cat traps family in a room.

[Heidi]

4. The cat was kicked by an owner after it scratched the child.

My questions:
1. Why was a seven-month-old child close enough to a cat with "a history of violence" to pull its tail?
2. How did an adult think that kicking the cat was going to make anything better?

Palmer says the animal attacked his 7-month-old child after the baby pulled its tail. The child suffered a few scratches on the forehead.

On the 911 call, Palmer tells the dispatcher he kicked the cat “in the rear” to protect his child. Palmer says the animal then “just went off over the edge” — leading Palmer and his girlfriend to barricade themselves, their baby and the family dog in the bedroom for safety.
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2014/03/11/22pound_cat_attacks_baby_traps_owners_in_bedroom.html

A motive for the feline's frantic behavior has not been revealed. However, the man who called 911 told the dispatcher he had "kicked the cat in the rear" after it attacked the 7-month-old child.

"He's got kind of a history of violence," the caller told a 911 dispatcher. "He's kind of a violent cat already. But he's really bad right now."
http://www.kptv.com/story/24936455/crazed-kitty-attacks-baby-forces-family-to-call-911