My cat just scratched my baby’s face…

Animals will never scratch or attack for now reason but when something new has entered the home, in this case your boy it's a new change for your cat to get used to and will take time. Just try not to leave will your kitty if he's unpredictable, remember it was his/her home first and it'll be ok

Honestly controversial but I either wouldn’t ever have them in the same room or I’d re home the cat. Even if you don’t leave them alone in the same room cats are so quick once they go for it it’s already happened by the time you process it x

Ngl I would have killed the cat

If attacking out of no reason, would be worth checking cat at the vet incase anything going on. My cat would warm my daughter away with a pat on the head no nails. Only once he scratched her looked like your lil one and that was due to her grabbing him and not letting go. Having a safe place for the cat to hide or retreat to is best aswell. A cupboard my cat has, a shelf up high ect. For You child's face just a wipe down with cooled boiled water should do the trick. Keep clean and dry and keep an eye on it x

@Siana yes, my son was just playing with his spinner on the window, my cat came up and I guess he might’ve thought my son was reaching for him, he wasn’t though and then it happened so fast, I couldn’t do anything 😢 but thank you so much for your advice, all of you. Usually he doesn’t use his nails, so I don’t know if he was already worked up or something. He came into the room and bam, it happened, and then he bolted when my son started screaming 😭

@Grace it’s so heartbreaking, my cat was my best friend for the last 5 years, it was just him and I for a while until I met my fiancé and then our son happened, and now my cat is now bottom of my list and it breaks my heart. I love him soooo much, but he really doesn’t get along with my fiancé either. The thought of rehousing has passed my brain but hurts to think about. I don’t know if I could ever do that 😭😭

Honestly I do understand you could give it another go but if it happens again I would seriously consider rehoming. I also had a lovely cat who I had to rehome a year ago and I was really heartbroken about it I absolutely loved him and still do. He’s happier in a child free home and with someone who has the time for him so even tho it’s sad I made the right decision for us both x

It’s not fair to the cat to be rehomed or put down, honestly cat was just either spooked or trying to play and really should not be blamed. I had a similar incident happen I was holding my boy and our female cat came to see us who is always very friendly, but my boy who was 7 months at the time put his hand out to try to touch her and she stretched and scratched him by mistake on his finger (it was a tiny scratch) We took him to hospital and they gave us antibiotics just in case it got infected as cats paws and claws are super dirty, it’s very easy for adults to get infections or cat scratch fever yet alone a small Baby. Anyways he ended up obviously being fine I am just more cautious now and out of our 3 cats only one is allowed to be super close to my boy Now 10 months as at the end of the day cats are animals same with dogs or any other pets they should always be monitored around baby.

But your baby will be fine if he shows any signs of infection like redness or puffiness take him to dr for antibiotics maybe put some polysporin on until then or a similar product. Also always watch kitty around baby hope this helped ❤️

I feel your pain, I can't imagine rehoming my cat, although she has definitely shifted priority since baby arrived. I was confident beforehand that she would be ok, because she's not an aggressive cat at all. Just a few things in case they haven't been mentioned / thought of yet: - a cat's first instinct should not be to run up and scratch a baby. That's abnormal behaviour. There had to be something, a reason, something scared her, baby frightened her by being there when she didn't expect it, or, something is physically wrong. - a cat's first instinct SHOULD be to move away / avoid an unpleasant situation. Kids are erratic and unpredictable. Cats usually don't like this. They may get close because they are curious but they will usually keep a safe distance. - the cat needs safe spaces, places the kid can't get to. High ground is best. - cats also need to feel territorially secure. If there are rooms being closed off, or restricted, the cat may be feeling threatened. I hope it works out for you. 💜