Cats vs. Kids

Hello everyone!
I'm a 22-year old independant contractor working from home and taking care of my 2 year old (soon to turn 3) brother during the day. I am considering adopting a cat or preferably a pair of cats in the future-perhaps six months down the line. We're considering moving to a larger space sometime next year, so I don't want to rush things as of yet, but I want to do my homework like a good little girl I would be very grateful for any tips from seasoned cat-lovers out there as to what I should be looking for in a cat and what steps I could take to prepare the home and the little one for the experience.

Thanks!

Lu

Originally Posted by Knight_of_sword

Hello everyone!
I'm a 22-year old independant contractor working from home and taking care of my 2 year old (soon to turn 3) brother during the day. I am considering adopting a cat or preferably a pair of cats in the future-perhaps six months down the line. We're considering moving to a larger space sometime next year, so I don't want to rush things as of yet, but I want to do my homework like a good little girl

I would be very grateful for any tips from seasoned cat-lovers out there as to what I should be looking for in a cat and what steps I could take to prepare the home and the little one for the experience.

Thanks!

Lu

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Hi,
I think cats and kids go great together. Do you have friends with cats and can take him to see them, or a petting zoo so that he can learn that animals are not toys and that he has to be gentle. Our three year old Granddaughter is great with our cats and loves playing with them.

Good luck
Anne

You might want to consider waiting until your child is a few years older. Small children can be awfully hard on pets without meaning to or realizing they are.

At the very least, I'd recommend adopting an older cat, rather than getting a kitten. An older cat will be sensible enough to run away from your child instead of scratching him, as a kitten might. LOL

The agency I foster for won't adopt to families with kids under 5. However, if you supervise them closely it can be a beneficial arrangement for the cat and the child. A kitten from my last litter went to a woman who babysits her 2 y/o granddaughter several days a week. They are getting along famously! She does have cats at home, so knows how to be good with cats. They are also supervised when together.

I would recommend getting a full grown cat who has been fostered in a home with children. Then you are more likely to have a cat who is kid friendly.

Has your brother been around other animals at all? It would be helpful for him to visit people with cats and dogs, to begin to learn how to treat animals. When my son was 2-3, it was so hard for him to understand. We only had barn cats at the time, and if you went outside and called them, they would come up for loving. But he always wanted to go to them, and would cry if they didn't let him catch him. It took a while for him to believe me that chasing and yelling are not the way to catch a kitty!

As for how to prepare you home, it's pretty much the same you would for a child. Just make sure there are no choking hazards around, access to chemicals, and things like that. When I was frantically trying to make my home cat-friendly before I got my Cupid, I went as far as to put outlet plugs in all the outlets. I never once saw Cupid even look at an outlet...but you know what they say about safety and sorrow. Hehe... Also, just don't have anything out that you don't want your cat(s) to get in, because (I feel) they shouldn't have access to things or parts of the house that they shouldn't be, just so someone can scold them for being their selves and wanting to do things you don't want them to.

I think animals in general can tolerate more from a child than they would an adult--it's like they know it's just a baby. I would watch your brother, though. I'm sure he'll be fine, but you just never know what a child could do for fun or out of curiosity. My ex-friend's daughter put a hair band around the cat's paw as a bracelet and the fur covered it so no one ever knew, until it had skin grown up around it and got to the point where he needed surgery to remove it. Of course, it wasn't the daughter's fault.

Congratulations.

While I can certainly understand the feelings of those who feel toddlers and children don't always go well together, I think it is up to us as parents and caregivers to ensure a good relationship between the two. As Beckiboo accurately points out, many rescues/shelters and many breeders simply won't adopt/sell to home with youngsters.

But I think that every kid needs to know the unconditional love and companionship of a beloved family pet - so long as Mom, Nana, Auntie or Big Sis make completely certain there is a circle of respect around the pet - and supervise interaction until a good relationship is firmly established. Just remember to keep claws closely clipped and be ever vigilant that Lil Brother is playing nicely and you should be fine.

Wonderful news, Lu! And I'm glad to see that you are preparing so well for your future cats! You have received excellent suggestions, so far! I would also suggest that you research understanding animal behavior & communication. That way when you expose your nephew to animals (oh, he's gonna LOVE that ) you can explain what the animal is expressing through its body language - such as an open, "smiling" mouth, relaxed ears & wagging tail means a dog is being friendly; ears back, swishing tail on a horse means the horse is angry/annoyed; the ears-forward/upright tail is a welcoming cat; etc. All the children in my immediate family were taught this and we've yet to have a child who isn't an animal lover or who has anything but great comaderie with animals.

Welcome to the site!

As I'm a 21 year old college student and don't have children of my own, I can't give you personal experience, but my grandmom just adopted 2 kittens and has had a few experiences with them and my baby cousins (both under 4 years)... I think as long as your kitties will have a place to run away to where your brother can't get them, then things will be ok... my grandmom's found that the kitties are good responsibilty teachers - the babies take turns feeding them and are learning how to be gentle with them... the younger of the two kids (I believe she's almost 2) still occasionally picks the kitties up under the armpits to carry them, which I would think a young kitty would handle better than an older one since they are still used to being carried by the scruff by the mama cat... kittens tend to have more energy as well to keep up with the little kids... I'd also suggest taking him to a friends or relative's that has cats or smaller dogs to see a) how he reacts to them and b) whether he's gentle, rough, etc... with them and you can also start to teach him how to handle animals a little bit at a time...

Hope it all works out!! And welcome again!

Welcome! The fact that you are concerned about your little brother and a possible new kitty puts you way ahead of the game of most new cat owners. My granddaughter, 7 months, has had a kitty guardian since the day she ws born. He sleeps at her feet, and bites the ankles of her parents if they do not get to her quickly enough to suit him. Sometimes she will get her little hand around his tail, and he will sit patiently until she lets go. She is still a little young to understand not to pull whiskers or fur, but it has really never been much of an issue. They are closely monitored, because even though he is a wonderfully patient cat, he is still a cat, and could harm her if he wanted to. He seems to sense that she is a baby and means him no harm. It is so sweet to watch them together.
I think the person that suggested an older, calmer cat at first is absolutely right. It is not always easy to tell the personality of a kitten, where an older cat you can tell if it is excitable or mellow. It would be ideal if you knew the cat had been successful around kids. Many of our members that have experience with different breeds can offer some great advice. There are many specific breed rescue groups to check with, and most cities have shelters where you can get a kitty and save a life. Best of luck to you on your search for the right kitty.

Thank you all for the helpful feedback! Unfortunately I don't know anyone nearby with pets, but perhaps I can arrange a trip to an adoption site with him in a few weeks and see how it goes. He's rather large for his age (55 lbs. and well past 3 ft.) so I'm a bit leery of finding a kitty too young or too fragile to handle. He tends to be prone to outbursts (like many toddlers) but I've seen him try to approach flowers and plants with caution when shown to do so. I'm hoping that's a good sign! Either way I want to make sure this is a good decision beforehand.
Thanks again!

Also remember that cats can go ANYwhere they want to, just about, and that means anything up to the ceilings if there's any route at all they can jump to (1-2 jumps will do it), and under every piece of furniture (just a couple of inches!), and in the linen closet under something in about a second, then the door gets closed, you can't hear them and... plus OUT the door in a split second, etc. etc. etc. Have fun!