Present for a four year old who really wants a pet cat?

[BeefTomato]

DD is desperate for a real pet cat, which unfortunately is never going to happen. I want to find her something similar, but feel like she's too little for a Tamagotchi. Is there anything out there that I haven't thought of?

She doesn't want a cat!

Even if you're a vegan you can't expect animals to be the same.

She doesn't.

@Chewbecca most people can manage to take their cats to the vets once a year. To vaccinate and have a health check. So you don’t flea treat or worm either?
And pretty much all cat charities say that cats should be in all night. It’s not my opinion. It’s supported by figures around accidents etc.

@wolfiefan, yes I suppose we would all be safer locked in our houses, but it would be dull. Cats like being out.

Mine are out. In and out all day. In overnight to protect them from traffic accidents and wildlife etc. But then they’re also vaccinated.

Slinky malinki books? My DD who's also love Dcat loves these books. We live on a very busy main road so don't have Dcat in case. But we have a dog whom she loves dearly.

Cats also like being in. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Who'd

OP doesn’t want a cat!!! She is perfectly entitled to NOT want a cat!
And yes echoing those who have said that ALL cats should have a litter tray regardless of whether they go outside or not.

I too would just steer clear of the cat idea OP as I think it’ll just make her want one even more! I know what I was like at her age endlessly begging my mum for pets

My cat can go in and out whenever she pleases, day or night. I appreciate the accident stats may be higher at night but for me, locking a cat anywhere is overcautious and not especially kind.

I do use flea and worm treatment, yes, I think it would be cruel not to given the cat probably will pick both up and suffer with them. But I don't think it is cruel to not do an annual vet trip for vaccinations.

My cat is very healthy and extremely happy.

OP

Would you consider fostering a cat?

I used to do it for Cats Protection.You can do it for just one or two weeks a year for when a fosterer is on holiday.

The cat comes with food, litter and no vet's bills and dried food doesn't really resemble meat.

sashh she doesn’t want a bloody cat! Do you think the cat foster people will want to foster a cat to someone who doesn’t want to look after one and doesn’t like the idea of handling its food? Bloody hell, I like cats and have one myself. But OP is not completely mad for not wanting to get a cat for a 4 year old.

OP is there a local chattery that does open days? My dc was obsessed with cats at a similar age and our local cattery did family days where kids could help groom the cats and play with them. I think there was a minimum age of 5 though. Although we did end up getting a cat due to dc going to these sessions 😬

I was in this same situation when my son was small.

One Christmas 'santa' arranged a sponsorship of the kittens at the local rescue centre so he then had lots of pets that we could go and visit and cuddle, it was a win win situation and only cost £3 per month. He still talks about his pet cats now years later.