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I am glad she is on the mend, and that you are not putting him down... Something triggered this attack... I hope he is ok, not in pain or something... Sometimes cats when in pain will do stuff like that. I would follow the others' advice and take him to the vet just to be on the safe side.
It doesn't seem to me he is an aggressive cat, but he got startled.
Bugsy is a ragdoll, just about the sweetest cat in the world, and he shredded my arm once when he escaped to the building's second floor and I tried to grab him. I Have a scar that is about 7-8 inches long. It was ABSOLUTELY my fault. He was scared, and he reacted... Cats will react like that when they panic - for us in the other end, it might seem (and feel) like an attack, but for them it is not, they are just braking free of what is terrifying them.
I seriously doubt this was a deliberate attack.
This IMO was a reaction, and that provoked a reaction on the part of your daughter, and then your cat reacted some more, and so on...
Just my two cents...
It is important to read the cats body language, and be aware that they do have claws and teeth, and when they get startled and scared, it might not be pretty...

I hope your daughter is feeling better.

I am glad that you are not putting him down, and you are trying to work with him on this.

I know my cats will hiss at ME if I have been petting another cat, and they smell it on me. Did your daughter mess with any other animals that day?

Originally Posted by kwren

honestly?

i think you should tell your daughter not to pick up and hold the cat when he doesn't want to be held.

if your daughter had been walking by and minding her own business not doing anything to bother the cat and then he attacked her hard enough to draw blood THEN i would be thinking about re-homing the cat. but that is not the situation. if you have a cat you know is temperamental why on earth would you be picking him up and holding him while you were taking pictures?

if he is aggressive enough that he needs to be put to sleep immediately it is rather hard to believe that she did not know him scratching her was a likely outcome. a 14 year old is old enough to know better - i have a 15 year old myself. if poor levi is not normally aggressive to this point i sure as heck wouldn't be talking about putting him down.

i will say it: when my kids get bitten or scratched it is usually their own fault. not the cat's.

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I agree with this 100%.

Cats give very clear signals when they don't want to be touched, petted or otherwise manhandled, particularly by children. I'm sure the way it happened was that she grabbed the cat, held him while he was struggling really hard to get down, and he attacked when she wouldn't stop. That's what ALWAYS happens in these types of situations.

Until you teach your kids to respect your animals' personal space, these types of situations will occur. You keep asking the question - why did he do this? What you should be asking instead is - what signs did your kid ignore that the cat was agitated? Cats make it really obvious when they don't want to be picked up or held or whatever. They growl, hiss, paw, scratch, bite, struggle to get down, etc. She picked him up and I'm sure he struggled but she just HAD to get the picture, so she ignored it and he lashed out. There's nothing surprising about that. It would be more surprising if he didn't lash out.

Some cats never want to be touched. Or they only want to be petted if it's their idea and not yours. With those cats, it's necessary to respect their space and just let them come to you if/when they want some interaction. Otherwise, the only smart thing to do is leave them alone.

I'm glad your daughter is ok but you really have to teach her to learn to respect the cat's personal space. Instead of putting him to sleep or tossing him outside where he will probably get hit by a car, tell your daughter not to aggrevate the cat.

I'm glad your daughter is on the mend, honestly my Billy cat can be very aggressive. Last year I broke him and another cat (who had come in through our window-next door but ones cat) fighting up, Billy bit me so hard, he latched onto my thumb and wouldn't let go, it was the most painful thing ever and it made me physically sick but if I hadn't broke them up one of them would have ended up dead. I can be petting Billy sometimes and he will just turn on me but now if he does start to act a bit aggressive if I shout at him loudly and firmly and say Billy No, he does run off and then I won't pet him until he has calmed down. I think sometimes male cats can just be a bit like this, the best thing to do is just tell your daughter to keep her distance. I agree that if he had just attacked her for no reason then yes I would consider taking action. I think he just didn't like being held, definetely like I tell my kids to be very wary of Billy and they are. I would just see how it goes for now. x

Originally Posted by KRZ

She does not like to be picked up but she loves to be petted. She ALWAYS gives us a warning when she is agitated. We have had no other incidents because we pay attention to her warning signals.

.

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Originally Posted by Ruby35

I agree with this 100%.

Cats give very clear signals when they don't want to be touched, petted or otherwise manhandled, particularly by children. I'm sure the way it happened was that she grabbed the cat, held him while he was struggling really hard to get down, and he attacked when she wouldn't stop. That's what ALWAYS happens in these types of situations.

Some cats never want to be touched. Or they only want to be petted if it's their idea and not yours. With those cats, it's necessary to respect their space and just let them come to you if/when they want some interaction. Otherwise, the only smart thing to do is leave them alone.

I'm glad your daughter is ok but you really have to teach her to learn to respect the cat's personal space. Instead of putting him to sleep or tossing him outside where he will probably get hit by a car, tell your daughter not to aggrevate the cat.

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Riley is the same way. He can be VERY affectionate on HIS terms, but he doens't like to be picked up or bothered when he is not in the mood. If you aggrivate him, he will scratch and bite. We have learned to just not mess with him when he is like this. 99% of the time he is a normal cat. I would never consider killing him or turning him out. When I get scratched it is generally MY fault because I didn't listen to the warning signs of his agitation.

OK, having read through this thread, I now have a pretty clear picture of what happened.

The daughter picked up the cat and was holding him. She thought he looked cute, so she let go of him with one arm and got out her camera. She probably had a less than comfortable grip on the cat, and he might have already been trying to get down. Then the flash went off, and the cat panicked.

Trying to hold a panicked cat, as Carolinalima said, is a lot like trying to wrestle with a running chain saw. And the problem is that the cat was probably a little disoriented, maybe a little blinded by the flash, and he couldn't find the floor. Something was holding him, and he just wanted to get away.

I'm sure your daughter learned a valuable lesson, but I'm afraid she may have lost the trust of the cat in the meantime. I don't have anything to suggest, but I have to say that if you brought the cat into our local shelter with the story that he bit your daughter, he would at best be put in isolation for ten days and then euthanized. No shelter can afford the liability of a possibly aggressive cat.

Originally Posted by kwren

honestly?

i think you should tell your daughter not to pick up and hold the cat when he doesn't want to be held.

if your daughter had been walking by and minding her own business not doing anything to bother the cat and then he attacked her hard enough to draw blood THEN i would be thinking about re-homing the cat. but that is not the situation. if you have a cat you know is temperamental why on earth would you be picking him up and holding him while you were taking pictures?

if he is aggressive enough that he needs to be put to sleep immediately it is rather hard to believe that she did not know him scratching her was a likely outcome. a 14 year old is old enough to know better - i have a 15 year old myself. if poor levi is not normally aggressive to this point i sure as heck wouldn't be talking about putting him down.

i will say it: when my kids get bitten or scratched it is usually their own fault. not the cat's.

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Originally Posted by Carolina

I am glad she is on the mend, and that you are not putting him down... Something triggered this attack... I hope he is ok, not in pain or something... Sometimes cats when in pain will do stuff like that. I would follow the others' advice and take him to the vet just to be on the safe side.
It doesn't seem to me he is an aggressive cat, but he got startled.
Bugsy is a ragdoll, just about the sweetest cat in the world, and he shredded my arm once when he escaped to the building's second floor and I tried to grab him. I Have a scar that is about 7-8 inches long. It was ABSOLUTELY my fault. He was scared, and he reacted... Cats will react like that when they panic - for us in the other end, it might seem (and feel) like an attack, but for them it is not, they are just braking free of what is terrifying them.
I seriously doubt this was a deliberate attack.
This IMO was a reaction, and that provoked a reaction on the part of your daughter, and then your cat reacted some more, and so on...
Just my two cents...
It is important to read the cats body language, and be aware that they do have claws and teeth, and when they get startled and scared, it might not be pretty...

Click to expand...

I agree with these and the others who posted in this vein. The cat was provoked. NOT deliberately, but he found himself in a scary circumstance and reacted in a normal cat like way.

Teach your daughter how to treat the cats, and all animals, with respect.

Teach her that this was not kitty's "fault" this was not a personal attack and she has no reason the fear the cat, because you don't want your daughter growing up to be an animal hater because of one freak accident.

Teach her that kitty reacted to what to him was a scary situation, and as far as kitty is concerned it's over now, and if she treats the cat the way he wants to be treated, it is not likely to happen again.

I totally agree with these posts. I've been injured by cats so many times over the years and when I was younger it would not only hurt my skin, but my feelings, too, and it would embarrass me and make me angry. Over the years I've learned cats are not like puppies and some other animals. They do show signs of getting annoyed. My kitten has obvious ones, her pupils grow very large, she goes rigid, tip of her tail twitches, and then the biggest sign for me is a growl or hiss. My friend has a cat who is great with petting for about 2 minutes, then he will pinch your skin with his teeth. He bit me on the foot while I was asleep at her house one night!
I also hope you can work with Levi, IMHO I do not think he is aggressive, he just has a few buttons that need to be learned. I -cannot- pet my kitten on the belly, and I cannot touch the base of my Persian's tail, it makes him mad.
I hope your daughter can move past the scare of this incident, and I hope you all and Levi can work it out I always try to put myself in the "paws" of the animal. How would I feel being in this position, not understanding most of what is going on or the language being spoken? Just my humble opinion and I hope everything works out

I have seen and handled thousands of cats, from tiny kittens to real ferals that you can not touch unless they are sedated - out of all of those cats, I can think of just two who would attack without warning signs for no reason, and both were most likely abused, given their condition and general attitude, and lashed out at everyone, it didn't ever suddenly happen.

My guess is, either the camera startled your cat and he freaked out or he gave warning signs that your daughter ignored. I have been bitten by one of my own cats when I scared him waking him up from a deep sleep, he didn't mean it and rarely even hisses, he is a gentle boy - I am not going to hold my actions against him for an accident.

As far as being more aggressive in general, he obviously was not so aggressive that you worried about him in your home when you have a child, so what kind of aggression is it? Different types of aggression are dealt with in different ways.

I hope your daughter's arm heals soon with no complications/ swelling, but as strangewings said, the wounds heal

Originally Posted by mrblanche

OK, having read through this thread, I now have a pretty clear picture of what happened.

The daughter picked up the cat and was holding him. She thought he looked cute, so she let go of him with one arm and got out her camera. She probably had a less than comfortable grip on the cat, and he might have already been trying to get down. Then the flash went off, and the cat panicked.

Trying to hold a panicked cat, as Carolinalima said, is a lot like trying to wrestle with a running chain saw. And the problem is that the cat was probably a little disoriented, maybe a little blinded by the flash, and he couldn't find the floor. Something was holding him, and he just wanted to get away.

I'm sure your daughter learned a valuable lesson, but I'm afraid she may have lost the trust of the cat in the meantime. I don't have anything to suggest, but I have to say that if you brought the cat into our local shelter with the story that he bit your daughter, he would at best be put in isolation for ten days and then euthanized. No shelter can afford the liability of a possibly aggressive cat.

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Yes, this is the most accurate description down. He was calm and fine at first, licking her and happy,then she was holding him for the picture (as she has done HUNDREDS of times with him) and he freaked!

WE do understand that it was not Levi's fault and the precautions EVERYONE now must take to not let this happen again.

Our shelter would not even put him in isolation because his rabies shot is valid. He would just be put down on the spot, due to liabitlity for their staff and others, I get that. We are giving US and LEVI the chance along with our other fur babies to ALL get along happily. I pray all works out fine.

Everything has been well since that day. She IS still in pain, mainly from the TETNUS shot. Today, her arm was oozing white stuff, (per her) So that I will keep an eye on.

We were not told to go into her Dr. unless there was another problem. She is taking her meds regularly and has only needed Tylonol for pain.

She is a Jr. Olympic (multi) medalist since the age of 7 (so 7 years of competitions) and has a prliminary competition THIS weekend to QUALIFY for Jr. Olympics THIS YEAR!! UGH

I hope she can get her strength back in that arm to perform her solo and group routines to her normal abilities.. GOOD LUCK JESSICA and the 4 other SHASTA SKIPPERS!

Thanks to all

I am so glad that you are giving Levi another chance. And I am really happy that your daughter is on the mend. As I said before, my grandson was in the hospital for 2 days, so we know the panic you feel. Good luck to her in her competition!!

We are just very careful to watch for Isbelle's warning signs, and she does warn us. Watching their body language is helpful. When she wants to be left alone, we do just that. Everything has been fine and the bite was years ago.

I wish the best for all of you!!

To put this in perspective, a certain percentage of cats are "petting overstimulated." Even our Ella did it a little at first, nipping at us if we petted her too long. Of course, 3+ years in a cage at a shelter will do strange things to anyone.

good luck to Jessica that she heals fully and quickly, and does great in the competition.

I agree with the other posters - sounds like Levi either had enough of the attention and reacted accordingly or he was startled

If he is a bit of an agressive cat anyway then I'd try the Feliway to see if this helps, or see your vet about possible meds to help with it
and also of course remind your daughter to keep an eye on his signals and if he appears to have had enough to just let him go

My Libby is a very sweet cat, but she is also a bit nervous and easily startled. I've been scratched by her a number of times when I'm holding her and she literally just loses her mind because something startles/scares her and her first response is to claw her way to freedom

Originally Posted by melissaw

I agree with the other posters - sounds like Levi either had enough of the attention and reacted accordingly or he was startled

If he is a bit of an agressive cat anyway then I'd try the Feliway to see if this helps, or see your vet about possible meds to help with it
and also of course remind your daughter to keep an eye on his signals and if he appears to have had enough to just let him go

My Libby is a very sweet cat, but she is also a bit nervous and easily startled. I've been scratched by her a number of times when I'm holding her and she literally just loses her mind because something startles/scares her and her first response is to claw her way to freedom

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I have seen many of you post about Feliway during this whole thing. Now that I can look back and absorb more I am wondering WHAT this is and what it does?

Jessica is doing better, we are now 4 days out.

There are 3 of the SCRATCHES that after she showers will ooze a puss type stuff out, but only for a short time.

1 is pretty red. I am keeping an eye on it and was told to keep her wrapped until the wounds are closed and not oozing...

No more pain, thank God.

Levi is a doing well, we are watching him for signs of "being done" of any type of contact. He has not done anything since then

We love him and both we are both learning how to handle him on HIS terms!

Originally Posted by darlili

good luck to Jessica that she heals fully and quickly, and does great in the competition.

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Thank you very much!!

She went to practice last night and was able to perform her routines as usual!! YEAH

Not even any problems with double dutch, when a kid JUMPS into the 2 ropes that she is turning!

She was even able to do the her push up in that same double dutch routine, THAT I was worried about because of the pressure on her arm!! I wish I could post a video of Jump Rope, you guys would FLIP!!!

I'm glad to hear she's getting better.
For the bad scratches,wash them with an antibacterial soap and have her put a nice thick layer of neosporin (or you preferred generic knock off brand) on them and use non-stick type pads with a small bit of medical tape to hold them on. The idea is not to bandage them tight, but to just keep the antibiotic ointment where it needs to be and not smeared all over everything. Using an ointment like that can also help reduce scaring.

Feliway is a synthetic cat pheromone that is supposed to be like the scent pheromone in their cheeks/face (you know how a happy cat rubs it's face on things?). It comes in a spray bottle or as a diffuser version. Many prefer the diffusers over the spray.
When used in the home it's supposed to calm cats down and help make them feel less stressed. - of course every cat is different and sometimes there's a cat that does not respond to it or responds negatively.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

I'm glad to hear she's getting better.
For the bad scratches,wash them with an antibacterial soap and have her put a nice thick layer of neosporin (or you preferred generic knock off brand) on them and use non-stick type pads with a small bit of medical tape to hold them on. The idea is not to bandage them tight, but to just keep the antibiotic ointment where it needs to be and not smeared all over everything.

Using an ointment like that can also help reduce scaring.

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OH NO!! I was told by the Dr and EVERYONE that the absolute worse thing you can do to cat scratches or bites is to us neosporin or any ointment of ANY kind!! The problem is that cats have bacteria that infect their humans with TERRIBLE infections!!!

Wash the area with soap and water, use sterile gause to cover the area and if it has drawn blood, SEEK MEDICAL ATTENTION!!

Since this has happend to my daughter MANY people have told us of serious infections, even one child almost losing his leg from severe cat injuries..

I just want to make sure that people know that ointments HELP keep the bacteria inside the body.

Jessica is still oozing from 2 of the more serious scratches and we are now on day 12. The antibiotics have kept her healthy and she now can go without wrapping her arm from wrist to arm pit, (although it looks like she was in a shredder!!)

Check it out, all the sites on cat scratches and cat scratch fever say the same thing!!!

Many of you wished Jessica (14 yrs) LUCK on her Jump Rope Competition!!

Here are HER results...

3 GOLD
1 SILVER
1 fifth
1 sixth
1 seventh

She qualified for the National COMPETITION!!!!

In 1 minute, her feet went through the rope and touched the ground = 264
In 3 minutes, her feet went through the rope and touched the ground= 610

Wonderful weekend of competition and great results for the team!!

PROUD MOMMY!!