by Mama Hippo
It's so fun to watch D grow and learn and notice his surroundings so much more, and one big part of that is seeing how he reacts to our cat. He LOVES her. ADORES her. It's hilarious. He'll see her from across the room and this mischievous little grin will spread upon his face and he's start hurtling his little body in her direction intent to grab at her tail, her fur, anything of hers he can get his hands on. Occasionally he succeeds, and he'll just giggle, so pleased at being near this being that he finds so amusing.
The cat is amazingly patient with him. She has never given any indication of being aggressive towards him. I do of course watch closely over the two of them when they're together and I try to make sure she never feels cornered or trapped, that she always has a way out, that he doesn't yank her tail, etc. Even so there's been a few times where he'll grab onto her fur or tail and she'll look annoyed, but will simply get up and walk away (heck, most of the time she just walks half a foot away and lays down again, she must not really be that worried about getting away from him, right?).
I'm curious to see how this relationship will continue to develop over time as D grows... and becomes faster in his mobility. Even with a careful and watchful eye I'm sure D will get scratched at some point, and I wonder if the cat will become more annoyed or stay out of the way more when D starts crawling and walking and is able to move around more quickly. Maybe she'll continue to be so patient and understanding and D will learn to be gentle and careful with the cat and they can continue to be friends. One can only hope, right?
Do you have pets? How have your kids reacted to them over the years, and how have your pets reacted to your having kids?
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Comments (14)
We actually just got a puppy last night. It's going to be a learning experience. So far my youngest is enthralled with the puppy and loves to play fetch with him. I have to watch him carefully though to make sure that the puppy doesn't accidently bite him trying to get the toy. He's very gentle though and puts up with a lot of crap from my son. My oldest has been at his grandmother's overnight, so I can't wait to see how they interact when he gets home.
We have a cat. P could care less about her and she could care less about him. She wants nothing to do with him, it's actually pretty funny! P is still young enough that he doesn't pay attention.
We have a small dog and my 1-year old loves her! They play all the time until the dog gets annoyed. Then, she just goes on top of a bed or somewhere where the baby can't reach her. Just like your cat, our dog has NEVER shown any aggressive behavior to the baby. My daughter, on the other hand, pulls her tail and hits her from time to time. They are just so darn cute together! :)
When we had our son,our dog went nuts. She acted like she was the mother. The first few months he slept in his bassinet that I carried to whatever room I was in. Whenever he made even the smallest noise she would stand up on her hind legs and stare at him. I didn't know she could do it for so long! She wanted to get in there with him it seemed like. She calmed down after awhile, but now lets him do anything he wants, even if that means pulling her ears. One time she was sitting next to him while he was standing up against the wall. He started to fall and she put her paw up under his arm. It didn't stop him from falling but she knew what she was trying to do!
I don't have kids, but I sit alot, and I have this family (four kids, all girls, aged 10, 7, 4 and 2) that I've had almost every saturday since the youngest was six weeks old. Anyways, a few weeks ago I volenteered to take them for a saturday at my place because we have a little park, a library for kids movies still, among other things.
Anyways, I also have a dachshund. He's beautiful, and a sweetie, and put up with those girls ALL DAY without a nip or snarl, or even too much squirming away. he's got such short legs (and he's still pretty young, so he's got low stamina) that the short walk we made to go the the park (the younger two were carried by my sister and I) left him EXAUSTED. When we got home, he colapsed on the couch.
Now, being a little dog with a little mouth, he's prone to getting hot, so he doesn't really like to cuddle. He likes to be near, but not usually touching, unless it's chilly, but in FL, that doesn't happen very often.
the seven year old though a CUDDLENAP would be a great idea, and proceeds to kind of smother him. he kind of eyed her wearily and went back to trying to sleep, mostly beneath her. Luckily, she lost interest when we brought the puzzles out. ;)
At one point, the two year old grabs him by his back leg and tries to drag him to where she's moving. He didn't even look sideways, just let her have it for about six inches, hopped up and stayed right beneath her hand.
I was so worried in that moment that he was going to snap and bite her babyhand my heart skipped several consecutive beats. Luckily, I have the worlds most fantastic dog. (:
Of course, I'm sure, everyone feels this way, but whatever. ^.^
Good-natured animals are great for kids!
I have no kids (yet!) But I do have two big dogs and a bunch of nieces and nephews. Jack, the older dog, mostly thinks kids are too noisy, but he's not above being petted. Buster, on the other hand, thinks he is one of the parents! If my niece (Age 4) gets sticky,he holds her down and "washes" her face for her- which makes her giggle like crazy! And if my infant nephew cries at all, Buster gets right up close to make sure we are not hurting him!
I can't wait to have both kids and dogs!
I have 3 dogs. And my baby is so amused by them. She likes our german shepard the best, especially when she scratches. She just thinks that's so hilarious. She reaches out and touches her fur. My dog doesn't care at all. In fact, she comes to her when she's on my lap and sits close enough to her so my baby can reach her. The dog is also VERY protective of her. If she's not sure of what someone's doing, she'll come closer for a better look. Like yesterday, her grandpa was blowing on her belly and the dog went up to see what was going on and then sat less than a foot away and watched everything that he was doing.
The only thing I don't like too much is when the baby starts crying, my dog will come up and lick her. I know that's just her way of saying "hey, its ok!" but, ewwww. I don't want to tell the dog no for trying to comfort the baby, so i just simply wipe her off with a diaper wipe.
I have a dog, a prissy cat, and a 20 month old little boy. The dog loves loves loves my son! My son will throw the ball for the dog, and the dog is in heaven. They're buddies and have been since we brought my son home from the hospital. Now my cat, that's a different story. My cat tolerates my son, that's about it. Sometimes if she's really starved for attention, she'll go to him, but other than that, not really. Of course, my son loves the cat, tries to play with her all day, chasing her around with his truck and trying to pet her. She walks away from him, but she's purring while she does it. I think she likes the attention from him, but wishes it was less aggressive. But both animals have never acted out at my son. It's like they both know they have to protect him and be careful with him. My dog puts himself between anyone new and my son. He is a good protecter, even though he's only about 40 lbs. But we love having the animals with my son, they're good for each other!
we don't have pets, but my daughter loves to see animals, esp cats and dogs. she has fun w/ our friends and neighbor's pets.
I can already tell that my dog is going to be wonderful when my baby is born. She's always been very protective of me and ever since I became pregnant it's just been so much worse. She hardly even lets my fiancee sit next to me anymore because she constantly needs to make sure I'm okay. It's especially cute when she decides to lick my stomach, like she knows the baby's in there and just wants to say 'hi'.
I got a kitten when I was 6. Bad idea.... we didn't get along so well and she's still antisocial even in her old age, but she's not vicious. Just makes it clear when she's had enough. I wouldn't trust her with little kids because they wouldn't pick up on her clear signals that playtime is over, but an older child who understands that she's a living thing would be alright.
My pony is similar. He loves children, soaks up the attention, but I wouldn't let a child be with him without someone to hold him. It's easy to forget that he may be a sweetie, but he IS kind of green and he is playful and he does play rough. (As I write, I have a swollen lip because he caught me off guard today while messing around.) I'm fine with playing rough with him, but he'd be too much for many people to handle, so I'd never leave children with him. Yet another reason to keep him at a boarding barn and not my house with young neighbors to sneak over to see him!
The other horse in my care (not mine) would be alright with children. He's friendly, steady, slow-moving, and wouldn't be fazed by a child acting out.
All depends on the personality of the pet.
My niece is two and we have a cat that loves to be chased by her (and my other nieces) She chased him underneath the coffee table where he swiped at her (he is declawed and she was about a foot away) and she giggled and said 'hi' and waved back. Now whenever we see her she crawls around meowing and even licked my arm once. She is so funny :)
Arianna sometimes gets "ahold" of him, and at 9 months, being so tiny...she must really thing hes a horse rather than a dog, because she gets on him and bounces, and he is so patient! He just gives me this "Get-The-Kid-OFF!" and thats about it, eventually, he will get up and walk away if I dont catch her soon enough...Which ends in her crying ONLY because she tumbles off his back when he stands up. Hes never snapped or even growled.
From the day Arianna was born, Hes always been protective of her! When she cried at night, he would poke me with his cold nose like "GET UP SHES CRYIN!" ;)
Animals and infants are one of the coolest things to see! Many animals don't know the difference at first and are just as curious as Baby!. I can't imagine not having a baby without an animal.