He hates my kids

eeyorechele

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Now, onto Philly's issue. He's what we describe as a "grumpy old man" to our visitors. Philly came with my live-in boyfriend around 5 years ago. From the get-go he's hated my kids. They can be walking down the hallway and Philly (being a black kitty) will hide in the shadows and hiss, growl and strike at their feet. He's broken the skin hundreds of times. It's not only my kids, but any kids, some adult visitors as well. He used to hate me but over time he's learned that I'm the one who feeds him, brushes him, and before i go to sleep at night, it's MY side of the bed he lays on. He's a beautiful guy and all my kids want to do is pet him or brush him. He'll allow it for a moment, but once he sees it's the kids, he'll backlash at them. Any suggestions for easing the tention between siblings?


Chele
 

yayi

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It is common for cats to get stressed by a child's behavior. And it is also common for them to dislike strangers. Philly is like my Joji. Never liked kids, never liked visitors.
But as you said, he began accepting you when you started to care for him. Maybe you can start changing Philly's attitude by telling the children to be less boisterous around him. Give him treats without trying to pet him. Always talk in low and gentle tones around him. Hopefully he will learn to tolerate them in time.
 
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eeyorechele

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Originally Posted by yayi

It is common for cats to get stressed by a child's behavior. And it is also common for them to dislike strangers. Philly is like my Joji. Never liked kids, never liked visitors.
But as you said, he began accepting you when you started to care for him. Maybe you can start changing Philly's attitude by telling the children to be less boisterous around him. Give him treats without trying to pet him. Always talk in low and gentle tones around him. Hopefully he will learn to tolerate them in time.
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This is what i thought.. i've been telling them that forever! I guess getting a kid to sit still and quiet is like getting a cat to eat at the table with a fork and knife. Just not going to happen.

Unfortunatly Philly does not like treats, but maybe we can find something he does like and make sure the kids do it, but not to expect to touch him unless he wants to be loved on. We do not have either cats declawed, as we feel its barbaric, so when Philly needs his messege to come across, he SURE makes it. He has had my 10 year old cornered on several occasions!

Chele
 

hdizzy

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I don't have an answer but I have a story. Growing up we had a black female cat named Shadow. She always hated me when I was a kid. Then slowly she started to warm up to me. I wondered why, I thought maybe it was her old age. Then it dawned on me. I was the one who was older! We got her when I was 4. She started liking me when i was about 15 or so. It wasn't that she was getting more tolerant, I was just becoming an adult. She was never fond of children and was mean to me until I grew up! I got her for my 4th b-day and she died when I was 21. We were good buddies the last 5 or so years of her life...


I have a cat now who will not take treats. Then I got a free sample of a particular kind in a bag of food. For some reason he LOVES that 1 kind of treats. I'll go look at the brand and PM you...

Good luck! I love the name, Philly, BTW!
 
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