Child obsessed with cat

[Lilythecatty]

We got a cat a few months ago and DD (5) loves her. But it's more than that, she talks about the cat all the time, she writes letters to the cat almost every day (most of them at school), she is in Reception. I help at the school and I can hear her conversations to the other kids and its 80% about her cat, as if she's got nothing else to talk about. Kids kind of ignore her now and she sort of withdraws in her own little world.

Plus teachers mentioned she is talking like a cat a lot or makes cat noises now.

I am concerned!

I love cats and had a few as a child but I can't relate to this behaviour.

Any advice?

I'm afraid I don't have any advice, but can empathise if that's any comfort. My DD is 11, we don't even have a cat, but several of the neighbours cats wander into the garden to say 'hello' and sometimes let her have a little stroke. DD is similarly obsessed. All talk is 'which cat has been to visit today', 'which cat do you think will come to visit today', 'which cat might we see on the school run', sending pics of the neighbours cats to her friends, watching TikTok videos of cats and wanting me to watch them with her. For her birthday, we had to go to a 'cat cafe' where we spent about 2 hours drinking coffee and playing with their cats (which was quite pleasant). I'm hoping its a phase that will pass, but it is a bit wearing at times.

I'm not alone then. It's wearing, isn't it? I do hope it's a phase .

My best friend (adult now) was this child! She used to pretend she was a cat all the time. Grew out of it eventually and now we laugh a lot remembering those days!

So glad to hear that.

Nearly 50, so if it is a phase its a lasting one. Thankfully surrounded by like minded family and produced two mini cat fanatics.

😀. Thank you for your post!

Have you had a word with your child yet, to point out to her that only talking about one thing is not the way to bond with her classmates and form good friendships? Obviously she is very young and doesn't really have self-awareness, but since she is not noticing by herself that she is alienating the other kids, you'll need to tell her (tactfully and in an age appropriate way, obviously). Her teacher or the SENCO might be able to help you with this.

There may well be a social story based on this scenario as it isn't uncommon, these can be useful at showing a young person how their behaviour is perceived by others without being a direct "attack" on them. Sometimes that isn't enough and a more direct strategy is necessary, but a gentle chat might be all that's needed.

There's nothing wrong with being fascinated by something like cats, or gerbils or swordfish or dinosaurs or JCBs. It's not good if it becomes the ONLY topic of conversation. Do ask school if they can help, as your DD becoming withdrawn and isolated is something they'd want to avoid.

Ds2 used to be obsessed with the cats. He even took to telling us he was a cat and made up stories about living in a cardboard box and us finding and rescuing him. He grew out of it, but is still a massive cat lover, along with the rest of us, and we often sit round discussing our cats and their respective personalities and activities and what they'd be like if they were human. He also photographs/videos random cats when out and then tells me about them when he arrives home (he's 18).

Cats are very addictive I'm afraid.

Well, cats are the best, so I don't blame your DD in the slightest

My sister was obsessed with cats to the point she wanted to be one as an adult.... she now wants to be a mad cat lady.....she has two and she is 38, married with a baby....it has been a very long phase.

The worst that can happen is that she will decide to self identify as a cat and she will probably grow out of it. Does she have non-cat related books/toys available?

Fully support this, cats are amazing.

This is what DD is saying, she wants to be a cat when she grows up 😀.

At school they had to draw a pic of what they want to be when they grow up, she of course drew a cat 🐈

Thank you for your advice. I'll take that on board. Definitely I'll approach the school about it x

She does have all sorts of toys and books that are non-cat related and she enjoys them. But she still prefers the cat, cat books, cat toys etc.

I have two cats and three children (aged 7, 5 and 3 so still young) and this seems unusual to me. My eldest loves animals but is only vaguely interested in the cats, my middle one couldn't give two shits about the cats and the youngest likes them a lot, but doesn't go on about them or anything like you describe.

In our situation though, I had the cats before the children so there was never any novelty factor about it, the cats were just always here. I think your child is maybe just taken with the fact that this is something new and it's become a bit of an obsession for her? My eldest is into Minecraft and talks incessantly about that, draws pictures of it and watches videos about it etc, I think it's in young children natures to get a bit hung up on things at times and cats aren't the worst thing!

Chances are the novelty will wear off before too long. Or she'll grow up and get a bunch of cats. Neither of which would be a bad thing!

My DD was like this. She even wrote a rap about our cat and sang it to the whole class. Now she's 12 she's completely lost interest in the cat. He doesn't even go to her for affectionate any more. Makes me rather sad. Your DD will grow out of it.

She clearly likes animals, half term is coming up, what about a trip to the zoo, or an inner city farm with animals or something of that nature. Also there's all the D Attenborough programmes you could watch a few together. We have some farms not too far away which are specially designed for children, with play areas and opportunities to pet guinea pigs and baby lambs/goats.
That way she may still be Cat obsesssed but will have a broader range of convo.
Plus set up some play dates and other interests at the weekend. She can still love her cats but it might give her new things to think about. She sounds lovely by the way. One of my DC has just offered to foster two kittens for a while and keeps sending little videos of their cuteness. They've left home now, but are clearly cat obsessed too.

Ds2 is similar, makes miaow noises when we're cuddling, has quite a few small toy cats that he lines up in bed. He tried to convince me last night that Pandas are cats too. Like the Anti-Attenborough. Not sure if he bothers his class mates with it but we get the brunt of it.

I'm allergic to cats so no chance of a pet - and granny's cat sadly reached the end of her long and happy life last year so he hasn't got one to go and see now either.

I can only commend someone so young having such good judgement- not only on cats, but on humans too.

I think she’s going to do well in (her own definition of) life.

Awww bless her. My dd is like this - she's 11 now and is going through assessment for autism. One sign of it is becoming obsessive about certain things and having no "off" filter (ie social awareness) when talking about their current obsession in public.

Not saying this is the case with your dd of course but just something to bear in mind if it follows a pattern. At the very least she sounds like a loving, sensitive child who will love and be kind to animals - a wonderful trait!

Thank you for your post. I did think of ASD so I'll bear this in mind.

I was the same as a child. I used to pretend to be a cat, sleep like a cat, eat like a cat, wash like a cat.
I still love cats now, but in a more socially acceptable way.
I have autism. Perhaps your daughter does too if she is so extremely single minded?

My 5 year old is obsessed. Will ask for anything cat related on the shops. Wants the cat on her knee at all times. Draws them. Writes to them. Talks about them. Meows a lot, albeit not as much as she used to. Obsessed with Gabby's Dollhouse. She has a friend who is exactly the same so I'd assumed it was fairly normal. It is wearing. Especially for the poor cat. He's 15. I'm dreading him dying.

She does have lots of friends though and can relate to kids on other levels. Apart from her cat obsessed friend, they just meow at each other.