Cat scratching baby - help!

[Cramitmaam]

Just that really. DS is 11 months old and loves the cat. Doesn't pull her fur but does get into her personal space and sometimes the cat reacts by scratching him. Today the scratch caught his face, and very nearly his eye.

Cat is generally good natured but hates loud noises and sudden movement near her face.

I do obviously supervise and try and intervene when they get too close but they seem to be attracted to each other like magnets. Apart from these occasional scratches they seem to get on very well and want to be together. The cat is young and healthy and could very easily get away from the baby when he gets to close. There are also several rooms in the house that the baby never goes in which the cat has access to at all times. She has a tall cat tree to hide in as well.

What do we do? DS isn't talking yet, no signs of it happening soon. He obviously won't understand me trying to explain. Will the cat eventually start moving out of the way?

Any advice from my fellow cat owners?

Your cat is not to blame here and you’ll get no joy trying to teach her not to scratch people she perceives as a threat. Instead you need to start training your son to keep away and to always be gentle. All of mine had grasped this by about 20 months. In the meantime you’ll need to supervise whenever they’re together.

Just realised a bit more detail on training might help. We talked a lot about how the cat was feeling, modelled ‘gentle hands’ and spoke to them sternly and removed them whenever they tried to grab at or chase the cat.

You keep the child away from the cat at all times. The cat doesn’t feel safe when the child is in its space. So it will scratch.
You move the child. Don’t expect the cat to control this situation.

Sorry to say but I rehomed my cat earlier this year due to this. He was a very unpredictable and aggressive rescue cat though

I don't think my cat is to blame, not sure why you would think that?

20 months doesn't sound so bad. I was worried that the timeline would be longer...

Yes, we do "soft and gentle" and I try to show him how she likes to be petted. It doesn't seem to have made any difference yet. Hopefully it will sink in eventually.

Not that you blame the cat. But you said how long until the cat starts to move away.
I would be trying to get a very small child to just leave the cat completely alone. There is plenty of time to teach gentle hands etc.

Does the cat have a safe, high space in the room the baby is in? We put a favourite cushion on the bookcase and used treats to encourage her up there.

@DorotheaHomeAlone thanks for that training advice, very useful. I'll give it a go. Really keen to get everything sorted as I don't see rehoming her as an option. In this country cats are seen as vermin and I don't trust that she would end up in a loving home. It's best if she stays with us where she is safe and loved.

Just keep modelling good behaviour and remove cat (or baby) away from one another. You have to be on it. Child will get it eventually.

Has she got a cat tower? They can’t resist a high up place to observe us from.

@Wingingthis I'm sorry to hear that, it must have been hard.

Mine is a rescue too. I wouldn't describe her as aggressive, but definitely grumpy... I have no idea what happened to her before we had her but she was quite young when we rescued her so I don't think the damage was too severe.

Yes, she has a cat tower that is well out of reach, we also have gaps in our bookcase that she likes to sit in, and a walk way shelf across the wall. She's allowed everywhere in the house, including our dining table, kitchen counters, sofas, beds etc so there are plenty of places for her to retreat to if she needs some alone time. But she is desperate to be near the baby. She absolutely adores him and follows him around. When I go in to get DS out of bed in the morning she will cry at the door because she wants to see him. At bedtime she sneaks into his room while I am feeding him and sits with us. After I've finished she usually runs under the bed and hides, I I think because she doesn't want me to remove her from his room (I obviously do remove her because I don't want to leave them alone together).

I am hoping that once DS is old enough to know how to behave around her they will be the best of friends. The whole situation us really quite heartwarming, it's just these occasional scratches that we have to look out for.