To rehome my cat?

[FittyCent]

I'm not saying I definitely will and I'm not sure I want to but I'm so fed up of him ruining every nice thing I have and of him being an evil little shit.

Sofas, washing baskets, divan beds, carpets.

He has multiple scratching posts. I've tried the plug in from the vet to keep him calm, no change. Tried sprays to get him to scratch only his things and sprays to keep him away from mine.

I just be minding my own business and he goes into attack mode.

I've now got a young baby and he can't be around her.

At my wits end. So AIBU to be thinking of rehoming him.

For additional info he's 6. Had him since 8 weeks and he was neutered at 4 months as advised. All up to date with jabs and flea/worming.

“”You realise animals don’t feel emotions in the same way as humans"

There is evidence to suggest that actually, animals do experience emotion.”

Of course they experience some emotions. Not in the same way humans do though. Vastly different. Dogs don’t even experience a lot of the same emotions we do. As proven by Science.

Stop trying to humanise animals.

Oh and to the pp who posted a pic of a child in a cage. Children do get rehomed all the bloody time! I suppose everyone here is also against adoption then?! JFC 🤦‍♀️

Some posters on here are bloody nuts

We have two torties that are over 3. They are nicknamed “The Evils”
I have never known cats like them. They hate each other. One is sort of vaguely sane and the other is a full on psychopath. Wants a fuss then bites. Not much blood but still! Scratched youngest child when she sat on her own bed next to the cat.
Worth noting triggers. I need to keep hand movements slow and never touch psycho cat around her lower back. I need to accept that I will get it wrong sometimes. And yes. Then I will get bitten.
I won’t rehome. My kids are older and quite able to get me or close the door to prevent the cats going in their rooms.
I do sometimes wish I had a cuddly lapcat though. Won’t have kittens again. And have to volunteer at a local cat shelter to get my cuddles.
Thankfully the dog loves me.

Sadly we had to have a cat put down. He was only 5 years old and we raised him from a few days old (stray mother hit by a car), he didn't even have his eyes open. He was basically psychotic, he attacked without warning, one time I ended up in hospital with blood poisoning from a bite. We consulted (at great expense) three different vet clinics, they each kept the cat for several days and all agreed that he was unstable. None of them would recommend rehoming him, and with a toddler and a baby at the time, we had no option but to have him put down. When he wasn't having an episode, he was a lovely cat and it broke my heart, but I just couldn't risk him harming my kids. I always believed if you got a pet, you have it for life, but in this case we really had no choice.

I agree if this was a dog that had turned vicious everyone would be saying get rid of the dog, you can't trust a dog blah blah blah

Because a dog can kill a child, hell they can kill adults. A cat not so much.

I agree with givemesteel, set a nice bed up, toys, food bowl etc in a quiet room and let him come and go as he pleases through the cat flap. Keep the toddler away from him for now, you may find he calms down when she's older.

OP do you have lots of toys for him that contain catnip? My cat turns into a totally different cat when he's been sniffing catnip. I removed all toys with it in and now he is a normal cat again. He would attack anything in his way and dart around the house, it's quite scary after he's been around catnip toys.
If he's bored he will occasionally play fights with DH which I'm scared of but if he tries it with me I find a deep growl noise works a treat. Not loud just a deep noise.
Lastly, we have 2 children and our cat has never snapped at them even though both love to stroke/annoy/play with him. If he'd have been around catnip I'd never trust him in the same room as them let alone letting them close enough to stroke him.
Do what's right for your family but please try every option first. A vicious 6 year old cat will be almost impossible to rehome.

@Bringbackthestripes thank you will be going to pets at home first thing.

I've had a few people DM me now about rehoming so thank you for being kind. I think there are other things I need to try before definitely making that decision.

I'd hate to give him up as when he's lovely he's lovely.

Thanks to PPs with helpful comments.

He rarely comes around baby as he will just go off into another room. She's wary of him anyway due to previous biting and scratching her so she never gets too close.

@slothandsloth I did spray one of his scratching tables with catnip so i possibly need to replace that one

To PP who asked what I do when he attacks. I try to walk away but he will latch on to my foot/ankle and really be miowing at me. I don't want to be bitten and scratched just because he feels like it!

I have stair gates which he won't jump over. But if he wants in that specific room he'll cry and cry until he's let in.

He has pulled carpets up in rooms before now. Generally he has free roam to do what he wants.

I work for an animal charity. Definitely get in touch with Cats Protection, they should be able to offer you some good advice and assess yours AND your cats situation. Good luck.

@katekat383

Why don't you offer to rehome the cat if you're so high and mighty?

Bet the thought hadn't even crossed your mind.

(And yes, I have a cat before you make another stupid comment)

OP should be thoroughly ashamed of themselves. People like you give responsible and decent pet owners a bad name. Thoroughly selfish and inconsiderate. Having a pet is a lifelong commitment and not something to be discarded when they become inconvenient to you.

@FittyCent

I had a similar problem with our cat in that she scratched the sofas. We solved it when I realised that the scratching post she had wasn't tall enough for her. She's got one that comes up to about my hip height now so maybe 80-90cm? She stopped scratching the sofa after that.

I've also known cats to randomly attack but it's always quite sporadic. Does yours do it often?

I hope
You ignore the idiots on here . Tough decision but I’d put the baby first and as long as you do it properly via cars
Protection as
Someone suggested the. That’s as responsible as you can get !

Dear lord seriously so a life long commitment to misery rather than talk it with Professionals who may
Offer a much better solution the OP wasn’t thinking of casting her
Pet Oit on to the street - catch a grip

Because a dog can kill a child, hell they can kill adults. A cat not so much.

A small dog the same size as a cat? Hmm not so much. Cats can do a lot of damage to a young child but hey. Who's more important. If anything did happen to the child in sire social services would have something to say to the OP considering she knows the cat is vicious and attacks her on occasions.

Imustbemad00 erm I wasn't calling the OP Spiteful I was agreeing with a poster called Spiteful about your comment about animals not being able to feel emotions.

OP - is he like this with men? My Sil male cat would hiss and was aggressive with men but weirdly possessive with women - like he'd almost try to corral you into rooms where he wanted you, would sit on your chest with his face right next to your face but would try to nip you if you dared try to move him. And God forbid if DH tried to sit next to me!

Sounds totally bonkers but it was like he was possessive of women and saw men as competition.

Having a pet is a lifelong commitment and not something to be discarded when they become inconvenient to you.

It really isn't, unless cats now live for 50+ years. You should be ashamed of yourself.

Pulling up carpets. One of mine did this. We slipped a bit of Lino offcut under the door. No carpet equals no ripping!

What a lot of horrible bitches on this thread.
Ffs, it's a bloody cat!!

Look, I hate people who ditch pets at the drop of a hat as much as the next person but if you read the OP updates she does state that her Ex got the cat who then didn't bother to look after him and when they split the OP took the cat on as she couldn't trust him to look after the cat.

Ffs are people seriously suggesting OP keeps a pet that’s fucking attacking her baby ?

If anything did happen to the child in sire social services would have something to say to the OP

Yeah I'm sure with all the abuse/neglect that goes on in this country, SS are going to be worried about a cat 🙄

Unless you are actually dead there are people who think you shouldn’t rehome any pet ever. It gets a bit hysterical in here at times.

If you are unhappy and your pet will be restricted or shut away from family as a result of safety concerns I don’t get how continuing this misery is in anyone’s best interests, cat included. I’ve got two of the furry beasts and love them to bits but then they are not arseholes who try and claw everyone. My kids will always come before a pet. To suggest otherwise is farcical.

Ffs are people seriously suggesting OP keeps a pet that’s fucking attacking her baby ?
Op hasn't said the cat has attacked her toddler. She said it scratches her furniture and occasionally bites her. People have been giving her ideas so she doesn't have to get rid of it, which she wasn't keen on doing anyway. No one has said the cat comes before her DD.