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Original poster

do i worry about next doors cats and my ds's?

43 replies

mad4myboys · 09/06/2009 20:33

i have almost 3 and 6 month old ds's and our garden is very safe and enclosed and we have a big kitchen/diner and i let ds1 come and go as he pleases and leave the back door open. Lately i have been putting ds2 outside by the door and the 2 of them have a great time. Next door have 2 kittens which are just old enough to go outside. Now, i know they are skitty but i dont know how much i should worry?First of all they were trying to get inside which i dont want and second, i was cooking tea and ds2 was with me and ds1 was at the top of his wooden climbing frame and i knew both cats were in and out ofour garden as ds1 was talking to them. anyway one was on top of the shed next to the climbing frame then ds1 was screaming. went out and he said he bumped his head and that it was the cats fault (who was then next to him) couldnt see how but when he was in the bath he showed me his 'baddy' where he said the cat scrathed him and how the cats paws were on his leg and it pushed him backwards (i guess making him bump his head)

obviously i dont trust the cats, but obviously next door cant leave them indoors and im not going to keep him indoors but does this mean i cant let ds1 play out side as he pleases?? I never go far, our downstairs is open plan and im always in the kitchen/diner...Now realise i cant leave ds2 out there without me even if it is by the door

OP posts:
whooosh · 09/06/2009 20:37

Cats are cats and no owner has any control over them (unlike dogs).
My advice would be totry and encourage your DCs to be "friends" with the cats and treat them as they should be treated.Tricky with kittens as they too son't always understand the boundaries but keeping your DC's in,or expecting neighbours to keep kittens in,is't the answer.

Original poster
mad4myboys · 09/06/2009 20:38

thats what i said, they cant keep them in and i cant keep ds in. He doesnt touch the cats, just talks to them

OP posts:
whooosh · 09/06/2009 20:43

Well maybe as they grow up (DS and kittens) they may well become great friends.It is surprising the similarities between them

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Cats
melmog · 16/06/2009 13:27

what whooosh said!

seeker · 16/06/2009 13:37

A kitten pushed your ds off his climbing frame?? You can't let your children outside because of the dangerous.....kitten?????????

Give me strength!

AMumInScotland · 16/06/2009 13:38

I guess they will learn fairly quickly to watch out for where the kittens are when they're playing. I'm afraid kittens can be pretty unpredictable, so they may well startle the children. That will soon improve as the kittens get older though, they won't be at this skittish stage for long.

As to the house, just make sure you shoo them away when they try to come in - they'll learn soon enough it's not somewhere they are meant to go.

GetOrfMoiLand · 16/06/2009 13:42

Honestly, I think you may be fretting too much. The kittens will soon get used to your dc, and vice versa. Plus, I don't think I would necessarily believe that a toddler would get pushed backwards by a kitten.

Stayingsunnygirl · 16/06/2009 13:44

Maybe the kitten moved suddenly and startled the OP's ds into falling backwards.

thisisyesterday · 16/06/2009 13:44

i was about to post exactly the same as seeker lol

Stayingsunnygirl · 16/06/2009 13:45

Or it was that giant white kitten from the Goodies - anyone remember that? [reminiscing emoticon]

trixymalixy · 16/06/2009 13:52

PMSL, agree with seeker.

cheesesarnie · 16/06/2009 14:07

sorry but i cant get giant bullying kitten image out of my head.

the kittens and your dc will best of friends before long.

nevergonnapost · 16/06/2009 14:11

pmsl @ goodies kitten i remember that it was clinging to the side of the post office tower? i am sure the kittens and your children will be friends soon please dont make the children scared of the kittens and cats in general by saying they will bite you etc

MeAndMyMonkey · 16/06/2009 14:13

I would be more worried about leaving a 3 year old unattended on top of a climbing frame than in the clutches of an evil kitten to be honest.
A kitten! Is this a joke?

trixymalixy · 16/06/2009 15:11

Seriously, I have 2 cats and a nearly 2.5 year old and I am far more worried about the cat's safety when around my DS.

It was only when he was a little baby that couldn't roll over that I would have worried about my DS's safety around the cats, more if they decided he was nice and warm to sleep on and smothered him than attacked him.

A cat is unlikely to just attack, and is more likely to avoid babies and toddlers as much as possible and only if backed into a corner would they scratch or bite.

I think you are projecting your fear of the kittens onto your DS.

Original poster
mad4myboys · 16/06/2009 19:32

im not scared of the kittens!! They arent a few weeks old, more like young adult cats.

Today i had one of them inside again despite shooing them away. And with regard to ds1 being top of a climbing frame, it is a solid wooded framed toddler climbing frame, hardly everest. If i posted 'should i worry about leaving my 3 year old on a climbing frame' im sure you would have flamed me for being PFB.

The 'kitten' in question is quite hefty and is quite capable of knocking ds1 backwards when caught off gaurd

OP posts:
Peachy · 16/06/2009 19:37

Am wirh seeker in general TBH

But see this as opportunity to teach animal awareness skills. Cats might scratch if badly treated, or cornered, but they generally won't.

Original poster
mad4myboys · 16/06/2009 19:39

ok. But how do i get ds to not be afraid? Ive tried myself stroking the cat and showing him hes a friend but hes still petrified of it. HEs not scared of my MIL cat who isnt much older...

OP posts:
MoominMymbleandMy · 16/06/2009 19:46

I remember the Goodies' giant kitten. My favourite episode! We have it on DVD now and it's a big hit with the DD.

Kittens don't stay kittens for very long at all, and are more likely to learn to give your LOs a wide berth.

We got two kittens when my DS was 10-months-old and I never left them alone together at first. But I soon realised these kittens were both good tempered and smart, and when they'd had enough of the DS they would take themselves to the other side of the stairgate
where they would twitch their tails tantalisingly just out of reach.

Original poster
mad4myboys · 16/06/2009 19:50

thanks moomin

OP posts:
Stayingsunnygirl · 16/06/2009 21:10

Sorry for hijack.

AnyFucker · 16/06/2009 21:13

deary me, you need to find something else to worry about......

feedthegoat · 16/06/2009 21:19

I can't imagine how big a kitten would have to be to actually push a toddler over! I've got an enormous moggy and he wouldn't be able to push my 3 year old over (you don't live next door to a zoo do you? ).

I'd try (feigning) excitement at the sight of them to try and encourage your ds to see them in a positive light. If he thinks they are something interesting to watch he might be less scared and end up making friends with them.

MoominMymbleandMy · 16/06/2009 22:04

Actually, I saw one of my kittens/adolescent cats knock over my now 19-month-old the other day.

She was having a mad dash after things unseen moment, bumped into the back of his legs when he wandered into her trajectory, and knocked him flat on the grass.

He was quite unperturbed by it and she seemed fine although she was going a fair lick at the time, and it was very, very funny .

AnyFucker · 16/06/2009 22:35

adolescent cats ?

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