Hi, has anyone a solution before we have to send the cat to a rescue centre? he has always been jealous of her, hitting her, etc. and she never hits back, we got her 2 years ago when he was 1. Last week he covered her with gloss paint which nearly killed her and cost us £171 vet fees! He just seems to hate her. How can I make him feel better towards her?
2006-10-01 00:21:54 · 24 answers · asked by Susier 1 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Toddler & Preschooler
By rescue centre I meant a rehoming centre...or another home, somehow - not somewhere where they put the animals to sleep. Sorry for the confusion.
2006-10-01 03:55:09 · update #1
I don't think he hates your cat. My three year old daughter does similar things to a tiny Pomeranian puppy that we have. I've found the puppy in the toilet, in the fridge, in her toy microwave. I think what's happening is he just doesn't understand that he could actually do harm to the cat. Most kids at this age don't have that concept.
What we did at my house was, we just started keeping them separated unless they were supervised together. It didn't take too long before my 3 yr. old started being more gentle with the puppy.
If you're attached to the cat and your son, you don't have to get rid of either. LOL Just try separating them for a time when you can't watch what he's doing with the cat. It'll work itself out.
2006-10-01 06:19:13 · answer #1 · answered by andi b 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You gotta teach your kiddo to leave the cat the hell alone otherwise bad things are going to happen. It sounds as if your son is being a horrible beast to this poor cat, why she hasn't taken his face off yet I do not know, & if the abuse (& that's what it is) doesn't stop then you're heading into psycho in the making territory because we all know that the serial killer sickos often start at really young ages with animals because they don't know the value of a life. It sounds as if you really care for your cat, which is a very good thing! How you cope with a toddler & a cat I can only imagine but it is possible to teach your kid to be nice to the cat - if I even went near the dog (mum & dad had her long before I was born) with anything but good intentions I would really cop it & as a result I love animals & never hurt the dog & never got bit myself.
2006-10-01 07:47:56 · answer #2 · answered by shirazzza 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I have twin grandsons one of them is like that with there cat I thought at first he's only little we'll teach him about the way that the kitten needs to be treated etc but even as Josh has gotten older there is just something I don't like about the way he is when he is near the cat .I don't think he hates the cat ,just maybe that he's fasinated to the reaction of the cat when it is zipped up in his schoolbag etc but it makes me uncomfortable to think that he isn't thinking it will hurt the cat or the cat will be scared so we supervise always and explain how frightened he would be if..eg. he was swept up by a big person and zipped up in a dark bag........but anyway if yours is jealous and won't say why (he may not know) for the cat's safety find him a new home and wait until your son is older to have a pet .
2006-10-01 13:00:56 · answer #3 · answered by sue m 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm assuming you've tried asking him why he hates the cat but at that age it's probably hard for him to express why. It's just awful but it sounds like you will have to get rid of the cat because it's in danger. If it was just a matter of teaching your son about treating animals with respect, that would be easier. But he seems to really hate the cat. This article focuses on dogs but it might help shed some light.
But how did your 3 year old get hold of gloss paint without you seeing?
2006-10-01 07:27:28 · answer #4 · answered by Iknowsomestuff 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
He does it because he can. Plain and simple. Is he being punished for hurting the cat? If you dont teach him that you get punished for doing bad things, then he'll keep doing bad things and right now its being mean to animals, next it will be other childern, and then who knows! You can get rid of the cat, but thats not going to fix the problem unless you plan to never take him around other people that have anything smaller than him. I grew up around a kid like that, mean to animals, then he started being mean to the other kids and all his parents did was say he'd out grow it. He didnt.
Now he's married and has kids of his own, and guess what? Thats right, he's mean to them too. I know you think at three yrs old thats not going to happen to your child, but thats what all parents think and take a look around at all those kids when they grow up, they turn into mean adults.
Do something about it now while you can and while he's still in the learning processe. What are you going to do if you take him to a friends that has animals and he trys to hurt theirs and he gets hurt instead? Blame the animal for trying to protect itsself?
You have to teach him that if he hurts something he will be hurt in return, its a hard thing to deal with, but it will be better for all involved in the long run. It just isnt right that you are willing to punish that poor cat even more for something it has no control over. Why dont you try to find it a good home where it can be loved like it deserves instead of sending it off to be killed because your kids mean to it and you cant controll him.
2006-10-01 08:14:21 · answer #5 · answered by starrynite1958 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In this case if your child almost killed the cat I would say give it to the rescue center. The cat has a right to be living free from that type of abuse. Making the kid and the cat play nice at the cat's expense isn't very fair for the cat.
2006-10-01 08:11:53 · answer #6 · answered by wendysorangeblossoms 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Jelousy like when theres a new baby and it gets more attention thnan he does and then they become more naughty to get attention. prob same with t5=his situatuion i think. do u give the cat more attention than u give him. maybe thats why.take him to a farm and have him feed the animals or something. he might have different perspective there after.sounds scary tho.has the child experienced stress or anger or something he's seen like in movies, cartoons etc. are u and ur husband at good terms or do u argue etc. all can affect how the child reacts. child psychology maybe too. seen someone do it and copies it himself like in a cartoon or something and dont see anything wrong with it. u must tell him it is wrong and give wordsw of warnings or he'll never learn.
2006-10-01 07:32:49 · answer #7 · answered by allgiggles1984 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try making up little stories about the cat and your son, by telling him when he was born that the kitten loved him, Just we simple things that he can understand, it would be a shame to have to send your cat back after all this time. Good luck
2006-10-01 07:44:54 · answer #8 · answered by chass_lee 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Just tell hm he's not allowed to do it! My 3 year old would understand that. When he is horrible to the cat, pick up the cat and pay it alot of attention and he will soon get the message that he won't get any attention when he does it.
2006-10-01 11:47:52 · answer #9 · answered by sarah a 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
A three year old world is all about him. He is at the stage where every thing is his and he wants to do every thing himself. He doesn't like the cat. He is maybe jealous of the attention the cat is getting.
2006-10-01 07:33:45 · answer #10 · answered by CiCi 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋