Cats are social animals, although not like dogs. While dogs have a natural predisposition to please everyone, cats do not seek approval from anyone. They are… as they are, and they will only give us their friendship if they think we deserve it. But can human babies live with them?
It wouldn't be the first time on the news that a furry man has hurt a little human. The funny thing is that no one wonders why this has happened, or if it could have been prevented. Then, Can cats be friends with babies?
Let's be clear: cats and human babies have very different ways of playing. Cats are hunters, and that is an instinct that awakens them very early. At 3 weeks of age, which is when they begin to walk and explore their world, they play fighting with their siblings and with their mother, who patiently teaches them to control the force of the bite and to respect certain limits.
On the other hand, from a very young age we like to take things, put them in our mouths, and so on. It is so. We have hands. These are our best tools to explore what surrounds us since we are babies. The problem is that If we put a cat and a baby together and leave them unsupervised, anything could come up:
- The cat could hurt the baby: has very sharp nails and strong teeth.
- The baby could hurt the cat: has enough strength to grab him by the tail, put his fingers in his eyes, lie on top ... Things that the furry not only does not like but also is threatening.
Do you know how much an average adult cat weighs? About 4-6kg. An average human baby about 2-4kg ... right after birth. You see the difference?
For all these reasons, it is extremely important that parents do not leave the baby alone with the cat at any time. But be careful, it is not a matter of keeping them separate.
The cat needs to spend time with the little oneLet him smell him, let him be by his side, because otherwise what could happen is that tomorrow he mistrusts him. And that does not interest us. What interests us - or should interest us - is that they become friends, and for that we have to be there, teaching the baby that he should respect the cat, and teaching the cat that should not scratch nor bite.