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Children and Cuddling -
Education is the Key!
 Bless the beasts and the children
Cats and
children can be the best of friends
if children are taught how to be
gentle, loving and appropriate with
cats. Preventing mistakes with 100%
supervision and giving gentle instructions to
both the pet and child fosters
a life long love and bond
between pets and children.
Supervision.
The
most important rule of thumb is to remember that small children must be watched carefully. If you are not there, a child may accidentally scare or harm the cat. Consequently, the cat may also scare or harm the child.
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As a general rule, children under the age of 10 should never be left alone with a cat.
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 TIPS for Teaching Children
how to "Cuddle" Cats
1. Sit
still. Begin by teaching children
how to sit still on the floor and offer a hungry cat a treat and then put down a
meal. This helps the pet see children as a positive.
2.
Offer food. Have all good things come from
children such as treats, food, and
toys and make sure nothing bad
happens.
3. Safe lap time. Place a
relaxed, hungry cat in the child's
lap. As you and the child offer
treats, demonstrate how to stroke
the cat. Find the cat's favorite
places to be touched with a wiggly
finger.
4. Safe lifting. If the child
is 7 or older, you may demonstrate
the proper way to lift a cat
supporting the back legs not holding
the cat around the belly. Make sure
the hard, fast, rule is, "When the
cat wants to go, let go!"
5.
Learn body language ("cat talk"). Teach the child to
"read cat" by explaining what mood the cat is in by watching the tail and ear
positions. Make sure the child NEVER chases the cat.
6.
Follow rules. Make a rule that
children are not allowed to startle or interrupt a cat's eating or nap time. Let
sleeping cat's lie.
7. Engage
child in training the cat. Show the
child how to teach the cat to come and sit for a food reward.
8.
Learning games. Demonstrate and participate in games
that children can play with cats.
Do not allow any roughhouse type games.
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Demonstrate to children how to talk to cats in soothing voice tones and slow body movements.
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What games can children play with cats?
Hide-and-Seek -
The child runs to a room in the house and
calls the cat. When the cat arrives, child delivers a tasty treat that cat does
not get at any other time than when playing this game. Then the child can hide in a different
place in the house and call the cat again for a tasty food reward.
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"Helping you raise a fabulous feline
friend for life." |
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