Help ! Trying to get toddler to stop being rough with cat

[iLikeDots]

My DD is 3. Have split wit DP and temp moved back with my parents.

Me and xp have a large GSD who DD has know all her life. She has always played with the dog and as he's big he never got annoyed by any of her games with him.

Now, my parents have 3 cats. Two of them run away when they see her. But one of the cats doesn't and just lets her pull her around . I have tried everything. Telling DD off, saying that she is hurting the cat, trying to make sure i watch her all the time. DD says that she loves the cat and the cat is her friend.

I know some replies will be that it could be to my recent split with her dad. But she has been this way with the cat before our relationship broke down.

Advice please - I don't want to resort to locking the cat away in another room as she love's people and hangs around the family all the time !

Hello

I won't presume to give you any psychological reasons why DD's doing this, but my own DD (4) has been too rough with our cats at times, and I have explained that if we don't look after them, we will have to give them away. It worked.

HTH

Toddlers are harsh with animals, my dd was with the dog.

I told my dd that the dog would have to go if she was rough with it and it worked.

The thing with most cats is that they will only take so much shit before scratching. My dd was scratched by our cat and in some ways this was a good thing as she was not really burt and it taught her to stop pulling it about.

Thanks for the replies.

The problem with the cat is she really will put up with anything and never lashes out. One of the other cats hissed at DD when she was being too rough and since then DD has gone nowhere near that cat as it shocked her.

I haven't tried telling DD that if she is too rough with the cat , the cat will have to be sent away, so will try that.

Thanks.