My 18 month old is getting more and more aggressive with our cats. We are living with my parents at the moment, my cat and their cat have an uneasy truce but dislike being in the same room together, so get less company than they used to/stick around in a room with a toddler when I would have expected a cat to scarper. DS used to try to grab them, but responded well to being shown how to be gentle. He has started throwing things at them recently though, doesn't respond to us telling him no, being distracted or having the object taken off him (as he always finds something else to throw). Today he has started grabbing the cat, by the skin and very firmly so she couldn't run off ( only for a few seconds till I prised his hands off). I don't want DS to get scratched/bitten or for the cats to be terrorised, but not sure how to prevent it. DS seeks them out, e.g earlier he was playing with his sleeping bag putting it over his head, then walked into the other room to throw it over the cat. She ran, so he picked up the sleeping bag and chased her trying to throw it over her.
It seems like quite typical behaviour for a toddler ( as he gets a reaction from the cats), and the cats have lots of places to be where DS can't find them if/when it gets too much for them and times when Ds is asleep or out where they can roam the house in peace. But I keep thinking there is something I should be doing to prevent or minimise it?