Angel
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
Like many other families in the United States during the pandemic, we adopted a pet. My preschooler asked for a cat for an entire year before we finally gave in to her wishes. She was so persistent that at one point she just started telling people that she was going to get a white cat for her birthday and name it Yogurt. Maybe it was the pressure from my preschooler or a secret desire for a fuzzy pet of my own, but I eventually gave into my kiddo’s wishes to add a kitten to our family for her 4th birthday.
Although I had cats as a kid, they were never really my responsibility. I never cleaned a litter box or purchased cat food or toys. My job was the “lead snuggler” and instantly those cats were “my cats”, although they were, in reality, my mom’s responsibility. So, now as an adult and a parent myself, I found myself asking what having a kitten would really entail.
My daughter’s 4th birthday arrived before I got answers to all my questions.
7 Tips for Adopting a Cat with Young Kids at Home
Here are 7 things I wish I had known before I brought a little kitten home to my family with a one year old and a four year old.
1. How to prepare your kids for a kitten
Both my preschooler and I had a lot of homework to do before we brought home our new kitten. We quickly prepared by reading the kid’s book Lola gets a Cat. This adorable book shows Lola’s steps to prepare for getting a cat and is a great example for both kids and parents alike of what they need to do!
Lola goes to the library to read books, goes to the store to pick out items for the new kitten, creates a safe space for the kitten in her home, and draws pictures to welcome the new kitten. We basically did all those things and discussed how Lola’s kitten is a little scared of Lola at first, in order to temper our child’s excitement and expectations a bit.
This process built empathy for and understanding of the new kitten, and also gave our kiddo something to do to prepare.
2. How to keep your baby out of the litter box
My biggest concerns about getting a cat revolved around the litter box. Where should I put one in a small 2-bedroom apartment where everything is accessible to my baby, who puts everything in her mouth? Also, what type of litter box might keep said baby out of the box? And finally, what type of littler would cause the least harm if my child happened to taste a sample?
For the litter box, I considered the automatic cleaning litter boxes like the Litter Robot ($699), but they were too big and too expensive. I considered the kitty poo club (around $28/month) which would send a new, disposable litter box and litter every month, but believed it would create too much waste. The Box Scoop ($80) claimed a 6-second clean and that it worked well with natural litters like walnut litter, and claimed zero smell after cleaning. It was also a top-entry litter box, which would be better at keeping my kiddos out of it, and was not too big.
Ultimately, I chose The Box Scoop. It fits perfectly under our desk, out of the eye of our toddler, and is easy to clean. After our cat uses it for a #2 it does smell, but the smell goes away quickly after a cleaning. I checked with a few friends who all confirm my house does not smell like “cat.” Phew.
3. How to raise a 'green' cat -
I did not want to have a cat that would create a bunch of waste.
Litter
I chose walnut litter. Made from the bioproducts of walnuts, this litter is all-natural. It is compostable if you’re disposing cat pee – not cat poo – and is clumping, non-smelly, and inexpensive. The only downsides are that the bags the litter is sold in are not recyclable and the brown litter leaves dust on our kitty’s white paws. Also, the litter tracks, or gets stuck in our kitten’s paws and can be found outside of the litter box
Food
Wellness brand cat food offers a recycling program. They pay for you to send back the food bags and cans for recycling. They even take back kitty snack bags!
4. How to train our kids to be gentle with the kitten
Training babies (both human and feline) to be gentle was a big priority for me. I’ve heard nightmare stories about kittens biting kids and kids hitting kittens. I did not want to encourage that type of behavior for any of my babies!
So, I watched some videos on YouTube and focused a lot of effort on teaching my kids how to pet, how to hold, how to notice when kitty wants to be pet or left alone, and how to play. You can encourage ‘gentle touches’ by saying things like “I noticed you were really gentle when petting the kitten. He stayed for a while. I think that means he liked it!” or “You see how the kitten is playing with the string? He is really having fun playing with you!”
I didn’t realize my kid, who had zero-pet-experience, would need coaching on pet interactions until I saw our kitten jump on her lap while she was watching Daniel Tiger and she acted like she didn’t know what to do. I had to encourage her – “See, he wants some pets. You can pet him while you are watching television” or “Do you hear that? He is purring! That means he is happy!” What this meant was that I had to supervise my kids around the kitten more than I expected.
5. How to keep my house from becoming a "cat house"
Before getting a kitten, I heard many stories about cats scratching anything and everything in sight, from scratched up sofas, to scratched up chairs and scratched up curtains–the list goes on.
To prevent scratching, I bought this highly recommended cat scratching post to keep kitty happy and picked up an extra one just in case. We encouraged kitty to scratch it by scratching it ourselves and giving a treat when he tried it on his own. This seemed to work, although kitty does seem to like to scratch my office chair too.
I also didn’t want my house to smell like a litter box. See #2 above for my remedy for that concern.
6. How to involve kids in cat care
I wanted this pet to be our family’s pet, not mine. Here are a few ways a small child can help with taking care of the new family cat:
- Help with feeding: I ask our kids to help feed him at least one time per day. They can scoop the food into the bowl and mix in the wet food. They laugh at our kitten as he gets excited and nudges them as they put the food bowl down and spill it every.single.time.
- Help with grooming: They have tried to brush him, but he isn’t that into it.
- Help with keeping track of him: They call him in when he is outside, and offer treats and snuggles.
- Help with playtime: I let them each pick out a cat toy to play with him around the house and try to help with the entertainment.
The litter box is just for me though–I’m so lucky…
7. How to involve kitty in family activities
We have a new routine where kitty sit and watches Daniel Tiger with us during screen time to get pet. He also comes to snuggle during story time before bed. He is very curious about what our kids are doing and often peers into the tub during bath time or into the sink while we brush our teeth. He also likes to follow us on our walks down the block and play in the back or front yard while we’re outside.
Next step: get him used to riding in the cargo bike!
When my daughter asked for a cat, I didn’t think I wanted one. Although we had cats growing up, I always considered myself a ‘dog person.’ My partner is also not very interested in having pets, so I thought if I was only going to be able to convince him to have one pet at a time, it was going to be a dog!
As many of you know though, when those big eyes of your first born look at you with so much love and hope for something – whatever it may be – your resolve starts to wane. I couldn’t resist her sweet request for a cat, and I knew it would be a wonderful addition to our family.
As Jackson Galaxy, a cat expert on Animal Planet, said, “Every child should grow up with animals in their lives. This basic principle of instilling empathy and compassion in your child so when they grow up they respect all living beings–that happens with the exposure to animals as a young child.”
With some guidance and support, I’ve seen my two little kids grow into official pet lovers. They laugh with delight as our kitten plays with them, they shout “No, no, kitty!” when he jumps on the table and tries to steal their salmon when they aren’t looking (we’re still working on that one), and they snuggle him when they read stories. He is honestly the best kitten we could have asked for. Now, is it time for a dog? Yes, I think so!
What was your child’s experience with their first pet? Did it take a lot of support from you to make it a successful one? Share in the comments below.
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
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