Need Advice About Cats (Help)

13 October,2002 | Myself

[M.K. Borders]

I just returned from the Local Emergency Room with my 14 year old daughter. She was savagely attacked in her sleep by the family cat! She sustained several deep puncture and slash wounds. When we got to her she was covered in blood, as was her bed.

The beast has had it's rabbies shots, it has been "fixed", it is never allowed outside, all the proper things. This is all apparently the result of a cat fight that was occuring outside the house, somewhere in the nieghborhood. Our cat frenzied in response to that fight.

What I would like is too hear from others and get their thoughts on the matter. Has anyone ever heard of such a thing?

My preferred method of dealing with a problem such as this is 22 Stinger. However, I am wondering if I should wait. What says the forum?

[Unknown Freeper]

I don't have any advice or experience with this kind of situation. I'm just bumping the thread and hoping your daughter is okay.

[M.K. Borders]

Thank you, appreciate the thought. Yes she will be fine, though she did require treatment on 3 of the wounds.

[HairOfTheDog]

There are much more humane ways to put it down than to try to shoot it. Your odds of holding it still enough and killing it without unnecessary suffering are pretty slim IMHO.

If you decide the cat is insane, take it to the pound, or take it to your vet, and have them do it, please!

If the cat isn't always insane, then I would wait. If it freaked because there was a bad fight outside, it might have thought it was being attacked and couldn't tell from where....

Perhaps sleep with the cat in a secure place outside closed bedroom doors for awhile and see.... Is the cat usually wild or usually nice and calm?

(I am going back to bed now... its early here, I was just sleepwalking.)

[badfreeper]

What were the circumstances surrounding the attack? I know from experience that rolling over onto a cat that is sleeping in your bed isn't a great idea. Perhaps the cat was acting instinctively after an unintentional blow? Still, it seems very odd. I suggest keeping the cat isolated until you can visit a vet. I don't know if you'll be able to see one until Tuesday because of the long weekend, but I think discussing whether or not your cat has severe behaviour problems and needs to be put down is a good discussion to have with a professional. My sympathy goes out to your daughter. No doubt she is confused over why her little friend attacked her.

[M.K. Borders]

Thank you for your thoughts. Understand that the unnecessary suffering of the beast is not a great concern at this time. What I am concerned with is any medical conditions that would cause an animal to react this way. A virus or such which can be communicated to others.

[M.K. Borders]

My daughter says she was awaken by a cat fight outside the house. She reports that our cat freaked at that and then turned on her.

[HairOfTheDog]

Good questions...

I walked away with more questions too.

Are you sure that the cat really attacked her or was just running freaked about the fight outside and just ran over her racing around the room?.... It doesn't make a big distinction for your daughter's injury, but it does speak to the odds of it happening again.

How long have you had the cat? - Is it young? Old? Male/Female? Indoor/Outdoor, both? Spayed/neutered?

Are you sure your daughter was really asleep, or did she wake up and try to grab the cat up because the cat was freaking? That scenario does seem like normal behavior, at least for a freaked cat and a normal daughter, but she may have fibbed about what really happened.

How does your daughter feel about it?

[M.K. Borders]

NO, too many injuries for an accident. Several puctures to the hands, many cuts to the face, and several deep wounds to the scalp. The doctor picked three claws out of her hair.

[HairOfTheDog]

OK - Your second answer indicates your daughter was awakened by the fight. Did she grab the cat and try to hold it to calm it down?

It didn't just attack her in her sleep then?

The lesson about not grabbing a cat that is in a panic solves that problem then... Even I have been attacked by my cat when trying to hang on to them when they think they are under threat.

[HairOfTheDog]

What do you mean three claws out of her hair? - The claw broke off or pulled out of the cat?

[M.K. Borders]

When I say claws, I mean they are what appear to be what a cat leaves behind when it is sheding claws, you know, like on the sofa. Anyway my daughter says she did not grab the cat except after the attack when she tried to throw it off of her.

It is possible we are talking about a panicked animal, but this is a one-strike-your-out, situation here. The possibility of a repeat performance is simply unacceptable.

[badfreeper]

If the cat was freaked by the fight and startled by a sudden movement your daughter might have made, the "fight or flight" instinct may have kicked in. If there was no immediate escape route available, then that would help explain what happened. (Bear in mind that I'm not a professional, just another cat owner.)

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, then I don't really know what your question to the forum was.... I thought you wanted advice about the cat. Have you already decided it must go? - Taking it to the pound would be better than shooting it!

If you put the cat down, putting the cat down doesn't have to be cruel, and shooting it would be cruel. It isn't revenge.

Unnecessary suffering should always be a concern. We are supposed to have more reason and compassion than the cat, who has a brain the size of a walnut. Cats are not domesticated as much as they are socialized to us. They aren't tame like a dog, and their instincts are much more basic.

How your daughter feels about the cat should make a difference in whether you get rid of it or not.

[HairOfTheDog]

Sorry if my answers seem curt... and as I read them, they seem cold to me! - Text reads colder than I mean it! - And I haven't had any coffee yet! I was supposed to just be sleepwalking, it is only 5:30 here!

[badfreeper]

FWIW, I didn't find your posts cold, just to the point. (Informative as well.)

I'm sleepwalking too, and I've been at work 3 hours! It's mornings like this I wish I drank coffee!

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, I am usually an early riser, but not this early on a Sunday! I might have gotten another hour's sleep, but I am awake now... Coffee is brewing!

[badfreeper]

Mmmmmm...sleep! I'm NOT an early riser, but I've been doing 6-Noon weekends since July...not sure what's worse, getting up early or deleting Friday and Saturday night events from my social calendar. I'm planning on another 3 or 4 hours sleep before going to Mom's for Thanksgiving dinner (ours is this weekend) or maybe I'll just go take a nap in the lunchroom soon...there are some advantages to being the only person in the building!

[HairOfTheDog]

You must be Canadian then! Mmmmmmmm.... Thanksgiving!

[badfreeper]

Indeed, eh! I might get even get two Thanksgivings this year. Thinking about going to Las Vegas during yours. It looks to be really cheap that week. Guess family togetherness and Sin City don't mix. :)