Is 4 too young for a cat?
Darling has become cat obsessed. We have one. But Fraidy won't go anywhere near Darling. The cat that would curl itself around my pregnant belly and purr, will now dash and hide whenever Darling, who has never hurt him or even hardly petted him, is in the room.
Darling's aunt has a new kitty. One that Darling is obsessed with. She's very gentle with the cat, and is now big into pretending to be a cat.
I'm worried about Fraidy's mental health. It's been about 2.5 yrs since he's had other cats around him and he just keeps getting more and more reclusive. It's like having a ferral housecat that you only see once in awhile. Maybe a playmate would help.
Plus, Darling is just now getting chores to do every night. Feeding and watering a cat is within her skill set (with parental supervision).
But she'll be just turning 4. We'd let her pick it out (or let the cat pick her out) but what if they don't get along after awhile.
What to do? New cat or no?
(And dogs are not an option. Period. Fraidy would go into cardiac arrest.)
Thoughts? Advice?
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Cat Decisions....
Posted by MoxieMamaKC at 1:30 PM
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4 comments:
My cat is not friendly towards young kids. She is scared of them and has actually hissed at the ones that get too close... I am not sure if a kid ever got a hold of her or if is just instinctual... I am not sure what the magic number for age is, but if I had to take my guess I think 7 is probably the earliest I would allow my future kids to be around a kitten.
Have it de-clawed...front AND back.
I don't think there's a right age for cats. Boy grew up with them. They ignored him for the first few years but at around 5 or 6 one of them started sleeping with him.
My parents got me a kitten for my 5th birthday (we already had a cat in the house) and she ended up hating children and was never "my" cat. Unfortunately I think it really depends more on the cat than on Darling.
In my opinion, if you feel the need to de-claw a cat for any reason that you're not ready for a cat.
I always had pets growing up. It taught me to care for things outside of myself and responsibility. I am a total softie to pets.
I am not a parent yet but I do think it's a good thing to have them in the home.
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