21 m.o. "Playing" Rough with Baby Kitty...

He's really too young to learn to be gentle with the kitten. Even if you put him in time out constantly and he does get the idea that being rough is wrong (and he still might not), that still does not mean that he will be able to control his impulses to be rough.

I think you need to keep them separate unless you are right there with him every second. We have 3 cats, one of whom would not flee the baby (the other 2 always did). Even after being scratched by the cat a couple times (when I was not on top of keeping them separate), she still would reach out to the cat. So even actual wounds did not give DD the ability to control her impulses with the kitty.

He's just too young at this point and he could really harm the kitten.

Unfortunately I would have to say, find a new home for kitty:-( Your son is a little too young and maybe needs more warning and lessons on having a new pet. Normally, I get really annoyed with shelters that won't adopt to families with kids, but it seems your son is not yet ready for the responsibility (and it is one, even for him). You might want to do this before something happens that might traumatize the both of you.

Hello J.,

Unfortunately, kids can be a bit rough with little animals sometimes, but on the bright side, as long as the kitten is not getting hurt, the kitten will tolerate it....but when this kitten is through with this "play", it will defend itself the best way it knows how- through using its claws and teeth!
When my son (who is now 7) decided to go after one of our clients cats (I worked for a groomer), pulled her tail, she bit him on his hand and scratched him...I was not mad at the cat, she did what she had to....and guess what? My son learned his lesson...albeit the hard way, but he didn't pull her tail after that! She did not however bite him bad, it had been just a warning, if you would say, and it didn't bleed, so a kitten would not leave much of a mark probably.
We are animal people all the way, so nowadays he is very understanding about animals feelings and treating them very correctly!
If you have any questions, feel free to email me off list! Good Luck!

I realize that your son may not understand what he is doing, but its very important that you try to stop this behavior anyway you can. I have a dog and since very early on I taught her how to treat animals. Its not only about the animal's safety but your own child's. They are animals that if they feel threatened they will try to protect themselves and that is something you don't want to experience. Even a cat can hurt you bad. In fact a cat's bite is much more dirty than a dog bite and they almost always lead to an infection. I wouldn't even give him a warning. There is certain behaviors I feel don't deserve warnings like hitting, ect. The very moment he does it put him in time out. You may need to find a time out spot that he realy dislikes. My daughter used to hate being strapped in the highchair. Maybe taking a favorite toy away. If he continues to do it, keep the kitty in another room and tell him if he can't be nice to kitty he won't be able to play at all with the kitty.

This is the reason that shelters don't adopt kittens to families w/ young children. We adopted a 2yr old cat from a friend and he is great and our 2 yr old is wonderful w/ him but he's been around animals since birth and has an older brother he sees being very gentle and nice w/ the animals. I would suggest that you rehome your kitten before it ends up getting hurt from your son being too rough. In a little while if you still want a cat go and adopt a young adult yeah they aren't cute little fur balls but they are still playful, can defend themselves and are able to get away if they don't want to be bothered, and you know what you are getting personality wise.

I have to agree with Erin.. if you can, rehome the kitten while it is still a cute kitten.
My DD was about 16 months when we found a cute kitten.. and while it's turned out to be the BEST cat ever, my dd still harasses her. Yes, it's gotten much better, but be prepared for the constant intervention on your part. (Keep up with the time outs and good modeling.. show him how to treat the kitty, not how not to treat the kitty..)

Is there a way you can separate the two and let the kitten out while your child is sleeping or otherwise occupied? You have to decide: is this something you want to work through? (I did try to find a home for "it", but thankfully didn't.)

Good luck!

You need to protect the kitten and keep him away from your son until he is a bit older or he could get hurt. My son is a terror with our cat who is 3 years old. Pepper (the cat) will sleep next to my son at naptime and can be very protective of him, but once my son wakes up, I can see the leeriness come over Pepper. There have been a few instances where my cat has had enough and when my son is running across the room, pepper will wipe him out by taking out his feet. I'm trying to teach my son to be gentle with Pepper and respect him, but it's hard when his dad encourages him to play lets-spray-pepper-with-the-spray-bottle.
Good luck

My daughter (now 3) was born into a home with animals, including a teenaged cat and 2 dogs. In November after being catless for nearly 2 years we rescued a 5 week old kitten. We never allowed our child and the cat together unsupervised. In March I adopted a Chihuahua after mine passed away. (Toy dogs and kids, not a good combination).

Your son is probably too young to understand but in our house the rule for the child is to NOT pick up or chase after the animals. She is to sit or stand and let the animals go to her. If she gets too intense for the cat the cat will bite and scratch, not too hard but enough to get her point across. Also, the cat is allowed upstairs but the child isn't. If the cat needs a break she has a safe haven.

Your cat is too young to defend itself and really needs to learn not to fear people. Aside from giving up the kitten you should consider keeping the two physically apart until they are both older. This allows the kitten to mature while your son observes the proper way to behave with her.