My daughter is really mean to our cats. What can I do?

Question

She's 4 and has been around animals her whole life. But lately she's really mean to them, pulling on their ears, sitting on them, etc. What can I do (I'm all for "let the punishment fit the crime" so I'm not happy with answers like "put her in time out", thanks)?

Answer 1

Do exactly to her as she does to the cat.

If she pulls the cat's ears, pull her ears.

Make sure she knows how it feels.

Ask her if she would like you to do it to her again

Answer 2

Well when my daughter pulled on the cats ear really hard (she is 5)  I pulled the h**l out of her ear and I said there, that is what you did to the cat, did that feel nice?  and she cried but never did it again.  Sometimes they need a reminder of exactly what it is they are doing.

Answer 3

Tell her not to do it, that it hurts the cats. If she doesn't believe you then tell her that you will show her what it is sort of like to the cat. Tell her you are going to pinch her arm a little to show her the pain the cat feels. After she is readied for the pinch, then gently but firmly pinch her arm for a second or two. Let go and kiss it, tell her you didn't mean to hurt her but does she now understand that is how the cats hurt and why she shouldn't do that. It is usually only through empathy that kids understand how their actions affect others, so this is a slightly cruel way to make her aware but it doesn't hurt her badly especially if you do it with compassion. She will understand because she can relate now to the cat's pain.

I once knew a three year old kid who would drag his cat around by the tail because he wanted the cat with him everywhere he went. The cat would scratch his face at night to get back at the kid. The kid didn't understand why the cat did that because he loved his cat. I told him that pulling on the cats tale hurt the cat the same way that him getting scratched on his face hurt him. This he could understand, and so he stopped dragging the cat around by the tail. Just telling him not to do that before didn't do the trick because he couldn't connect with that.

ADDITIONAL: You also don't want to just pull on her ear or something out of the blue and say "How do you like it when that's done to you". Not only is that kind of mean, but then she will likely feel angry and hurt by this action of yours and lay blame on the cat. So instead of feeling badly about what she had been doing to the cat she will then try to retaliate against the cat, feeling that you are being nicer to it than you are to her.

Answer 4

If you are all for letting the punishment fit the crime, then when she pulls on them, pull on her.  When she sits on them, well, I don't know what to tell you for this one - I can't see telling you to sit on her!, but...maybe ask her if she'd like you to sit on her, the size ratio is probably similar.  If she does it again, do it.

Good luck!

Answer 5

i know this sounds really mean but maybe you should let the cats scratch her back maybe then she will learn that they hurt too or you could by a toy cat and play together teaching her to play nice with the toy, or get her her own pet eg a hamster so and get her involved in cleaning feedin and hanndling it so that she learns to take care of it and be kind to animals

Answer 6

she is old enough for you to talk to her and tell her is wrong and she needs to know animals feel pain as much as we do.

Answer 7

This is a tough one, but you may have to let your daughter find out the hard way.  

She needs to learn to respect all creatures (including cats).

Eventually, the cat will get fed up and either hiss or (hopefully not) scratch her.  Not too sound harsh, but -that's the only way she'll learn.  

When they're at that age, words can only hold so much weight.

Good Luck.

Answer 8

threatin her to not let her around the cat till she learns her lesson or whip her when she does even though i am aggainst hitting children or you could also threatin to get rid of the cats but not really do it just put them where she cant find them for a week so idk i hope this helped

Answer 9

all kids sit on animals...I have seen it so many times. If your so worried about the cats why dont you give them away....lol oopsie sorry I I hate cats i think they are slimmy, sneaky disgusting animals....

Answer 10

3 options i think...

1, pull her ears. same crime, let her know what its like

2, let the cat defend himself. he will have enough soon. then give the cat more fuss! yes, he scratched, go to the bathroom and wash it. here puss, are you ok, have a cuddle. then check the wounds

3, get a plant sprayer. if the cat is bad, squirt him. if the kid is bad, squirt her. treat them the same!

Answer 11

Hehe, now it's time to get bigger cats. Maybe a lion or a tiger *rAwR*. Like to see her be mean to one of those cats ;)

If I vote for "g*y Pride" will you choose my answer as the best answer for supporting you?

Answer 12

pull on her ears and ask her if she liked that. Or say im gonna sit on you and see how you like that and if she says no then dont. tell her to stop or slap her hands.

Answer 13

get rid off the cats or your daughter.  seriously, she's 4 and no matter what u say, she's gonna do it again if she feels like it.  One day she will actually hurt them real bad or she will be attacked by your cats because she makes them angry.