Hi all, I need some opinions and advice.
I am heartbroken, after two years of managing within an incident, today my 8 years old grumpy cat snuck back in one more time in my bedroom where my son has been playing and scratched him on the face pretty badly! Apart from the fact that now I'm worried about infection and scarring, I am pretty certain my son is not safe around our cat and I want him rehomed but before I jump the gun since I'm upset I would like other people's opinions.
For reference, my cat is a big boy 6kg British blue and even my border collie is scared of him so he's the king of our household. I know my animals and I knew from the beginning he wouldn't bond with my son and I've taken steps to keep them apart. It was easier when my son was a baby but now that he is 2 and able to easily walk from room to a room it's more difficult to keep the bloody cat away. My son was playing in our bedroom today and the cat kept going in on the bed even though he cares not to sleep in it overnight! I chased him multiple times away, got him downstairs and even tried to block the baby gate on the stairs so he can't get in but he found a way. I had no idea he's snuck in and my son went from giggling to screaming! He was lucky he didn't get his eye by literally a millimeter! The problem is that my cat will not run away when unhappy, he will attack to get the subject of his unhappiness away! Even though my son is and has never been rough with the cat, he doesn't like touching him, he just loves watching him and giving him treats so the cat has no reason to be afraid of him or dislike him, the only people he allows to be near him is me and my husband and he will attack guests and the dog if they get close (not necessarily approaching him, just walk by!). He's healthy, he's otherwise happy cat, just nasty temperament... My son is ever so gentle and our neighbours cats love him, same with their dogs, I've made point to teach him how to treat animals well so I know it wasn't his fault and it was my cat. So I'm extremely upset. I have been hoping it won't come to this but today has made me think I cannot control the situation as much as I thought I could and I believe I should re-home my cat. I have been thinking this for a while but always kept my hope up I wouldn't need to. I know my emotions are high right now so I just need to hear other people's perspective.
P.S. I know I'm referring to my cat as 'the cat's or 'my cat' which sounds indifferent but I love that ball of furr and I've doted on him for years, always loved his company and how independent he was, he will just lay next to me, watching what I'm doing but never being needy. He got me through some hard times and I'm heartbroken and in conflict atm and I don't want my love for him to overshadow my better judgement....