Some of you know that I am blessed with a lot of children around me. My three daughters gave me six grandchildren and now I have eleven great-grandchildren from the age of eighteen-months to twelve years. And most of them are fascinated by animals—cats, dogs, horses, the bear and raccoons 
that visit their properties… My seven-year-old twin great-grandchildren are junior bird-watchers and can identify and discuss a wide variety of our local birds.
Sadly, there are cat allergies in some of these households, and the children have to get their cat-fix at Nana’s house. They ogle and count the cat motif items I have around my house—inside and out and in every room. 
They will stop during a walk and entice a friendly cat with petting. They read the books I give them—most of the time featuring cats. One three-year-old carries around a small plastic cat that goes to a puzzle I gave her, and the twin eighteen-month old girls sleep with stuffed tigers. They also have two cats that love to romp with them. I’m pretty sure the girls 
will be trying to put doll clothes on the cats at some point. These are lovely cats and may actually allow it.
Do you have cats and kids in your life? What a great opportunity to teach kids about cats—from the care and responsibility of caring for cats to compassion for cats and other animals. Remember, they learn a lot by watching. And I don’t know if you’ve
had the opportunity to notice this, but cats tend to like children.
Our tabby, Lily, spent a good part of her day watching (from a window) the children next door playing in their yard. Olivia is an isolation kitty—meaning, we adopted her in 2020 and she hasn’t met very many people, especially children. But I notice that she is sure curious about them. Maybe with time she’ll have the opportunity to know and love a child. I hope so. There’s nothing cuter than a cat and a kid, unless it’s a cat and a dog.
Someone sent this adorable video to me last week and I just have to share. It’s a cling-on cat that adores her dog. So sweet. https://www.facebook.com/watch/?extid=NS-UNK-UNK-UNK-UNK_GK0T-GK1C&v=883385008998642
My 12 year old granddaughter grew up with my cats. One is more tolerant than the other, but she learned (sometimes the hard way). She now has her own cat (which her mom is allergic to) and told me just recently that she “just loves cats”. I was discussing this topic with my vet years ago and she told me that small children exposed to cats at a young age, became great cat lovers as adults.
Good job, Betsy. We need to pass along kindness to cats and it sounds like you’re doing a fine job.
Patricia