Dzieci i koty
More and more families with children decide to enlarge their family with an additional friend – a cat. Sometimes you can encounter the opposite situation when a cat greets a new family member, i.e. a small child. Is caring for a cat and a small child a good idea? Do cats accept children well? In today’s article I will try to write something more about the pros and cons of this duo.
Birth of a child and a cat
Most parents are concerned about their children, especially when it comes to pets. The attitude of a cat towards a child depends on several factors. First, we need to determine if our cat is positive towards strange children and adults. If so, it will easily accept our child. Cats adapt best to newborn babies. Then the baby and the cat get to know each other in a gentle way. In addition, cats are very caring pets who can spend long hours with a child. Of course, if we don’t mind, we can let the cat accompany the child at an early age. However, we must be convinced that the pet is friendly towards the child. Please note that we must always keep an eye on the cat and the child. Certainly, you should not force the pet to contact, as this will only cause reluctance. Cats are very sociable and stay with the child for long hours. And the contact of an animal with a child who is just getting to know the world is an ideal learning process. In addition, the child learns from an early age how to deal with the cat so as not to harm it. As well as vice versa, the cat learns to interact with a small child.
Purchase/adoption of a cat for a child
Usually parents buy a pet at their child’s urging. In this case, the purchase or purchase of a cat must be carefully thought out. If we buy a pet for a child, then it must know the duty to care for the pet, and be able to behave in an appropriate way. Therefore, if the child has not had contact with animals and wants to have a cat, it is a good idea to take the toddler to friends who have a cat or to a cattery that will agree to visit. Thanks to this, we will be able to show our child what life with a cat looks like, what are the responsibilities. What’s more, we can observe the child’s behavior towards animals and assess whether it is appropriate. If we notice that the child is not prepared to have a pet, that he cannot find himself, is afraid, does not approach gently, etc. Then let’s hold off on buying a new friend. There are always two sides to consider, the behavior of the cat and the behavior of the child. If one of them feels uncomfortable around the other, then there is no point in acquiring a new pet. If we are to buy a cat, then it must be a friend of the whole family and be treated with attention by everyone in the household, not only by the child. Thanks to this approach, life with a pet will be really wonderful.
Child’s allergy to cats
I had the opportunity to describe the problem of human allergy to cats. Recall that it is not the fur that is the allergen (i.e. the factor that causes allergic reactions), but the Fel d1 protein that causes allergic conditions in humans. This protein is found in glands on the cat’s skin and in greater amounts in its saliva. You can read more about the aforementioned allergy in the article A cat for allergies.< /span>
It is worth mentioning that the sooner a child has contact with a cat, the greater the likelihood that it will not develop an allergy to this allergen. The child’s body, interacting with a cat from an early age, gets used to various reagents and makes allergic reactions mild.
