You won't find a home for an 8 year old cat. period.

The shelters are filled with older cats that people discarded when they became inconvenient in some way (either too old or they had kids).

A truly responsible person would either teach the kid how to act around the cat or find a way to keep the cat separated from the kids.

But don't fool yourself -- your cat will likely be euthanized if you drop him off at a shelter. Placing an ad is not advisable either. If you can't find a friend or relative who will take the cat, then you won't find a home.

The rescue people may even come pick up the cat??? Dream on, pp. You clearly know nothing about cat rescue and how difficult it is to rehome a cat. No one is going to take OP's cat except a county shelter.

This has got to be one of the worst threads yet on this site.

One: OK, Mom: We get it, you were nursing. But a two year old should not be pulling on a cat's tail. We've always had cats and our kids were taught to treat them with respect. We never had a kid get rough with one of our cats and in the course of being rough, injured. I don't know HOW we did it but it was understood that it was never acceptable to pull on the cats' tails.

Two: thank heavens no one mentioned de-clawing. I stupidly did it once 20 years ago not realizing what a horrible surgery it is. Don't go there. Most vets won't do the procedure any more and with good reason.

Three: the cat will scratch again and next time it will be your child's cornea. Then you definitely will be in the hospital.

Four: You are as much an adult in your home as your husband. You have a problem. Either your son's behavior has to change immediately or the cat re-homed. I don't agree with the posters to give it time because I have seen cats scratch people's eyes. One of our cats managed to slice out - as in fully remove - the wire out of my son's braces when it was sleeping with him the dark. The cat didn't even leave a mark on my son, anywhere, but he did manage to tear out the wire connecting the braces. You have both an infant and a two-year-old, either of whom could be slashed again and in an eye, nose or mouth. I think your kids' health and safety trumps the cat; the cat needs to be rehomed.

Five: if the cat is of a particular breed, you will find rescue units in most states. Google [breed of cat] rescue. I recently found one for Burmese cats in MD.

Six: If the cat is a mutt (!), then it still needs to be rehomed. Do you have a vet? Most vets are active with groups that rehome animals. Our vet has photos posted of cats and dogs trying to find new homes.

Seven: Failing at that, PetSmart and PetCo often have displays of cats that need new homes. PetSmart and PetCo don't run the displays, they just offer up space to the rescue people who make sure the cats are healthy, have all their shots and are flea free. Just call a PetSmart or PetCo and get the phone no. of the rescue unit working in their store. The rescue people may even come and pick up the cat. If you have vet records on the cat, that would be good because otherwise the rescue group will have to start from scratch and they will not re-home a cat unless it has gone though a full vet workup. If you can afford it, a donation is always nice because these groups are all volunteers, including the vets who donate their time to the cause.

Good luck. Sorry for the meanies on this site.

Geez OP people like you make me sick.

I am usually very polite and at least civil on this thread, but yours just made no sense to me.

What you kitty did to your DS was what any kitty out there would do. Your son probably angered him when he pulled on his tail and the kitty probably warned him prior with hissing. It is not your son's fault however due to his age. It is your responsibility to make sure he doesn't annoy your cat. I fully understand you cannot be with them at all times, however to blame an innocent kitty is just stupid. The kitty was just reacting how he is wired to react. What kitty wouldn't scratch someone who pulled his tail??!!

And if your hubby is such a hot head and will make you get rid of your precious family pet over some scratches, then I would ditch him...not the feline.
Your love for your pet is supposed to be unconditional OP. His love for you is. Pets are not novelties. They deserve stability just as much as everyone else.

I hope this gets to your head, if not and you MUST give this kitty away, let me ask you to please do so w/the utmost care and discretion.

Do NOT offer him for free on Craigslist. Many folks scour CL for free kitties. They act like they will provide a loving + forever home, then they use these kitties for scientific experiments.
This is so easy for them to do since many people offer free cats due to overpopulation. Please...I beg you, do not let your kitty be another statistic.

Also, please do not send him to the Animal Shelter in your area.
Once there, at 8 yrs old, it is highly unlikely he will find a loving and forever home.
He will most likely sit on "death row" where his days are limited and due to lack of resources, he will be euthanized.

Hope you will re-consider.

Most kids try to pull the cats tail---once. Then they learn.

I don't agree that it is necessarily to be expected that a toddler will pull a cat's tail. We always firmly told my son that the cat didn't like that when we saw him thinking about it, and he didn't do it.

If the kid is pulling the cats tail what exactly do you expect it to do? We have a cat and two little dogs who could be injured very easily by kids. So our children are never left alone with them and are taught from the time they can move they don't touch the pets unless soneone is holding them.

Anonymous wrote:Poor kitty. Kid should've been taught better and you blame the cat. My kids knew better well before two---my grandson at 18 months. It's what happens when you slack off teaching your kid, they learn the hard way.

Keep the child away from that poor cat. What on earth would you expect the cat to do unless it were declawed? That tail is its SPINE.

In two weeks you will be posting about your toddler hitting your newborn. Will your DH insist on rehoming your toddler?

Anonymous wrote:Smart ass, I was 5 feet away nursing my newborn. Maybe you shouldn't judge someone without all the facts.

Get a life.

+1 One thing that is always certain when posting on this forum - someone is going to be a jerk.

I'm sorry this happened. I'm sure you have enough going on with DS and a newborn without adding one more thing to the mix. I have no helpful guidance for your issue as I don't have a cat. I just wanted to try to offset the jerk's comment above.

Give it a little while. Perhaps your son learned his lesson. My cat bit my kid once, when she was holding him to the floor by the neck. She deserved what she got, and has been very respectful ever since.

Cat bites / scratches can get very infected so keep an eye on them OP for any redness / swelling around them. Clean them out well too.

i am sure you can rehome the cat. Sounds like he needs to be in a kid free home. You have a toddler and a baby - the cat's tail is going to get pulled.

Cats are stinky vermin. Put it down.

Personally, I would not be able to manage two children and a pet. It would just be too much. It's ok to allow the cat to be in a more appropriate home.

Poor kitty. Kid should've been taught better and you blame the cat. My kids knew better well before two---my grandson at 18 months. It's what happens when you slack off teaching your kid, they learn the hard way.