Ok... So, stupid me bought a kitten and my dd1 is terrorising it!!!!!! Help please!

[twolittleducks]

DD1 is 2.5, she is not yet capable of quite understanding what does and doesn't hurt the cat at the mo! But she is loving to terrorise him- as in pick him up by his tail/his head/his leg and cornering the poor thing!!

Ok, I admit, maybe I should have anticipated this more, but I can't believe she can be such a menace the way she has been.

We have resorted to little kitty being in upstairs whilst she is downstairs, and then him coming down when she has gone to bed!

I really don't want to get rid of him, my partner shift works and some nights he just isn't here so the kitten is for my own company really! Kitten is 9 weeks, anyone had any experiencesa like this and what can i do?!?!?

Thanks

Anyone?

why did you get such a young kitten?

RSPCA and cats protection league recommend that any one with a child less than 5 years old shouldn't get a kitten younger than 6 - 9 months old.

All you can do is watch them both really closely and seriously tell your child off every time they do something unkind.

There was a very similar thread a few weeks ago.

My DS is nearly 3, he has severe Global Development Delay (meaning his comprehension/communication and physical abilities are way behind - was 50% now 30%). He is able to understand that it is not acceptable to be unkind to any animal, including our cats or rabbit.

I used to work for the RSPCA and you wouldn't have been allowed to have an animal at all, not even an older one, with a child under 5 - although that was 7 yrs ago so rules may have changed.

My DH works away, I do not have animals to keep me company.

If you cannot stop your DD from terrorising the kitten you need to rehome it for both of their sakes before she seriously hurts it or (as it gets a little older) it seriously hurts her. A school friend had rows of long straight scars on one side of her face where she had fallen down the stairs whilst carrying her cat - hundreds of stitches.