To think that a five year old deserves to be bitten hard!

[Reallytired]

One of my son's friends was trying to put handcuffs on the poor cat. The cat completely lost her temper and bit the child hard.

The boy had been told to leave the cat alone and the cat had waved her claws at him before biting. He had been warned..

Should I send the cat on an anger management course? Especially as physical punishment is frowned on mumsnet. Personally my sympathy is with the cat!

I would have taken the handcuffs from the boy and put the cat outside straight away before the cat had a chance to bite

I am also on the cat's side. I think that getting bitten when you have been goading a cat (despite warnings) is a valuable lesson to learn about following instructions, doing as you're told, and not tormenting an animal.

I'm with you TWC

Substitute 'dog' for 'cat' in the OP and imagine the response you would have got...
Although I know it's a lot harder/completely impossible to train cats. I'm lucky, in that mine runs a mile whenever there are strangers in the house.

You know, I was thinking that when I was typing and came to the conclusion that I would still feel cross at the child rather than the animal.
Saying that, my cats would never let themselves be caught by my children - they're pretty agile.
Also, cats do have a more limited ability to do serious damage IMO.
Personally I would have made sure the cat could escape somewhere quiet and would have removed the boy from the area.

My cat bit me once when I was holding him for his jabs when he was a kitten. I'm still on his side that he did that. Poor thing didn't like needles.

Depends how old the boy was - if he's three it's a shame. If he's any older then no - don't torment animals.

the parent also deserves to be bitten, they should have stopped him

i would have been inclined to remove the cat. But whats done is done and he was told not to torment so serves him right.

Word of caution, cat bites can get infected really easily - if it broke the skin then i think a trip to the nurses at the doctors might be in order, especially if he is not up to date with tetanus. But do keep an eye on the area, if it is red and warm, then trip to the doctors as it may need antibiotics

Well, my ds is constantly terrorising our poor cat, he has been warned time and time again not to pull her about and that she will scratch him, so when she does, its his own fault.
However if it was someone esles child, as they dont actually have to learn to live alongside my cat, I probably would have told them off then put the cat safely in my room/garden.

The parent wasn't there it was a playdate. The boy is five years old nearly six. It happened very quickly while I was concentrating on getting dinner ready.

Anyway the cat is fine. Prehaps it was just feline self defence. The boy will live and hopefully won't annoy any other cats. The boy's mum was very understanding as she is a vetinary nurse and has battle scars from various cats.

Good on the cat, i say!

Little wotsitI would have put the handcuffs on the boy, chained him up in the garden and given the cat a large saucer of cream to get over the trauma!

Am very much a dog person and not too keen on cats but UANBU. Any child over the age of toddlerhood who has been warned but continues to torment an animal must expect a bite.

all of my children including my 2.9 year old, are told that if they torment our cats, they risk being scratched/bitten. Having said that, if I see anything I do try and stop it/remove the cat, - but this is to protect the cat not the child

Poor cat - I would also say poor dog if it were a dog, children should learn not to torment animals

Message withdrawn

Linking this with another thread - the ONLY time I have ever smacked my children was when I heard wailing and discovered my dd aged 3 with the cat's tail clamped in her teeth. The cat was howling, but miraculously (or maybe just stupidly) not biting or scratching her. I couldn't prise her jaws apart, and I was so worried he would suddenly turn round and savage her face that I smacked her and she let go to wail. To this day I have no idea why she did it!

seeker, that story did make me smile at the image of carniverous toddler chomping down on the poor cats tail

I have a big problem with my DD at the moment, she is 2.3 and is going through a phase of being really spiteful to our dog. I mean REALLY spiteful, hitting, biting, dragging around by the ears, kicking and headbutting!!! HOW on earth do i stop this behaviour, i obviously never leave dog and child together alone, and separate them as soon as she starts tormenting the poor beast. The dog is amazingly tolerant, but for how much longer? Also, whilst i expect him to tolerate a certain amount of excess cuddling and lap sitting - she LOVES her doggy she really does, i do not expect the poor sod to put up with being hurt. I am at a loss as how to stop it, DP thinks i should ignore it as he feels she does it more if i tell her off, she thinks it is amusing. I cant do this as i wont tolerate the dog being hurt and risk DD being bitten. I have tried shouting at her, making her feel guilty for hurting her dog and tell her he wont be her friend(when i do this she gets upset and insists on giving the dog a cuddle) Yesterday i put her out of the room and ignored her for a few minutes, then brought her back in to explain what she had done wrong. Later that day, poor dog being dragged around by the ears!

Part of me wants him to bite her but i obviously don't want him to injure her. He is only 6 months old and i know i have to nip this in the bud soon. Maybe if he were to snap her hand then she might get the message. To be fair, the dog comes back for more every time, i think he sees it as a game, he is a tough little terrier cross and i play rough with him when DD isnt around and he loves it. It is more the ear pulling that upsets me.

Does anyone else have experience of this and how did you tackle it?

lucyellensmum - I have a similar problem with my 3.6 ds and our 6 month old terrier. WAgain the dog is amazingly tolerant, but have oftened wondered how long he can keep it up for. Will be keeping an eye on this thread for answers!

ive started a new thread about it bernie