we've lately adopted two stray kittens into our home. our exuberant two-year-old daughter adores them, but is unable to handle them properly.
we've always encouraged her to treat people and animals gently ('soft touch', etc), and demonstrate kind and affectionate ways of touching. we've had her sit in our lap with kitty to guide her hands. we've given her an egg to hold so she can understand how hard of a squeeze is too hard. we've tried showing and explaining what kind of touch the kitty likes, and how happy she is when she's touched softly. we've traded the kitty for a stuffed animal that she can rough-house with when she's in an excitable mood.
...all to little or no effect.
it's developing to a potential power struggle, which i want to avoid at all costs. she'll pick kitty up, tug her tail a bit....and when i reach out to remove the cat, she'll squeeze its neck in anger (at me, for attempting to take the cat away).
i'm seriously worried for the safety of the kittens, and have gone so far as to raise my voice in alarm (we try to express negative feelings calmly in our house, so that's a big deal for us!). we have considered quarantining the cats to a particular room, but we also think that teaching lark to be gentle with the cats, of her own voilition, is an invaluable lesson.
any advice would be quite welcome!
we've always encouraged her to treat people and animals gently ('soft touch', etc), and demonstrate kind and affectionate ways of touching. we've had her sit in our lap with kitty to guide her hands. we've given her an egg to hold so she can understand how hard of a squeeze is too hard. we've tried showing and explaining what kind of touch the kitty likes, and how happy she is when she's touched softly. we've traded the kitty for a stuffed animal that she can rough-house with when she's in an excitable mood.
...all to little or no effect.
it's developing to a potential power struggle, which i want to avoid at all costs. she'll pick kitty up, tug her tail a bit....and when i reach out to remove the cat, she'll squeeze its neck in anger (at me, for attempting to take the cat away).
i'm seriously worried for the safety of the kittens, and have gone so far as to raise my voice in alarm (we try to express negative feelings calmly in our house, so that's a big deal for us!). we have considered quarantining the cats to a particular room, but we also think that teaching lark to be gentle with the cats, of her own voilition, is an invaluable lesson.
any advice would be quite welcome!
Kitty condos are excellent for this purpose as they give the cat a high place to which they can escape. If DD is a climber, though, this might not work. 
