the same when our next door neighbours got a rabbit. One quick spray every time anyone caught him near the hutch. Within 3 days he was fine, just used to stroll past after that and ignore the rabbit completely.
I would never advocate anything cruel, so please dont jump on me for this. I have seen it done and know it works. And it has to be better than parting with your family pet;and its for different reasons but I know how much THAT hurts.

I may be leaving myself wide open to criticism here, but you could try a sprayer... an old spray bottle full of water, and when the cat goes near the baby just give her a quick spray.
It doesnt hurt her, if anything its just a bit of a shock.
I know this works, not with cats scratching babies but with cats and pretty much everything else - years ago we had a moggy that was just into everything. He used to bother the budgie and the hamster no end. We used to spray him, just one quick spray, and within 3 days he was leaving them alone.
This worked the same when our next door neighbours got a rabbit. One quick spray every time anyone caught him near the hutch. Within 3 days he was fine, just used to stroll past after that and ignore the rabbit completely.
I would never advocate anything cruel, so please dont jump on me for this. I have seen it done and know it works. And it has to be better than parting with your family pet;and its for different reasons but I know how much THAT hurts.









ive been doing that but she just licks it off her face:huh: ive also tried clapping but that dose not work. shes fine with the geckos she sits and watches them in there viv lovely.

Cats do know the difference between adults and children of other species and one of the reasons that kittens and small children often have an issue together is that kittens try to play with human children like they would play with other kittens.

Of course, human children don't have the fabulous armour that is afforded by fur, or the kitten's fast reflexes and so usually it's the human child left with the marks, whilst the kitten doesn't understand what they've done wrong. She'll react differently towards you because you are mummy- mummy's job is comfort and food, not playing.

Your kitten is just approaching the stage when even the most prepared of people begin to wonder whether their kitten is demonic, so I'm not at all surprised that you're seeing her being too rough with your son- and that's quite possibly unrelated to the tail pulling incidents.

Personally, I can only reiterate that this is why we don't home kittens to families with babies- little ones are usually too rough with kittens but are very vulnerable when the kittens get rough back again or take exception to the child's ham fisted treatment of them.

Does she stay away from your little one and only scratch if he/she comes close? If so maybe the kitten just needs some space? I know it took our kittens a while to get used to our kids who were at the time the same age as yours are now but eventually they came round in the end.

Sorry not being of much help!

no she will come running or walking in the room and just bite/ scratch him. dose anyone know why shes okay with my 3yr old and not my 1 yr old?? when my 3 yr old picks her up like a rag doll (not that i let him) and she dose not scratch / bite him at all

I may be leaving myself wide open to criticism here, but you could try a sprayer... an old spray bottle full of water, and when the cat goes near the baby just give her a quick spray.
It doesnt hurt her, if anything its just a bit of a shock.
I know this works, not with cats scratching babies but with cats and pretty much everything else - years ago we had a moggy that was just into everything. He used to bother the budgie and the hamster no end. We used to spray him, just one quick spray, and within 3 days he was leaving them alone.
This worked the same when our next door neighbours got a rabbit. One quick spray every time anyone caught him near the hutch. Within 3 days he was fine, just used to stroll past after that and ignore the rabbit completely.
I would never advocate anything cruel, so please dont jump on me for this. I have seen it done and know it works. And it has to be better than parting with your family pet;and its for different reasons but I know how much THAT hurts.

To be fair... it's doubtful that the budgie and hamster approached the cat.

This little boy will be approaching the cat at some point and the cat will see him and associate him with getting a squirt of water.

We already know the cat associates baby with getting tail pulled (most likely) and is reacting in this aggressive way towards baby so reinforcing that baby is a dangerous thing (ie. 'I get squirted with water and it's baby's fault') will surely only serve to strengthen the aggressive response.

Sorry.

I'm afraid I don't have any advice at this moment in time - I would be looking at using counter conditioning (used on dogs, but works pretty much the same with all animals) to change the emotional response to the baby. The cat sees the baby as a bad thing at the moment so you need to retrain the cat's emotions to see baby as a good thing.

How you would go about doing this I'm not entirely sure because I'm not that good with knowing what makes cats tick... You could always try restricting the amount cat sees baby and making sure when the cat does see baby something really great comes like smelly fish or a grooming session - whatever the kitten loves. Have a think about what your kitten loves and use it.



EDIT: This is, of course, assuming that it is aggression (I use the term loosely) and not play as Medusa suggests. Again, I don't know cats that well so although knowing how counter conditioning works, I can't diagnose problems!! :lol:

I think that part of the problem is that nobody can see whether this is aggression, play or just pushing her luck in the social structure without observing them closely together, because play and aggression look pretty similar to those who don't know cat body language.

I can't suggest what will work either because I don't know what makes her world go round. Have you tried snuggling her when your son is around but not allowing her to be interacting with her?

I would back Medusa on this one.

Puppies and kittens - my god everyone wants them - but they bite and scratch and hurt. Thats what they do. These are animals that are testing out their hunting skills as they would do in the wild. People should read up on the advise. Most rescues wouldn't rehome these youngsters with babies or toddlers - because the children are really just sitting ducks for their play.

The kittens and puppies don't mean to hurt - they mean to play. Children and toddlers also don't mean to hurt when they tug tails, pull ears, grab hold of a leg - they mean to play (usually), but the pets don't see it like that.

It takes time and patience to ensure that both can grow up together, and when people phone me up asking for a puppy or a kitten ' to grow up with their children' I often talk them through the benefits of an older more settled pet - but most ignore it anyway.

I don't think its possible to 'train' or 'bully' either the child or the kitten into not hurting the other - and so it may be that you should look to rehome the kitten to a home with either older children or no children - then if you are intent on having a pet - find one thats older and more settled. BUT you have to keep your side of the bargain and be on at your children to never ever torment or tug the pet - otherwise they are quite within their right to play rough back.

I'm with rainrescue and medusa- it sounds like normal play behaviour -and if there are no other cats or kittens in the house, its only understandable that the youngster is the natural outlet. Keep at it with the squirty bottle but no yelling or screaming at the kitten - cats have long memories and dont respond well to harsh words. Also, try trimming its claws so at least the damage can be reduced - my cats are indoor and even though they have scratching posts, they must spend hours finely sharpening their talons (not to use on use, I hasten to add). I know from experience too that very young children and kittens are not always a good mix- seen too many being picked up by the tail or pulled about - no wonder they retaliate or run a mile when they see youngsters

ive tried getting her to sit with me and my little boy but she wont, ive tried getting him to give her treats but she wont take them from him.

What about having your little one with you when it is feeding tie for the cat? I know this has worked with my kids and the dogs. Not sure how a kitten would respond but food is usually a good thing in a pussy cats eyes ( I know it is for all mine!! :rolleyes: )so it may give the cat a positive memory of your little one at least and your son doesnt have to be too close to the kitten at the time so you are not forcing them together - just having them in reasonably close contact (ie your son in your arms while the cat is on the floor to take the food) at a positive time of the day.

Other than that it is probably a case of sit it out and wait for the little bundle of fluff to find something else to stalk and pounce at.

Does your kitten have tons of toys she can aim her energy towards?

You can buy some really good ones in poundland or even make your own, so they don't have to cost the earth.

My kittens favourite is a ball ont he end of a long handle and dangly bit of rope, we can sit for ages with it whilst they dive and pounce on it, then sleep for ages :lol:

A scratching post is also one of their favourites, and it saves our legs and the settee!

yes she has toys and a scratching post.

Sounds like your doing everything right then, you just have to sit it out.

I've got two kittens and the first few weeks me and my boy looked like we were self-harming!

They soon get to manage their own claws a bit better though.

I understand your cat - she has bad experience with your kid so she's trying to defend herself and set up boundaries. To be honest I think it's a bit cruel of you to expect the cat to understand your kid's behaviour - she is an animal and feels threatened so she's trying her best to stop your kid from harming her any more.