Husband threw cat after scratch

[Friarclose]

Tonight while trying to hold her still for a flea treatment, our cat severely scratched DH, drawing blood. DHs immediate kneejerk reaction was to throw the cat to the floor, hard. She missed the corner of a wooden table by about 4 inches.

DH is fuming that my only reaction was to scream at him for throwing her and not caring that he was bleeding. I know he was hurt but to throw her like that???

AIBU? was it just a reaction to being hurt or would other people put the cat down carefully regardless of being hurt? I'm really upset 😡

@Prawncow

people can have both & often do!

Cat scratches hurt, I'd assume knee jerk response

In that case I would be appalled by his behaviour.

Dropping is not throwing

There’s a lot of animal cruelty apologists on here. I’m shocked and disgusted.

How bad of a scratch are we talking? My brother has permanent nerve damage in his hand from a cat scratch, they can be really bad if the cat thinks it's fighting for it's life, and some of them definitely think being wormed or flead is life or death.

If he was just sort of flinging the cat away from him that really can be pure instinct, fight/flight. If he went "owe fuck" and then threw the cat then he had time to think and check himself.

I don't think it was a violent hurl from OPs description...

More like a knee jerk "get the hell off me".

It is down to interpretation - it’s hard to picture - words can be emotive …

There is a chucking cat off you because it is hurting you and throwing it across the room in anger ..

I wasn’t there so won’t judge ..

i think whilst someone said shows the cat haters you can get it both ways - you can have people who think anything is abuse of animals and the other extreme .

you can both judge

Cat is 10. Our dog is 3. We've had the cat from a kitten.

DH is contrite and says he's happy that the cat is OK.

I've gone to bed as I just need to not be around him tonight.

His scratch is nasty tbh but I just don't think there's ever an excuse to throw an animal. She's scratched me badly before too and yes it's horrible and your first reaction is to move her away from you but I remember just putting her down quickly on the sofa.

The difference with cats and guinea pigs though is cats are armed at all corners and quite willing to fight back .
guinea pigs would no more attack you than fly. ( ok there are some bitey ones but that’s rare)

Yabu for not wrapping said cat in a towel before attempting treatment.... lol.....we live....we learn.......

You described it as a kneejeck reaction so just that - a reaction without thinking.

My suggestion would be that next time you take the action end. When the cat carves a chunk out of your arm, your husband can then have a go at you for upsetting the cat and it will all be square.

I agree, you just anticipate scratches when doing their flea and worming, they don't mean it and reacting like he did just makes the next time worse imo.

Please make sure next time it's done on the floor so it can't happen again.

He's both cruel and unable to control his temper.

Pathetic really.

No. Just no.
Our old cat got attacked by a dog and went into hiding. We had to check him so my husband had to crawl into a tight space to retrieve him. He came out with cat biting and scratching. Not for a second would he consider throwing him. Despite the fact he had to head for a tetanus whilst I took the cat to the vet. I'd be incandescent and look at him through a different lens if he hurt an animal in such a way

My flatmate had the cutest pet hamster who she adored, honestly she treated him like a king. One day he randomly bit her, hard, and in the shock she kind of threw him. Luckily not far but it wasn’t a drop it was a throw and, knowing how much she loved him and seeing it happen, it was definitely instinctively done. So can believe OPs DP did it reflexively.

Ffs and what do you think the cat’s reaction was if not instinct.

People assume cats are similar to dogs but they’re much closer to wild animals. They’re not fluffy docile things and they can only bear so much handling.

I couldn’t forgive a man who treated an animal so cruelly by throwing it. Even if he was scratched and hurt by the cat. It’s pathetic behaviour to try to punish the cat like this. There’s no justification for anyone to do this to an animal.

It was probably a knee-jerk reaction. When my DS was 2 he bit my arm really hard and I threw him off me without thinking. I felt terrible but my body just reacted.

This
If it was a throw with force it would give me the ick and I’d be seeing him in a different light.
A big turn off.

@KatParr "There's always one 🙄
So predictable that the cat haters come out"

I adore cats. But they can be nasty buggers. That's one of the reasons I adore them.

If it was instinctive, then forgivable. Deliberate? Not so much.

Where do you draw the line on not throwing an animal? If an animal is attacking, which the cat clearly was and had hurt him, why should your DH have to accept it?

What about a small dog attacking him?

I would be disgusted if my husband did this! Drop the cat but not throw the poor cat - your cat must have been terrified! He needs to apologise big time for his temper tantrum!

A cat being restrained may scratch severely to get away, it is not an attack and he did not need to throw her.

Well, your cat is likely to feel scared when you try another course of treatment & will probably scratch again. Opening your arms and dropping a cat as a reaction is totally different to using force to push or throw a scared cat to the floor. Place your cat on a table or chair and make it feel safe and don't hold it in your arms up high when you do a treatment again.

How do you discipline a cat? He's not attacking me, he's doing his version of playing. If you have a cat then you have to deal with their teeth and claws without losing your temper. A grown man has no need to throw a cat.