Cats and children

[frederikmumma]

Tried and tested tips are needed.
A friend of mine has a 2 year old son and a 4 year old cat, the son has always been around the cat since he was born but lately the son wants to cuddle, pick up and play.
She has encouraged gentle hands etc. she has also said she doesn't mind if he does get bitten or scratched she understands that's what the cat will do.
Thank you in advance.

 

[Ms. Freya]

There are a few ideas here on introducing cats and kids: http://www.thecatsite.com/a/cats-and-kids-making-introductions

One thing a close friend of mine found really helped with her girls was involving the kids in the cat's care routine. She used following the routine to show the girls that the cats had regular daily things like them and sometimes didn't feel like playing or "hugging" and that they had to "Ask the kitty" then she taught them what to look for when approaching the cat to see if their attentions were welcome. Her kids were a little older, but I'm sure your friend could make a similar conversation age appropriate. 

 

[dennis47]

The problem with kids and cats at times is that kids sometimes do not understand that our feline friends have their boundaries as well. Some cats will let a child treat it like a rag doll, but others are adverse to this. I totally agree with Ms. Freya about teaching the children to ask the kitty. This works well with dogs as well.

 

[pangurban]

I'm a cat person who wanted to wait until our children(Now 10yrs, 7.5yrs, and 4.5yrs) were old enough to be gentle around animals before adopting more. We have had our kitties for close to 2 years now.

This is what I did to make it as easy as possible:

1) My mother has two small dogs so we waited until our youngest displayed that he could be gentle with them and back off when they displayed that they had 'had enough' attention. This ended up being when he was just shy of 3-years-old.

2) Made sure to adopt adult cats that already displayed patience and gentleness. We ended up getting a 1-year-old 'dog cat' that loves to roll and play on the floor right in the middle of three young boys and a 7-year-old 'lap cat' who is just as patient and gentle as I have ever seen any type of animal behave. They both do put teeth on our youngest from time to time when he doesn't back off fast enough, but they have never hurt him.

3) Create a 'kid free/quiet zone' just for the cats. I used to have a baby gate up in the doorway to the master bedroom that the cats could easily jump over but would be a barrier to the kids. This way if they cats needed to get away they always have a safe place. The baby gate is long gone but the 'no kids past this point' boundary still remains.

 

[dennis47]

A great game plan there, PangurBan. I commend you on your intellegence in this matter.

 

[kittens mom]

Tried and tested tips are needed.
A friend of mine has a 2 year old son and a 4 year old cat, the son has always been around the cat since he was born but lately the son wants to cuddle, pick up and play.
She has encouraged gentle hands etc. she has also said she doesn't mind if he does get bitten or scratched she understands that's what the cat will do.
Thank you in advance.

Two year olds aren't capable of seeing the cat as living creature. Not minding if he gets bitten or scratched is only going to end in disaster.

The cat needs an escape route in any room the toddler is allowed in and they should be supervised or separated. That bite or scratch she says she won't mind is not going to teach the child anything and might result in a serious injury or infection. And just because some pets will take toddler abuse doesn't mean they should.

 

[pangurban]

I love cats! My life just isn't complete without them. But I couldn't bear to have an animal that was living a stressed out life just to make me happy.

 

[dennis47]

I do not have children and almost certainly never will, but having had several cats previously in my life, I sometimes saw them as my kids. Sounds a bit silly, maybe, but when you raise a cat up from the time it is born, you just get that parental feeling about them. I do find cats to be a lot easier for me to handle than kids.