Five year old and drowned kitten?

Question

My five year old was facinated by a few week old kitten that a cat had had on the side of our house. We have repeatedly told him to leave it alone and have several times had to get the kitten from him. Today he was playing outside when he brought the dead kitten in the house. He said that sissy had killed it. We tried our best to find out what had happened but he kept changing his story. The kitten was muddy and wet, so we believe that he had it in the mud puddle. One minute he says he put it up high and it fell the next minute he says he put it in the mud puddle. This behavior concerns me. He cried when we made him go out back and help bury it. Im confused about him. Last year he was caught puttin another kitten in water too but he didnt drown that one. I would like to know if this is normal for a five year old or where i can look it up to see if it is.

Answer 1

Wow... who hasn't heard a story similar to this one... I do think it is normal for a kid to take a small animal swimming or to try to bathe it... It is a good time for you to educate him on what happens to animals when they can't breathe. I don't think there is anything wrong with your son. Just have that talk... it should be fine. I personally know of 4 young ones who did similar things... not all the animals died (parents walked in on it) but still it is normal. Good luck!

Answer 2

you need to watch because the urge to kill small animals or any type of creature is the first warning sign of dementsia

you need to send your child to a psychiatrist to monitor the behavior.

Answer 3

hes 5, why wasnt somebody watching him, then you would know what he was doing and what happened.....

Answer 4

It is not normal for kids to kill small animals if they do so on purpose because they want to see it die.  However, that may not be the case here.  Young kids play and things happen.  Perhaps he was playing and putting the cat in the water and did not realize what would happen, then it died and he got scared.  Your reaction even if you seemed coll about it may have given off a startled response in his eyes prompting him to fib since he is at the age where he knows how to do this to avoid trouble.  Sit down with him and tell him it is important for you to know what really happened.  Tell him that you need to know if he put the kitty in the water and then it made the kitty not move anymore.  If he says no, you can get the voice and say his name and kinda half kidding half serious voice and say now ________ is that what really happened?  Usually you can get the truth out of a little one his age with the right amoount of humor and seriousness.  If he did hurt the kitty you MUST talk to him about how we treat animals and have him tell you how he feels.  You may want to contact a therapist if he shows no remorse or finds it funny, that would signal a problem.  I would watch him around animals for awhile and notiice his interaction.  If he seems caring then I would not worry.  Young ones can be rough and sometimes think these animals are toys.  You are a good parent to be so concerned and you are already taking the proper steps by asking.  It is not a dumb question to ask.  No one who has kids would ever write that unless they are blind to the errors their children make.  We all worry that what our kids do is not or is normal.  And if it is something like this we seek to find the normalcy since the pressures around us make us feel it is not normal.  I will pray for you.

Answer 5

No,

it's not "normal". If you don't catch this behavior now he might turn into a sociopath later in life.

Answer 6

oh man, so first, keep him away from the kittens. and second, i've never heard of little kids being interested in drowning kittens. do you know if he watched anything on tv like this? ask a doctor, they might be the best source for you.

Answer 7

Is he scratched?  A threatened kitten would fight...

Answer 8

No.. that isn't. He should see a therapist. He may have seen something that he believes is ok to do.

Answer 9

Is it normal??? Are you seriously asking this question? NO ITS NOT NORMAL!! It's not normal to kill living animals! You need to take him to a therapist, this is a sign that he is VERY disturbed and needs help. If you don't get him help you will end up regretting it, people that end up killing other people begin by killing harmless animals. If you can kill a sweet innocent defenseless kitten, you could kill anyone. WAKE UP!

Answer 10

Something like this could happen accidentally, however I'm concerned that he has told you several lies about the incident.  To me, that says he is trying to cover up for something that he feels he has done something wrong.  I would get him in to talk to someone, just in case.

Answer 11

it's not normal. all those people could be right. he COULD be a 'sociopath' he COULD need counseling he COULD have seen it on TV he COULD have killed it on purpose

BUT he also could be a very scared, confused little boy. he could have seen the dog kill it and become very scared. IF he did kill it, it may have been a complete accident. My neighbor (age 6) accidentally drowned her puppy in the bathtub when trying to give it a bath. Kids can become so focused on "play" that they forget that these animals are just that, animals, and need to be able to breathe and be treated nicely. or maybe he really hates cats. honestly, no one on this site can tell you the answer, no matter how much you would like us to and we would like to, ourselves.

I would recommend talking to his doctor to get another opinion, because you arent' going to get any good professional advice on this website, although it is a great place to start.

good luck

Answer 12

I think it is time to get councelling for him. The fact his story is changing tells you that is liing to cover himself. Torturing small animals is a VERY bad sign. Get him help NOW

Answer 13

hey im not going to try and scare you or insult you but since i work at a school and you have any doubt at all that he killed the kitten you need to take him to a therapist ASAP because there are links with children hurting small animals and growing up to be killers. again im not trying to insult you at all or your child but it is something that should be delt with as soon as possible. but if he cried and felt remorse it just might be that he doesnt understand the concept of death adn that animals can die if you put them in water. when i was little i put a fish in a bubble bath thinkin it needed to get clean. it might not be as serious at im makin it sound since he felt remorse but it something that you might want to consider

Answer 14

That is a really bad sign that his sense of empathy is not developing correctly.  I really think that you should bring him for therapy asap. Without intervention, at this age the behaviour will only get worse. The fact that his story is changing indicates that he is covering up.

Answer 15

im only 13 but i dont think that it is normal for a 5 year old to want 2 drown a kitten. mabye u should take him to a doctor or something

Answer 16

I think you should get some counseling for your son.  He needs to know that what he is doing is wrong, and that the kitten feels pain.  Talk to him and try to explain it yourself also.  If he doesn't develop empathy, you are going to have major issues on your hands.  Keep him away from animals of any type without supervision.  If he enjoys hurting kittens, if can only get worse from there.  Get him some help now before something really horrible happens.  Good luck.

Answer 17

I agree with first answer also and about him watching something on tv. He may have gotten curious and tried it himself. Little kids don't no better and that is why you have to teach them. Talk to the boy about what he thinks is right and wrong and seeing a doctor is good too. Don't let him get out of hand to were he grows up to kill other things. I pray that everything goes okay for him and the kitties.

Stefani

Answer 18

Wow that is kinda scary.  I'd talk to someone about it, maybe a school counselor or someone.. a doctor maybe?

Answer 19

This does'nt seem like normal behavoir. I realy would talk to a doctor. they would know. i hope i helped.

-Aj

Answer 20

He doesn't understand the concept of death yet.  My son was about five when he realized that all living things will die someday.  If your son loves to play in water, I'd say this is not anything to be too concerned about.  If he cried, like you said, then he is beginning to comprehend what happened and I doubt it will happen again.

Answer 21

Do not get worked up over it.  I used to kill stuff as a kid.  Killed a few animals in a nasty way.  But I grew up fine.  I would not hurt anyoner.  I do not hunt.  I am agaist capital punishment.  I would never hurt any living thing.  I am not sure why as a kid I did it.  But I know it was not because I was sick or going to be a Hitler.

Answer 22

i agree with your first answer

Answer 23

My son was 5 at the time. We had told him to be careful with the week old kittens. He threw a kitten when he was playing with it . It Died. My wife and I got very upset at him. We explained to him that what he had done was very bad. My son cried and never did anything like that again.

The fact that your son cried when you buried the kitten show that he understands. As far as his story changing, Most kids lie when they get into trouble.

If something like this happened again,then I would be concerned.  

My son is 15 now and he's a wonderful kid.

Answer 24

He probably does not understand life and death, and that he caused the death of the kitten by his actions. Children like to experiment and they are not gentle about it. This experimenting is normal, but not really if he is killing it on purpose. There are a lot of studies to do with adult killers and adult child abusers. Many adults who abuse or kill others harmed animals when they were a child. Also, sometimes children who are being abused can harm animals. Not to scare you, but is it possible that someone could have abused your son? I would take him to a child psychologist.