Toddlers and pets (cats to be specific)

trickeytricky

Zac latest thing is tormenting our cats.

He is really good when it comes to petting, not pulling, not riding them but he suddenly wants to throw everything at them. His toys, our shoes, books, anything he can reach, if the cats aren't close he will actually find them to throw something at 'em.

I do my best to go to his level and say "we don't throw things at the kitty kitty" - yet it's hard to prevent because I have to let him play with his books and toys, right? Then bam! before I know it it's become a cat missel. 

Any words of advice or tricks I should know about?

kel716

How old is Zac? 

If under 2, I'd give a warning first.  If he does it again, take away said toy.  If he does it again, take away the toy again.  Follow this scheme until he gets it (warning, warning, take toy).  Keep in mind that his memory span may be short, so if he does it again 15 minutes later, follow the same sequence of warning, etc..

If over 2, I'd do a time out (2 minutes) or the method indicated above.  Set a timer.  If he gets out of the chair, put him back until he sits for 2 minutes consecutive minutes.  (time out = same #of minutes as age). 

The key here is consistency.  As long as you're consistent, it should get better quickly!

Superchicy

DD does this.  I try to say no before she does it if I see her taking aim, take away the toy or whatever she was going to throw and she does throw a small tantrum.  I give her a minute or two and then give back whatever it was and say again that we don't throw things at the cat.  I do the same type of thing when she tries to kick the cat but pick her up or move the cat out of the way, and talk to her when she's calm if she throws a tantrum.  I also give the cat plenty of places to hide so she has her own space (though she still hasn't learned and flops right in front of DD).  If it gets bad I put the cat back in our bedroom for a while.  Guess I have no real advice on a way to fix it, but this is at least how we handle it at the moment. 

Missbollinger

I tried and tried with Henry to stop him from tormenting our cat before he turned 2 to no avail, the cat just got smart and hides until nap time or bedtime now.

tegss

kel716:

How old is Zac? 

If under 2, I'd give a warning first.  If he does it again, take away said toy.  If he does it again, take away the toy again.  Follow this scheme until he gets it (warning, warning, take toy).  Keep in mind that his memory span may be short, so if he does it again 15 minutes later, follow the same sequence of warning, etc..

If over 2, I'd do a time out (2 minutes) or the method indicated above.  Set a timer.  If he gets out of the chair, put him back until he sits for 2 minutes consecutive minutes.  (time out = same #of minutes as age). 

The key here is consistency.  As long as you're consistent, it should get better quickly!

 

This is what I do. DS was also pulling the cats by their tails. One cat got smart and avoids DS at all times, but the other cat doesn't really get it... Good luck! Don't worry, your LO should lose interest soon!

 

 

kyfirewife

This is not tolerated in our house. DD gets a warning, and then if she does it again, she gets a timeout.

It started when she was right at 2 yo, and she hit one of our cats on the head with a toy, hard. I think she just was trying to see what would happen, and the cats reaction, unfortunately, she thought was funny.

So we made the rule right then, and have stuck with it.

The cat & dogs are to be treated gently, no hitting, no pulling of any body part or fur, she's not allowed to throw things at anyone or anything (other than her basketball hoop or the floor) anyway, so... one warning. If she repeats the behavior, she's in timeout. Period.