Continue to teach your toddler how to treat the kitten. There is no quick fix. They are both babies, and they will both eventually grow out of being babies. The kitten should be taught anyway not to scratch or bite during play.

Never leave your toddler alone with the kitten. That's just common sense, a 2 year old should never be left with an animal.
Make sure the kitten has an elevated space, such as a cat tree, where he can get to safety.

Explain to him that a kitten is not a toy, he is a 'person' just like him, who can feel and think. And keep explaining it. Try not to raise your voice when you see him grab for the kitten, that will frighten them both. Stay calm, extract the kitten from the 2 year old and explain, again, why we treat animals gently.

Give the baby a stuffed animal kitten, maybe one of those kind that has a battery that makes the kitten move and make sounds.

Resign yourself to the extra work and take pride in knowing you are adding two more animal lovers to the world.

 

I have one stair gate which my toddler can't u do but the kitten can get through so he runs to his safe haven under my bed... That's a really good idea about the electric kitty I will have to go on eBay... It's all about time I guess.... I helped a friend out who was stuck with unwanted black kitties so I took him off her hands but never had any dealings with cats before! Xxxx thanks for your advise I will keep them separate... Your right they are both babies you need to learn... Xxxx also do kittens teeth? Lynx keeps nipping everyone / thing! X

 

Kittens should be taught not to bite you even for fun if you don't want trouble in the future. Cat bites can get serious so it's better to stop them at an early age.

If you're playing, use toys instead of your hands. If they get carried away and bite you hard, say NO, turn your back on them abruptly and walk away. They'll soon learn that play time means no biting.

 

Kittens lose teeth from 2-4 mos. You can buy kitty teething toys (Nylabone) at pet stores , amazon, etc. My kitties liked chewing a plastic laundry basket.

 

'CATTY BITE YOU' was my 2yr old godson's first sentence, he knows to give the cat a wide berth, and only to pet/play while closely supervised. He'll often point at the cat when people arrive at the house, and say it in warning! He'll pick up how to handle the cat appropriately from these supervised petting sessions.

The cat probably wouldn't really bite but its best not leave these things to chance, cat bites are serious.

No reason you can't teach kids to be responsible from a young age, yes they still need supervision, but groundrules never hurt.

I detest people who don't teach their kids to respect animals from an early age, so many kids seem to think its acceptable for example to throw stuff at animals :fust by the time they are in their teens, they are shoving firecrackers in them :dis

 

Totally agree I want him to learn he wants to love and stroke him but doesnt understand that cats have feelings and can get hurt so he tries to grab him by any means necessary!!! I will definitely get some cat chew toys I haven't noticed him chewing anything other than paper... Thanks all for your input! Xxx

 

Cats teethe at five months.

Two years old is a grabby age for a child. Your son will learn, but of course you will need a lot of patience and repetition. Just like teaching a 2 year old anything, really, this is just a different kind of lesson. It will all be worth it.

Your nine year old will learn so much, too, raising a kitten. How old was the kitten when you adopted him?

Knowing how long he was left with his mother and litter mates will help us give you kitten training advice.

 

There is some good advice here so far :} One thing I want to add...

If Lynx is a full-indoors kitty, it might also behoove you to trim his claws regularly. So, in the off-chance that your toddler gets a hold of him and he scratches to try and get away, he won't hurt your child.

Trimming a cat's nails really doesn't affect their lives or happiness. I trim my 14-year-old's claws constantly, and she still plays, grooms, scratches her scratching post, etc.

It might sound ridiculous, but I have known people who are permanently emotionally scarred from a SINGLE bad encounter with animals when they were very young, i.e. I have a friend who loathes all cats because she was scratched, once, when she was 4 years old, and another friend who hates dogs because a dog knocked him over when he was a toddler.

(Although, on the flip side, my family had several dogs when I was a baby - actually we had dogs my entire life - and I was knocked over plenty of times and never got emotionally scarred! I love dogs, heh. It just means we all react differently, but something like getting scratched at a young age CAN be traumatic.)

Good luck with your two little ones! ;}

 

I trim his claws every week (highlight of the week! Lol)... I adopted him at 8 weeks... I didn't know he shouldn't have been adopted till later since I came on here... x

 

Nonsense, anyone I know with a healthy respect for animals and an understanding of them, grew up with them.

We had a death in the family recently, and the house was full of people. The dog was laid out on the middle of the floor in the crush, people had to step over him on their way further into the house (he's that sort, very laidback)

At one point there was a creche situation in the living room, where people were leaving their young babies in their little seats and being minded by one parent, the dog moved in there after he was stood on, to escape the crowds. There were two 6month olds in chairs that have dogs at home, he was pushing his nose into the seats and they were laughing and giggling and grabbing his nose, he didn't go near the child of the same age that doesn't have pets at home, everytime he looked in her direction you could see the curious worry in his face. The ears would flatten a bit like he'd been scolded and you could see the worry whites of his eyes. Amazing what they can read in even a child so young.

Lovetimesfour had it right;

Resign yourself to the extra work and take pride in knowing you are adding two more animal lovers to the world.