Question:
There was a story in the news about an enraged 22-pound Himalayan cat who went on a rampage and forced a family (including their dog) to retreat into a bedroom until police came. Are Himalayans prone to that kind of behavior? How could the situation have been handled differently?
Answer:
This is not a breed-specific behavior. From what I understand, the infant pulled Lux’s tail and the cat responded by scratching the child. The father’s reaction of kicking the cat further escalated the behavior.
The first step is to keep this type of situation from occurring. Although it can be difficult, infants need to be closely supervised when they are around animals. Little ones should be monitored and never allowed to pull tails. It is also important to provide the cat with high areas, such as tall cat trees and shelves in all of the rooms. These high areas will become baby-free zones, safe places for the cat to go.
Instead of reacting by kicking the cat, the infant should have been quickly picked up and removed. The cat can be left alone to cool down. It is also important everyone keep a cool head and not further agitate the cat by yelling at the feline. In addition to supervising the baby around the cat, Lux’s people can put claw covers on the cat’s claws, so if the problem reoccurs in the future, the infant will not receive scratches.
