Cats and children – what I thought it would look like

We’ve been thinking about getting a cat. But do cats and small children really mix? In other words … are we mad?

Until recently we’ve always had a cat. Our last cat was about 15 years old when my son was born and she wasn’t impressed. When he started walking she’d look at me with a look on her face that plainly said: “this was NOT how I imagined spending my twilight years”. If cats could sigh, she would have.

My first ever cat was also quite annoyed to have her lifestyle altered by the arrival of a baby. She’d had the run of the house before I was born and the moment my mum found her napping on the bed with me she became a mostly outdoor cat. The moment I crawled through her catdoor she became a permanantly outdoor cat. She also made it to 15 years. And she also went through life with a slightly sour expression on her face. But maybe that is just how cats look …

So, now that we’ve been catless for a couple of years I’m starting to wonder if the kids would benefit from the companionship and responsibility that comes with pet ownership.

In my brain it would look like this:

Or this:

But will probably look more like this:

Or this:

And probably this:

But when they grow up they’ll be best friends, like this …

Or this (provided we move to Europe and my son learns this instrument):

But probably more like this:

In the end though – we succumbed and life with the cats (yes, we took two!) is, on the whole, better than life without them.

And I would definitely recommend a cat as a pet — they’ve taught our children patience, responsibility, kindness, empathy and self-control. But I would also recommend waiting until your youngest child can be trusted to touch them gently, not eat their food and not play in the kitty litter!