When I was growing up, we had two Siamese cats. Crossing boundaries will lead to your child being scratched or bitten by a scared, angry or upset cat. They must also be taught when to leave the cat alone. Cat body languageĬhildren must be taught to read a cat’s body language. A 1kg kitten is no match for a 15-20kg child. No matter how well-intentioned a child may be, they often don’t realise just how strong they are. If you do want a kitten, see if you can adopt one that is 4-5 months of age. I do not recommend getting a small kitten if your children are under 4 years of age. Kittens are cute, but they can also be fragile. I know children mean well, but when they haven’t grown up around cats they don’t always know when the cat has had enough. So when you have young guests over, do watch over them. Not picking up on the body language, trying to drag them around like a doll. My children are now fairly good with our two cats, having grown up around them, however, I have noticed their friends can sometimes push the boundaries with my cats. So do keep an eye on doors when your children are having playdates, or lock up the cat in a bedroom until the friends are gone.Īlso, watch other children and how they handle the cat. I have repeated this to friends a hundred times, and they still forget. So, if you have an indoor-only cat, make sure you regularly check doors and drill into your children’s friends that they must keep external doors closed to stop the cat from escaping. However, I have noticed that their friends aren’t quite so diligent with closing doors. They’ve had this drilled into them since they were tiny and it is automatic to them now. I have managed to teach my children that if they come inside, close the door after them. These covers are glued on top of your cat’s own claws. If you are at all worried about young children being scratched by a cat, Soft Paws are a great solution. Claw trimming should begin when your kitten is young so that he gets used to it. Keep your cat’s claws regularly trimmed so that if he does scratch your child, there is less chance of him hurting them. My children help with the cats, but 9 times out of 10, I have to ask or remind them.
I do not think that children should be given these chores without parental supervision. Older children (over 10) can also clean out litter trays. But I can not emphasise this enough, a cat is the responsibility of the adults in the household. That includes feeding, making sure they have clean, fresh water and grooming. I think it is important for children to learn about the responsibility of caring for a cat. You can certainly strengthen the relationship your children have with any cats by letting the children feed them (with your supervision) and give them treats, but sometimes some cats would prefer to be left alone. He didn’t ever harm the children, but that is because they left him alone. In our case, from the moment they could understand, they were told not to go near him. Signs he was getting ready to launch an attack included waving his tail and looking away into the distance, for a quick escape once he’d bitten. We had a cat (who was adopted at 6 weeks old, which is way too young) who attacked people when he had had enough of being stroked.
Some cats can have petting-induced aggression, that is, they may attack when they are stroked. Most cats love to be stroked on the head, between the ears and they love to be scratched on the back, just near the base of the tail. As the parents, it is up to you to gauge your cat’s tolerance and guide your children. Stroking catsĪ lot of cats don’t mind where they are stroked, any attention is good attention, other cats can be a little sensitive, particularly around the belly. If they want to hold a cat, they should do so when they are sitting down on the sofa. The average cat weighs 5kg, which is a lot for a child. Picking up catsĬhildren under the age of around 6 should not pick up a cat and walk around with him. Cats are amazingly good at hiding and take it from personal experience, a hiding kitten can take hours to find inside the house. Let the children visit him, with supervision, but give him a chance to get to know the new people and his surroundings before giving him access to the entire house. It is recommended one room be set up for the cat with his litter tray, food and water bowls and a comfortable bed. It is an exciting time bringing home a new cat, especially for children, but a new home can be stressful for any cat. There are some guidelines for children and cats to keep both safe. Both have endless amounts of love for each other, cats teach children patience, the importance of caring for another living being, and both can provide each other with hours of play. Cats and children make excellent companions.
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