Cat Owners - Does your LO chase the cat?

buttahbear · June 2009

We just got a 1 year old cat (may have been a crazy idea on my part). But the cat is not smart enough or doesn't feel the need to run to where DS can't get her. I'm trying to keep him from chasing her but it's a losing battle right now. Everything I've read said to keep kids from chasing the cat because that's what causes scratches/bites a lot of the time. I'm just curious if anyone's tried to discourage DC from chasing the cat around and if it worked. I figured the cat would run off to get away from DS but the opposite is happening...they are fascinated with each other right now. The cat has not scratched or bit DS but I worry that it may happen just out of her own defense. I do not ever leave them unattended when they are together of course but it would be nice to keep DS from chasing her around. He only crawls right now so I'm hoping walking might make it less fun for him to chase her (could be total wishful thinking, LOL).

kmc217 · June 2009

We have 2 cats and DD is obsessed with them. She doesn't walk yet but fast crawls after them as soon as they are near her. My cats are very mellow and tolerate a lot of her "playing" with them before they will casually stroll away. They've never hissed or growled or bit her so I'm not too worried but I also don't leave her alone with them.

mriricat23 · June 2009

My son, LOVES our cat! Boli, is more like the family dog... at least this is how he acts. DS will chase and tackle and love and hug the cat and Boli takes it all like a champ. He is declawed so now issues there. Our other, typical cat, Oreo, will not stand for anoything like that and DS knows not to bother with him. Oreo will run before DS even gets to him.

E C · June 2009

DD chases our cats. Well, 1. The other doesn't stick around. She pulls on her tail and her fur, but she can also be very gentle and loving. Sass (the cat) is actually surprisingly patient. DD's been walking for 5 months, and Sass has yet to bite, hiss at, or scratch her. It's been close once or twice, but she's not done it yet. If she did, it would probably be a lesson to DD to stop tormenting it.

IckyThump · June 2009

DS loves our two cats. They're young and spry, so they're able to easily escape. When he starts walking/running it might be a different story, but for right now, he's rarely fast enough get to them.

Amrice78 · June 2009

Mikey runs around after her waving and saying "hi kitty" she stays just out of his reach. it's kind of cute

Mama Jan · June 2009

We have 2 cats and DS absolutely ADORES them. They are great and really tolerate him coming up to them. He knows how to be "gentle" with them and he even gives them hugs and kisses. I don't worry too much about bites or scratches. I realize anything can happen but it would be extremely out of the ordinary for our cats to show any aggression at all. When they don't want to deal with him, they get up and leave. He may chase after them, but they are faster and they have safe places to go and be alone.

I personally think instead of teaching him not to interact with the cat, it's better to teach him how to treat a cat gently.

KristinKD · June 2009

DD chases our cats, but the cats are always too fast for her. She gets so excited and wants to play with them, but it just freaks them out. I try to tell her to calm down, but it hasn't worked yet. So far, they haven't scratched her -- but that could just be because she can't catch them yet.

Oh, and it is probably wishful thinking that it'll be less fun for your DS after he starts walking. DD has been walking for eight months and just recently renewed her interest in chasing them. lol.

Kat28655 · June 2009

mriricat23:
My son, LOVES our cat! Boli, is more like the family dog... at least this is how he acts. DS will chase and tackle and love and hug the cat and Boli takes it all like a champ. He is declawed so now issues there. Our other, typical cat, Oreo, will not stand for anoything like that and DS knows not to bother with him. Oreo will run before DS even gets to him.

This exactly. DD adores the cat!!!

Bre92504 · June 2009

DS loves the "ki-ee's". One of them stays away from him most of the time but the other seems to like him. He lets him lay on him, poke at him and chase him. He has never hissed or scratched DS. I do work on being "gentle" with DS. We pet the cats and say gentle at the same time.

TXSweetheart · June 2009

We have 2 cats and DS loves them to pieces. His first (and only word that we can recognize) is 'kee kee' (kitty). Our cats are both declawed, but I worry about biting. One is smart enough to run/hide. The other is so so stupid. He just sits there. Luckily, he hasn't made any move to bite DS and we've been trying since day one to teach DS 'gentle' pets, but I still keep a close eye on the two of them.

wendyj · June 2009

He loves our cat! He starts smiling and giggling every time the cat is in his sight. I swear the cat has lost weight since ds started crawling - he's constantly running away! We are very lucky that our cat is so gentle and tolerant of ds. We have been trying to teach ds what 'gentle' means ever since he started making attempts to touch the cat. Sometimes he gets it, other times not so much. He has pulled on the cat's tail lately, and we've been lucky that all the cat does is cry out. We actually have to keep our eye on them more for the cat's safety than our son's, I think.

Temp174496125006552 · June 2009

We have 3 cats and Ben can be pretty rough with two of them at times...despite our constant telling him to "be gentle" and showing him the proper way to pet them.

The worst thing he does is pull their fur and each time we do, we tell him that it's not nice and remind him to be gentle/how to pet them. He's gotten better with time. The third cat is the only smart one who just totally avoids him all together.

Oh, and when he started walking, it only got worse. Sorry.

iowagirl73 · June 2009

Yes, my son chases my cats. He just wants to pet them and we are working on "petting gently". Sometimes he'll just walk over to them and leave them alone and other times he'll just start jabbering at them like he is telling them a story. My cats typically run off if they don't want his attention. Maybe your cat is one of those that likes the attention and doesn't care if he is grabbed by your DS.

shannm · June 2009

DS runs after the cats all of the time. They usually run from him but every now and then, he reaches them and pulls a few hairs out to give to me. I am sure that he will eventually get scratched but so far so good. The cats kind of know that he doesn't know better....I think.

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