To re-home cat over this

[Cloudsandrainbows]

Bit more WWYD than AIBU ...... We have a cat, unfortunate timing when we got him as a kitten as no one home all day, I was staying away with relatives and OH working, so think he wasn't socialised enough as a kitten maybe? Anyway several years down the line he is very affectionate but can still scratch and bite on occasion, mainly if provoked or playing. However he has bitten a friend's daughter, no one saw it happen, but was washed and put a plaster put on, however has become infected and the poor child has now got to have surgery to clean the wound and staying in hospital. I feel awful, I feel responsible, I feel guilty, but he has never hurt anyone this badly before. The parents seem ok, but not sure they would even say right now how they really feel about it as obviously concentrating on child in hospital. I have kids and worry what if he hurt them, but they love him and taking him away may cause more harm. WWYD? Do you think it was unfortunate accident? Would I be silly to consider rehoming our beloved pet over one bad experience in nearly 4 years? Or should I hands down just do it to protect my children, and somehow appease the parents of the child that has been hurt? What would you do in way of apology for this family, obviously already said sorry a thousand times, offered to take things to hospital if they need etc. Anyone got advice on cat behaviour?....could it be because they have a dog and he could smell their dog that made him feel threatened? Should or how can I punish him if he was to bite again? He is a house cat....has a run in the garden, but maybe is that not enough, should I let him out alone and risk him getting run over to give him more freedom to play and not be so wound up in the house?

I’d have it put down tbh.

The child? Seems fair. Won't do it again that's for sure.

(My response is as stupid as the comment)

People who love animals usually cant help themselves, they want to touch them; unfortunately many people don't understand why animals don't want to be touched by random strangers.
The cat isn't vicious, he isn't stalking children. Tell your kids and visitors to leave him alone.

Just seen your last post OP.

I grew up with cats, and no it isn't necessary to make sure your children and cat are supervised the whole time because the cat knows your children and presumably you've taught your children how to treat your cat with respect so that the cat doesn't have to resort to defending itself.

With strange children however, you do need to supervise because cats are easily pissed off and children can easily get bitten or scratched, as you've found out.

This isn't like having a dog who suddenly snaps and attacks.
It's pretty normal cat behaviour so don't think about rehoming for just this. Even the most loving, tame cat will at some point will randomly attack. It's why I cannot understand people who think a pet Lynx, lion or tiger is a good idea even if they've been raised by hand and are perfectly tame.

Cats can be loving and evil at the same time. Good luck to anyone who strokes the cat for a second too long, or touches the wrong spot or doesn't stroke them exactly as the cat thinks it's human slave should.

My kids know to be careful around our lovely, gentle, sweet loving cat who we personally raised by hand because she too will flip every now and then.

Your friends child will hopefully be more cautious around cats in future. It's a shame it turned serious but it's a lottery when getting bitten. On occasion, they do get infected. It was just bad luck. I used to trap and neuter ferals and am no stranger to bites and scratches.

He's staying where he belongs, but I will have to get him an outdoor house for when guests come.

Don't be so melodramatic. Unless your guests are an army of unsupervised children, then you should be perfectly able to ask people to please leave the cat alone.

This is what cats do. It’s unfortunate but for a one-off not a rehomable offence!

It’s also not uncommon for car bites to get badly infected and need hospitalisation and/or surgery - I’m a vet and have known several vets and nurses over the years who have had serious complications like this from cat bites.

Know in the future if a cat bites someone they should see seek medical care ASAP, especially a child!

No, you don't need to rehome it, it's not a dangerous dog,

It’s not the cat who needs supervision, it’s the child. No doubt the child was poking the cat. Totally your fault for leaving the child unsupervised. I wouldn’t punish the cat at all, just don’t let the child pester animals in future.

My DMums cat bit her a couple of years ago & she had to have an overnight stay in hospital on iv antibiotics, luckily no surgery needed. She felt unwell for almost a week.

This was from our lovely 20 year old cat who, when asleep, slipped off DMs lap, DM caught her & she bit her out of fear/panic. Never bitten before. Super sweet cat who died age 22.

Maybe you DCat was having a crazy moment on his scratching post & the little girl tried to pick up or play with him. Just an unfortunate accident & certainly not the cats fault.

Put it behind you but remind your DC & visitors to leave him alone, especially when he's playing.

My cat is ticklish. She is very laid back and a great big softy, but touch her side in her ticklish spot and she will bite. She can’t help herself. Maybe it was something like that.

Don’t rehome the cat, it would be a complete overreaction.

You dont need to follow them, just tell any children not to touch the cat as it could bite them. My grandmother had a vicious cat, we knew not to touch it, it's not rocket science.

Your own child knows the cat's boundaries by now so will be fine. Don't rehome it.

The majority of cats do bite if you do things they don't like or just stroke them a second too long.

@LunchBoxPolice Please never have any animal or children.

Lunchbox police what a load of goady bollocks

Have you ever met a cat? They can scratch and bite, even the people they love the most. Because they are cats.

Cat bites and dog bites are entirely different kettles of fish.

I would not rehome or put down a cat for biting.

So the cat was playing on its own toy and the child interrupted it? Not unlikely, cats do nip when they feel like it. My 15 year old does intermittently for no apparent reason! Never had an infection from it though. It's all very unfortunate but unless the cat is a complete psycho which from what you say it isn't then I wouldn't be rehoming.

Please don't rehome your cat. Of course you can't spend your days velcroed to the children but you can spend some time reinforcing how they should treat the cat. No ear or tail pulling etc I suspect he gave some warning signs before he bit. Can you teach them to note the warning signs even though they are young? He doesn't have a history of aggression so I would bet they played with him too much and he objected. If traffic is not a particular problem I would let him explore his immediate surroundings. He would have a much happier life.

Infection in cat bites is very common (more so than dog bites). Usually antibiotics are given straight away to prevent it. If your cat bites anyone again please make sure they are seen by a doctor.

My dcat is a Jekyll and Hyde type of girl, she can snap for no reason or if someone strokes her for too long etc, it's just of those cat things I'm afraid, but just for future reference OP cat bites can become badly infected very quickly and need a specific antibiotic fast. I suspect your friends didn't know this and didn't react quickly enough hence this unfortunate situation.

I've only had an infection once from a bite, it was last year and she bit me at the vets - I washed it straight away with the vets hibiscrub but the vet was adamant I should go straight to the drs, I couldn't get an appointment so was advised to go to minor injuries (I was reluctant as never had a problem before) but during the two hour wait to be seen my hand had doubled in size! It was really quite shocking! But antibiotics sorted it really quickly. As pp's said don't feel bad, but maybe don't leave her alone with unfamiliar children in future to be safe.

With strange children however, you do need to supervise because cats are easily pissed off and children can easily get bitten or scratched, as you've found out

Yes, presumably your kids have been taught how to behave around cats and the cat is familiar with them. You shouldn’t let strange kids play unsupervised as you don’t know what they’ve been taught and the cat doesn’t know them either

Cats bite a lot. For fun mainly. Mine is very affectionate and loving but when playing or cross with me, she will attack me. It's not comparable to a dog at all

Cats happen to have very pointy teeth that push bacteria in to a wound, like a needle might. Hence why bits can get infected easily

This was just unlucky. I sincerely hope she recovers - I'm sure she will. Maybe next time she won't come near the cat.

Just remind your own children that sometimes cats get cross, and teach them cues, like tail swishing. They will soon learn. Visiting children should be told not to touch the cat. Any child old enough to be left unsupervised is old enough to understand : This cat bites. Please leave him alone.

Presumably he is not an attack cat who would leap across the room, and bite unprovoked?

It’s just an accident. Don’t worry. I know you feel bad but you just need to do as PP suggested and send balloons and flowers. Don’t rehome 🐱

Just make sure visiting children know to stay away from the cat.

Our ndn's cat comes visiting us. She is such a soft thing, but when she's playing, if you put your hand too close she will attack it - all four paws and mouth try to kill your hand.

If she is 'sleeping' and you get too close she has been known to take a swipe at you and run off.

If she is minding her own business, cleaning herself etc and you reach out to stroke her she can have many different reactions. Oftentimes she lets you stroke her, sometimes she'll run away in annoyance, sometimes she'll play with you, other times she'll try to bite you. It depends on what mood she is in or if she sees your approach as a threat. If someone's hand comes out of nowhere she generally feels threatened so reacts appropriately - runs away or defends herself.

Just because the little girl reached out to your cat in all innocence doesn't mean that is how the cat saw it. Someone reached out and cat saw it as a threat so it reacted. Perfectly natural response.

If your cat attacked or was aggressive all of the time then you would be right to have concerns, attacking when playing or feeling threatened is to be expected.

Although cats fairly often scratch and nip in play, it's much less common for them to bite hard enough break the skin. That usually happens either in territorial disputes between male cats or when they're trying to escape something. It's very likely that it wasn't his fault.

Unfortunately once the skin is broken, cat bites are notorious for causing infection. It happened to me when I was young (my cat was being chased by a dog and I picked her up to try to protect her, but she was in a panic.) and it happened to my oldest when she was young. (She was used to handling our cat, and so assumed she could do the same with a strange cat that wandered into the garden. He disagreed.) Don't beat yourself up over it too much. The little girl will be ok soon and probably won't remember much.

If you rehome the cat, there's a possibility that the stress of the rehoming could even make him more likely to bite others in the future.

BuzzShit

I have to ask OP how old was the cat when you got it?