I taught my daughter, and then my grandson, from an early age that if they teased the family cat or dog, they deserved to be nipped or scratched and they would be punished, not the animal. My great-granddaughter, at 16 months, already knows to approach our temperamental Siamese with “gentle” hands and to back off if she hisses. The cat has learned that when she comes to the house, she needs to retreat to a high spot if she doesn’t want attention.
I taught my daughter, and then my grandson, from an early age that if they teased the family cat or dog, they deserved to be nipped or scratched and they would be punished, not the animal. My great-granddaughter, at 16 months, already knows to approach our temperamental Siamese with “gentle” hands and to back off if she hisses. The cat has learned that when she comes to the house, she needs to retreat to a high spot if she doesn’t want attention.