Why Cats are Purrfect Pets for Kids
There's a reason why cat lovers are both young and old. These feline furriends have a lot of great qualities that make them perfect pets both for older adults and kids. Personally, I think that cats are the ideal balance between teaching children responsibility with a pet without going overboard. Here are a few additional reasons why children will love cats!
1 - Playful and Agile
Cats are agile and love to play with toys and their humans. They will leap, jump and pounce on their favorite toys. Kittens are very curious when it comes to new items (including boxes), foods and more. A tip I would suggest is to slowly put new items in front of them. You'll see their curiosity shine through as they inch closer to smell and potentially even rub their pheromones on the new item.
One thing I love about Jimmy is his playfulness and curiosity. He will jump and chase the newest toys especially if you hide them behind a box. On top of that, he's incredibly curious with new people, different foods and even Catify.co items.
2 - They Love to Cuddle with Kids
There's a stereotype that cats are angry, sassy pets that only like to be by themselves. This could not be farther from the truth. Every cat will be different in how they show affection, but ultimately, most of them love to cuddle. You will see everything from simply sitting on your lap to full on head butting (this is when the cat will literally head butt you). Kittens are even more cuddly and love to share warmth and affection with their family.
Our other cat, Precious, always sneaks up on the bed at night and sleeps with us. She loves to get close to our heads and actually lays her butt against it. Some cats get so used to your bed that they prefer sleeping on your pillow, even you are not around. We found some cool information on this here!
3 - Litter Box Trained
Remember what I said about responsibility above? Well this is one of the biggest reasons why parents would get cats instead of dogs for their kids. Instead of having to take out their pet a few times a day, they only need to take the litter out a few times a week. This places less burden on the family to pick up the slack or cover for the child when they are at school. There is also no need to set a schedule, just a quick kneading session to introduce the cat to the litter box. Plus, we already have you covered if you wanted to know where to place the littler box to control the smell.
We adopted both of our cats from the humane society when they were adults and they learned to use our litter box immediately. It may take kittens a bit more time but shouldn't be more than a week. This is an instinct that cats have to cover their tracks and keep them safe.
4 - Able to be alone at times
This also comes back to the responsibility point where cats can be alone for several days without interaction with humans. This is great when you are out for the weekend and don't need to spend money hiring a pet sitter. They will need proper food and water during that time and maybe an additional litter box as well. In situations where kids will be at school for long periods of time, there isn't another pet that will be more suited to fit that schedule.
We have kept our cats home on multiple occasions with friends coming by to take care of their food and littler every 2 days. I would recommend a maximum of 2 days between visits to make sure they have everything. You will also notice an increase in affection and even cuddling when you return. Don't worry, this just means they missed you.
5 - Can be trained
Another cool characteristic of cats that some people miss is their intelligence. They can easily pick up new tricks and will listen to your command when you call them. Now the difference is that they might ignore you which is common when they are upset (yes, they will get upset at times). Some of these tricks include opening doors, coming to you, extending their paw out of a handshake and more.
Precious is incredibly intelligent, she'll come to us when we call for her and tap near us. She also knows how to knock down our garbage for human food when we are asleep. This is the only cat I have heard of which will do that, so we can assume that most cats won't try this.
Ultimately, cats are great pets for kids of any age and even adults. If you are looking to get a pet, I would highly recommend getting a cat at your local humane society!
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