Kids Attacked the Kitten?

Question

I have a 2 year old and a 5 year old. I was in the bathroom and they went to the workout bench and started to attack the cat with the weights. His foot is broken and I am very disturbed. At the time they thought it was funny, and now they see how badly he is hurt and how upset I am they are very sorry and petting him / apologizing. Any thoughts?

Answer 1

While hurting animals is definite sign of a serious problem for most children, I do not think it is time to panic and wonder if your children are future sociopaths.

Young children do not think the same way adults do. They do not have a clear concept of how their actions can cause serious injury or death to something as small as a cat. Your five year old probably didn't have any intention of hurting the cat, or even thought what he was doing was wrong. The two year old has even less understanding and was probably just following along with the older child.

It is a good sign that they are remorseful for their actions. You need to take this time to explain how dangerous it is for the children to play with weights, and how they need to be gentle with the cat. Explain to them how they hurt the cat. I also suggest that you tell them the cat need a little extra care since he was injured. Take the children(especially the 5 year old) to the vet with you, when he needs a cast change, etc. Have the five year old assist you in anything extra that has to be done with the cat now that he is hurt(putting medication in the food, but be sure he knows only to touch the med while you are there, etc). Having your son help with the extra care the cat needs will show him the result of his actions. It will give instill in him that he is supposed to care for the cat and not hurt it.

While talking to your child, you need to address the seriousness of the act. Ask him about what happened, have him reflect his feelings. He is probably genuinely apologetic for what was done, you need to address it without making him feel as if there is no forgiveness for such a horrible act(without making it seem like it was not a big deal).

Good luck, and remember accidents do happen. I'll end by sharing a quick story about myself. When I was around 4/5 my sister had a gerbil. One day I decided to play with him, so I took him out of the cage. My mom was not aware I was going to play with the gerbil. I had played with the gerbil on other days(of course my mom supervised, but to me I didn't see the difference in playing with the gerbil alone, as opposed to my mother being there to supervise). Anyway, put the gerbil in a little carry bag and began tossing it around the room. I thought it was an innocent game and could not image(since I was so young), that this could injure the little animal. I put the gerbil back in the cage and left the room. To make a long story short, I ended up breaking the gerbils back and he died as a result of the injury.

Obviously this must have had a great impact on me, since I remember it very clearly even though I was only 4 or 5, I still feel bad about it. I told this story to a friend of mine a few years back(and told her about the guilt I felt still), when I was finished she said to me, "Is that why you treat animals the way to do?" Even I had to think about that. I always wondered if this incident impacted how I am with animals today. I strive to help all animals I meet that are in need. I have a very strong desire to help small rodents. I rescue rats with tumors, I currently have a gerbil that was on the brink of death(do to injury at a terrible pet store). I nursed him back to health(the vet called it a miracle). I have a bird that was almost dead because of pet store neglect, and the list goes on.

Just because your children made a mistake and injured the cat does not mean that they are going to grow up to hurt animals or people. Children do not have the forethought that adults do, and almost never think of the consequences of their actions.

Answer 2

Be glad they didn't kill the cat or hurt each other. First-I think you need to babyproof the house again. You can't blame them for getting into something left in reach (ie the weights). Second-it is good that they are showing some remourse for what they did. At there ages they have trouble with seeing the outcomes of some acitons. If they have tapped the cat with blocks or legos before with no bad outcome, they can't "get" that a heavier object can break a leg. To them it likely was just playing and they didn't understand what could occur. Seeing that the cat is now hurt and you are sad because of what they did and responding in an apporpiate way (saying sorry and being nice) shows that they do understand on some level this was bady and that they should be nice to the cat.

I would child proof the home again-put away any thing that should not be around your children. I would also start telling them that they must use gentle hands on the kitty. If they start to get to ruff, remove the cat to another room and tell them why you are doing this. My two cats run from my son unless he is asleep-they have always been a bit leary of him and tend not to stay too close to him. The family dog seems to thrive when around my son-we have always used the gentle hands on pets rule and removed the dog to another room or her crate if things get a little ruff. I would say that if your cat is typically around the boys then this outbreak is a new thing-he was obviously ok with their attention before.

I would consider this a learning opportunity for EVERYONE and move forward. If they continue to try to harm the cat, which I doubt they will, then you owe it to your cat to re-home it in calmer situation. But I think that the boys are likely to learn a lesson and be more kind to the cat after this.

Answer 3

I'd busted there butts...i'm not even kidding thats not right..how would the feel if you came in there threw a weight on there foot and then later apologized for it??!! Thats soo wrong...i'd defiently sit them down and telling them how bad they hurt the poor kitten..fyi..you should probably just get rid of the cat before they kill it....my freinds son did the same thing with there cat broke it's tail then a week later put the thing in the microwave..warmed it up and they had to have it put asleep for radiation poisoning.

Answer 4

Children who find it amusing to harm animals can be a warning sign. Keep watch and if it continues I'd look into it. If not perhaps it was just the one time experience.

In the meantime I'd watch leaving your 2 yr old alone with your 5yr until your sure it was just the one time as a safety precaution.

Answer 5

Well I hope you brought the kitten to the vet and warmed those kids behinds! They are old enough to know better at that age( at least the 5 year old is anyway). That is why it is important to stress to kids how to properly treat animals!

Answer 6

lock the weight bench away. they shouldnt have access to dangerous stuff like that for one.

punish them a swat to the tail and a good lecture would be good. you need to talk to them about how they hurt baby and how they could have taken his life

the oldest should have known better and needs to be grounded

Answer 7

I'm assuming you took him to the vet and had him treated. I would post the kitten for adoption sounds like your little guys are just not ready for a pet.

good luck

Answer 8

I suggest 40 hours of family therapy a week.

Answer 9

oh shiet that is disturbing and sad. Back hand both of those brats and break they're feet : )

Answer 10

put the cat up for adoption that is not fair to the poor kitten they could have killed it poor thing