Kids being cruel to new kittens

[maggiethemagpie]

We've just got two kittens and our children, 6 and 3 keep manhandling them and on two occasions have trapped them in enclosed spaces deliberately. I'm not sure of the best way to deal with this as we've told them a million times to be gentle, and used naughty step when we've caught them being rough.
Eg - throwing the kitten, holding/lifting by paws, putting in laundry basket and closing lid.

Final straw was tonight when one kitten went missing and i heard it mewing and found it in a box in the kids room with the lid on, in quite an enclosed space and it had been there at least an hour.

Don't know how to get them to stop- wwyd?

Rehome the kittens. Your children do not deserve pets.

No advicw other than rehome the kittens before something bad happens
That's quite worrying behaviour

The kittens would be rehomed immediately if I were you.

That's really worrying behaviour.

Please rehome the kittens then speak to you GP about getting some support for your DC's behaviour.

I agree with honeysuckle. Give the kittens to a shelter while they're young enough to find a new home easily if you can't control your children. No animal should have to be thrown around and imprisoned .

The children are too young for the kittens I would rehome the kittens before they end up injured, suffocated or dead.

Rehome the kittens.

My niece is 6 and is v gentle with her new kitten so I don't think you can generalise on age

That's very worrying behaviour. I don't think it's age either as lots of young children have/get pets and don't mistreat them. I think you need to rehome the kittens, and look into your children's behaviour.

Educate your children ...sharply and very firmly...they are not to young to understand how to treat animals....

Oh and please rehome the poor kittens

You need to take the kittens back where you got them from ASAP. Telling your children to be gentle isn't working. The poor kittens are having a horrible time and they will never be properly socialised in such conditions. You won't have friendly lap cats but traumatised creatures that will hide or lash out when cornered.

I'm afraid I would be coming down on this like the proverbial ton of bricks - I do not tolerate cruelty to animals from my DC in any shape or form, and age is no excuse. I would also be telling them tomorrow that they are on their absolute last warning - just one more incident and the kittens will be going straight to Cats Protection to be rehomed. Poor babies.

6 and 3 is old enough to understand to be kind to animals so it isnt an age thing. Plenty of children that age have pets and are kind and gentle with them.

You've punished your children and they keep doing it. Throwing a kitten ffs.

I agree with everyone else. The kittens havent been with you long and are young enough to get a new home. It will be a good lesson for your children that if they cant be nice to pets they cant have them.

I also agree that deliberately trapping them in enclosed spaces is actually very worrying behaviour. It's sadistic and cruel.

You cannot be serious?

How do you deal with it?

Well, for starters you could supervise your children with the kittens. Always

Is this not just common sense?

They're cruel to them once, they're not left alone with them until they learn how to behave with them. You teach by example and supervision.

Jesus.

On second thoughts, no. Re home the kittens. No-one in your household is mature enough for the responsibility of a pet.

Throwing a kitten? I'm sorry, but that makes me feel sick. Please find a new home for your kittens.

I don't think you should keep the kittens. I could understand it if you said that your 3 yr old hugged the kitten a bit too enthusiastically, but this is something else. It sounds quite deliberately mean.

I have 5dc. None of them has behaved like this with our pets.

As far as getting them to stop, I don't know what to suggest. Do your children respond to you about other rules. If I tell mine not to do something, then they don't do it. They sometimes do silly things, but if I told them directly not to repeat a behaviour, they just wouldn't dare, and they've been reliable with that since about age 3.

I'm really shocked that they would even need to be told not to throw a kitten. Especially the 6 year old.

That's not normal behaviour. My son is 3 and loves animals and wouldn't even think for a second of doing any of those things.

I'm not normally one to say rehome and the drop of a hat, quite the opposite but in this instance I think you should. Those poor kittens could have a horrible life otherwise. My friends child is almost 3 and he is very gentle and kind to their elderly dog.

How horrible and nasty.
Think you need to educate your children in kindness.

Rehome the kittens as they deserve much better homes.

Those poor kittens!

A 6 year old is well beyond knowing better. That would be Year 1 or Year 2 age ... definitely old enough to control oneself.

And a 3 year old should be able to follow simple rules about caring for a small animal.

Very worrying. And unfair to the kittens.

Since you can't seem to supervise your children properly with small, defenseless animals, you shouldn't have them. Please return them so they can be re-homed asap.

Rehone the cats immediately and watch like a hawk until then. Ask your children why they are so cruel and seek to deal with the behaviour. Don't get more pets until you get on top of sadistic treatment of animals.

Rehome them

We got a puppy when our son was 2 and 2 kittens when he was 3

It took a bit of time, but he never trapped them, while he was a bit rough with them, it just took time to get him to stroke them properly.

He never threw them, put them in enclosed spaces they couldn't get out of.

They now sleep on his bed and wait for him to get home, the dog is just soppy round him

I'm appalled!! Seriously get your kids to respect and treat the animals with kindness or rehome the kittens asap. No excuse for cruelty in any way!!!!