cats and kids

There is nothing harmful with pets, especially cats who are very docile. Only make sure that as the child grows up then they do not tease and trouble the cat physically. If any animal is subjected to physical abuse, then it will react (it can be anything even a chicken, or a snake). So, there is nothing to worry about cats.

I don't think cats are dangerous to children. It's an old wives tale that cats would/could smother children. I don't think that's actually been documented. I love my cats and plan on always having them around, but I think that you do have to take some precautions with small children mostly for the animals' sake. A toddler may want to pick up a kitten or pull on a cat's ears and have no clue as to why the cat scratches him. I know of one instance where a toddler picked a kitten and frightened it. The kitten reacted on instinct by biting the boy and the boy threw the kitten down killing it. I think you just have to be cautious and watch to see how young children and cats interact to make sure that nothing happens to either of them.

I think it all depends on the cat. I have had friends bring their kids to my house and my cat just sort of avoided them, the kids had cats at home, so knew not to bother the cat if he didn't want attenion. Some cats react badly to any new animal coming into the house (that's really how a cat would view a baby), and those would be the ones you would have to watch so that is did not attack the baby. Cats tend to make their opinions known about things right away; if the cat is accepting and docile about the baby, you don't really have to worry about it "turning" on the baby unexpectedly later (unless the child provokes it, of course).

I had cats as pets ever since I was a little girl. My younger sister and brother also were around cats when they were young, and learned to love and appreciate animals. Today, my sister is the proud owner of two large dogs and a newly-adopted cat, and I have my Columbus and Waffles cats. My brother has one or two dogs AND a cat named Tybol.

Cats are not dangerous to children. A cat won't attack a kid if the kid doesn't disturb it. I once had a cat who didn't like children because he had been harassed by children, and he only growled and hissed at any children that came close to him. He would scratch the child that didn't listen to his growl, but he would never attack a child. I once had another cat who was wonderful with kids. He would let my little niece examine his toes without fussing at all. I think that most cats lie between the two extremes of these cats. I have 4 cats now, and a two year old niece. The cats mostly ignore her. But she did get a scratch when she pulled the cat's tail. We had to explain to the child that if she pulls a cat's tail she will get scratched. If you teach your children to respect the animals, they won't get into problems. I think cats are one of the safest animals to have around kids.

I have a 2-year-old cat that was terribly abused by a small child. She growls every time you pick her up or even pet her. She rarely bites or scratches anyone (read on for that part!) but I think she thinks that we're going to hurt her like the child did that abused her. The vet says that she had a broken rib that healed improperly and her back isn't right either. The woman who gave her to me said that her 3 year old daughter liked to "play" with her and that she thought the cat was pregnant at one time, but after her daughter sat on the cat, she never gave birth! Duh!! Any other animal, whether it's a dog or cat, that comes close to her gets attacked. My grandson was holding her when a friend of his came in the door with his dog and the cat went ballistic! My grandson was severly scratched and bitten because the cat was trying to get to the dog! She did that another time too when a cat came in our house. So people who have pets for their small children have to remember that these are living animals who experience pain and fear just like we do. They are never, never a play toy for your child. I think anyone who does this deserves jail time and a hefty fine.

It really depends on the personalities of both the cats and the kids. I wouldn't trust MY cat with kids, but that's not a problem, because I will never have kids. Other cats are no problem, I've found, and then there are some kids who would drive a saint to drink, and who would drive a cat nuts too. I think it all depends on the situation