There has always been a debate when it comes to children and cats. Should one keep cats when his children are young or should one not?
Are Cats suitable for Children?
Logically cats are not suitable for children below three years of age; this goes the other way round too. Children below three years of age don’t have well-developed touch sense and grasping skills. This could cause the children to be really rough with the cats. Also, children could get really loud with excitement on discovering a new creature and that makes the cats really uncomfortable. When it comes to cats, their unintentional snuggling could end up suffocating the child. Cats usually like to paw their owners as a symbol of love. This could give the children light scratches if the cat has untrimmed claws, destroying their sensitive skin. You need to be aware if your children are allergic to cat’s fur, however, there are several studies that cats could actually strengthen and improve one’s immunity in the long run.
On the other hand, if children are trained to stay with cats from a very young age then they could learn traits like kindness, control, sharing and responsibility. They’ll learn to act appropriately and generally develop a great personality at a small age. All this is actually very hard to teach and by creating their bond with pets in general, children could practice what they’ve been taught about kindness, control, sharing and responsibility.
If your children are not allergic to animal fur and are around 5 years old then keeping a cat could be suitable for children. Children at this age are well accustomed with their senses and could understand instructions well. They will be able to handle the cat correctly, and maybe able to perform some simple duties like feeding the cat. Keeping a cat would keep your young one busy, active and cause less addiction towards TV, videogames or junk food which is really very common in this era.
