I realise that a lot of this is common sense. I also realise that to many experienced cat caregivers these tips won’t be that useful. However, there are many young mums with young kids who decide to adopt a cat companion to make their family complete and add that little bit of extra soul to a home that a companion animal brings. For them these tips may be useful.
RELATED: Toddlers under 3 years old willingly want to help dogs who ‘ask’
One advantage of bringing a new cat to a home where the residents are all human is that there is no resident cat who regards the family home as his or her territory. When you introduce a new cat into that kind of home there is a greater likelihood of friction between the cats. Most humans don’t have the same possessive attitude towards territory. ‘Most’ is the operative word 😉.
And one point which I don’t make it in the infographic which is also common sense is that mums and dads really should learn a bit about cat behaviour and impart it onto their kids together with instructions on how to interact gently with a new cat to ensure that they settle in as smoothly as possible.
All the videos and photographs that I have seen of children interacting with cats tell me that the children benefit enormously from it. They often love their cats. It’s just a question of ensuring that the cat gets the message that the child loves them and doesn’t perceive the little human as a hostile creature!
My experience tells me that domestic cats are probably more sensitive and more unhappy than people think about rough handling. When they are kittens, they play rough but when they are adults people need to respect their desire for a gentle approach, an approach which is designed to please the cat primarily and then secondarily please the human. In this way you avoid scratches and bites and the relationship will be forever close, bonded and peaceful.
Below are some pages on children and cats.
