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#11
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cat scratches
llama mama wrote:
we have one cat that will let Boo maul him, a deaf cat named Faucet. he *will* scratch if extremely provoked, but it takes a lot to get him to. i can't remember him scratching more than 4 or 5 times before Boo got the hint that tails aren't pull toys, and they were always very light scratches. Our cat is deaf. I wonder if there's a connection? Anyway, I'm hoping Ollie will learn soon. He's had about four or five scratches -- not all that many, but the problem is that they're on the face and head. We're afraid the cat is aiming for the eyes. http://www.tarogue.net/~tom/brennan/...e/mvc-011f.jpg Faux meets the baby Maybe our cats are related: http://chatteringmind.com/photos/200.../quit_taking_o ur_picture.jpg -- Sara, accompanied by the baby barnacle I check this e-mail account infrequently |
#12
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cat scratches
LFortier wrote:
...really work on the concept of gentle. With time and repetition, Ollie will catch on. Good to know. Thanks. -- Sara, accompanied by the baby barnacle I check this e-mail account infrequently |
#13
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cat scratches
"Sara" wrote in message ... llama mama wrote: we have one cat that will let Boo maul him, a deaf cat named Faucet. he *will* scratch if extremely provoked, but it takes a lot to get him to. i can't remember him scratching more than 4 or 5 times before Boo got the hint that tails aren't pull toys, and they were always very light scratches. Our cat is deaf. I wonder if there's a connection? Possibly. Most very small kids squeal as they run towards a cat... so most cats get prior warning to clear out. Anyway, I'm hoping Ollie will learn soon. He's had about four or five scratches -- not all that many, but the problem is that they're on the face and head. We're afraid the cat is aiming for the eyes. Very likely... that's one of the ways they fight when they fight each other. |
#14
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cat scratches
Sara wrote:
Heh. Actually, we've wondered if he's trying to say "cat," or if he's making cat sounds. That could be amusing when other people ask him if he knows what a cat says... "Hack...hack...hack" -- iphigenia www.tristyn.net |
#15
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cat scratches
"Sara" wrote in message ... silvasurfa wrote: Is there a relative you can send the cat to for a holiday until the baby can talk... they are a *lot* easier to teach when they can talk... also taller so their eyes are more out of paw strike range. Nope, the cat's here to stay. There are ways of blunting claws just a bit that don't involve declawing. I've heard of a stick on product called soft-paws (i think that's what it is called) and some people just regularly trim off the very end of the claw to make it slightly less pointy. I doubt this will solve the problem completely, but it may be worth it as a temporary extra precaution until your child reaches an age of more sense. |
#16
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cat scratches
Sara wrote in message ...
My nine-month-old baby loves our cat. Loves to chase him, to pet him, to try to eat him. The cat is surprisingly tolerant, but... well... there have been incidents. We keep the cat's claws trimmed and try to stop the violence, but even so Ollie's getting quite a few scratches. Is there anything to worry about with these scratches? I've read about "cat scratch fever," but anything else? (He's an indoor, healthy cat.) Sara, I have a great online reference for you about Cats & Kids found at the address: http://www.flippyscatpage.com/health.html#children . Please let me know if this helped. Andrea |
#17
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cat scratches
Sara wrote: My nine-month-old baby loves our cat. Loves to chase him, to pet him, to try to eat him. The cat is surprisingly tolerant, but... well... there have been incidents. We keep the cat's claws trimmed and try to stop the violence, but even so Ollie's getting quite a few scratches. Is there anything to worry about with these scratches? I've read about "cat scratch fever," but anything else? (He's an indoor, healthy cat.) Glad to hear the cat is here to stay We've got a cat and two dogs and a 2 yo daughter. No major mishaps yet. Lots of supervision. The cat, smartly, keeps her distance from DD (although she does sleep on her bed at night), and DD went through a stage of hitting the dogs. Correction, redirection and supervision eventually prevailed. For your immediate problem, while Ollie is still little you might look into those plastic coverings for kitty claws. Vet offices sell them. They just glue onto the claws. This should provide some measure of protection for the baby. Continue to supervise, and redirect Ollie and provide a safe haven for the cat. Mary |
#18
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cat scratches
This is very simple to me.
The baby doesnt know better when it comes to handling a cat, and won't for quite a while. The cat doesnt care if the baby knows better or should know better. The cat will react defensively and most likely with aggression to discourage it when it goes to far (and it will) Your baby is in real danger of getting very badly scratched/mauled or worse, his vision permantly damaged. You need to separate the cat from the baby until he knows better, end of story. cheers "Sara" wrote in message ... blacksalt wrote: My biggest worry would be a down right mauling when the cat gets sick of it. If it were my cat, I'd protect it from maulings from baby, even if it means using a squirt bottle to train cat to get up and leave when baby approaches. Just because deep bites haven't happened yet, doesn't mean they won't, nor that an eye won't be scratched. That's what I'm most worried about -- that Ollie's eye will get scratched. We're trying to teach Telephone (the cat) to run away, and to take naps up where Ollie can't reach him, but it isn't working. The cat seems to really like Ollie -- he rubs up against him and purrs, and likes to hang out with him. It just is every now and then when Ollie's too rough, Telephone scratches him. -- Sara, accompanied by the baby barnacle I check this e-mail account infrequently |
#19
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cat scratches
"T.R.H." wrote in message ... This is very simple to me. The baby doesnt know better when it comes to handling a cat, and won't for quite a while. The cat doesnt care if the baby knows better or should know better. The cat will react defensively and most likely with aggression to discourage it when it goes to far (and it will) Your baby is in real danger of getting very badly scratched/mauled or worse, his vision permantly damaged. You need to separate the cat from the baby until he knows better, end of story. cheers And the humanest way to do that IMHO is give the cat a holiday at a friend's house. Even 6 months to a year would help a lot, although 2 years would see the kid pretty much out of major danger. Many animal loving people are thrilled to take care of someone's pet for a while if the owner supplies food and pays for any vet costs. An elderly relative or neighbour might be a good option. |
#20
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cat scratches
"Sara" wrote: I'd try to gradually teach the child how to pet and treat the cat properly. Any advice on how to do this? We're trying to teach him "gentle," and show him over and over how to stroke the cat. Ollie's stopped biting him and doesn't grab his fur with both hands any more, so there's been progress. That's sort of how we've done it. "Gentle" was always said when she petted the cat, which used to be always in a very rough manner. She now does okay most of the time. "Off limits" is a catch-all phrase that we use for several areas (behind the TV, the street, etc.) and have applied that to the tail area, for now. "No chase" has been used a few times too. (I try not to use "no" at all, as suggested by many, but there are a few areas in which I can't think of any way to phrase things positively, such as the above.) Until your child learns, which should take awhile considering his age, I'd monitor their "playtime" pretty closely. They're together all day and night, so it's pretty difficult. Then it's hard to say. Maybe the advice of some others might work. Our cats keep to themselves a lot, and go outside, so they don't have a huge amount of face time with the child. When they do, I'm usually there. P. Tierney |
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