Thursday, July 30, 2009

kittens and small children?

my daughter just turned one our roommates gfs cats have been here and shes got gentle almost down to a T we have just recieved a 2mth old kitten froma friend and shes doing great with it they sit togther and are both curious little cuties but every once in a while the kitten trys to play with her hands or feet and she pulls away and gets a little upset they are always supervised when they are togther im just wondering how to teach the little kitty as quick as possible that its not to be rough with her or anyone for that matter. I dont wanna really hear that i shouldnt have a kitten and a one year old my daughter loves cats and is extremly good with them for such a young age. any thing but lectures would be appreciated thanks :)
Answers:
The kitten is just being a kitten and eventually will calm down considerably. Training will work and it will take a lot of time. Just as you will have to "train" your little human to use the toilet. You know that she is not quite ready for this a age one. You are actually doing it all right with the supervision and such. The baby and kitten will have great fun together and bond for their lifetimes.

What you should do is to show you daughter how to play with the kitten with a cat dancer or a feather toy - never with her hands. And keep those little needle-like nails trimmed on the kitten all the time just as you have trimmed your baby's nails so that she didn't accidently scratch you. Kittens don't scratch or bite intentionally.
Kittens are just like that. They grow out of it, eventually. The best thing for your daughter to do would be to ignore the kitty when she starts being rough, and never roughhouse with it - so the kitten never gets the idea that it's OK to play with someones hands. Ensure that your daughter always plays with the kitten using a toy or other thing and the kitten is never allowed to attack her hands. Eventually the kitten will realize that when it gets rough, the playmate (your daughter) goes away, and it will learn to be gentle. It might help to lightly smack the kitten on the nose, and make a hissing noise when the kitten starts to be rough.
Hope this helps!

On a side note, DO NOT declaw your kitten! The way a cat's nails work, a declawing is the equivalent of amputating our fingers.
It will change the personality of your cat, because it will know that it can't defend itself, so it will be less tolerant of children. It will also be in constant pain. Just keep the nails trimmed short. Another alternative would be to glue little plastic caps on the front nails. You can purchase these at most pet supply stores. They sound like a pain to put on, but they're not too bad, and it beats the alternative!
Maybe try a squirt bottle w/ water in it. Whenever the kitten starts playing too rough, just give it a quick squirt. We used this method to keep cats from climbing on tables, it would probably work in this situation as well. Eventually, we didn't even need the squirt bottle, the cats learned what not to do.
I have a cat that is approximately 3 (adopted her from a rescue) and she still has a foot fetish.I wouldn't keep her around small children. Since you kitten is still quite young, one thing you may want to consider is getting it declawed. But remember.kittens are naturally playful and goes after moving objects (I once had a kitten that tried to get at my eyes because they were moving).
I would use the squirt bottle with water in it. You must hit the cat in the face or nose. Squirting it in th body won't work as well. Like when a dog does something it is not suppose to, you pop its nose pretty hard(not too hard just enough to gets i's attention).
I have always had cats[kittens] and kids. The most important thing is supervision and you seem to have that down pat. Watching them bond and grow together is amazing. Children are never to young to learn respect and love for animals.
Make sure you don't roughhouse with the kitten(or let your daughter). Always use a toy to play with it so it doesn't think that your/your daughter's hands and feet are toys. Your kitten will eventually grow out of this stage. We have 6 cats with a 7 month old and they are getting along famously.

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