So you’ve got your heart set on a Maine Coon to become your fluffy friend for the coming years. Great! Welcoming a giant kitty like this will need some preparations, though, especially when it comes to a household with kids.
Kids often tend to get hyperactive around pets, especially furry kitties. You can’t blame them either – sometimes even adults don’t have much self-control around adorable felines.
When it comes to kids handling cats, especially those felines with a no-nonsense attitude toward everything, such situations can get dangerous. Even though Maine Coons are gentle and sweet, you still need to teach your kids to respect their boundaries and not cross any lines.
This post covers everything you need to do before welcoming a Maine Coon into a house with kids. Preparing the space, teaching appropriate behaviors to your kids, and introducing them to the new cat – we’ll discuss all of those things in detail.
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Preparing Your Child for a Little Fluffball
If your child is old enough to understand instructions, start by teaching the basics about safely handling cats. Here are some things you should do to begin with:
Start with a Smaller Pet
If your kids have no experience with being around pets, they might not be ready for a cat yet.
Start preparing them for one by getting a smaller and easier-to-manage pet, such as a parakeet. These birds are pretty sweet-natured and make great pets – a perfect way to teach your kids to be responsible and compassionate towards animals.
Of course, it’s not easy to have birds in a house with cats, so if you don’t plan on keeping the bird, start with a goldfish in a small aquarium instead. Train your kids to feed it on time and to care for the pet, so they can learn to love animals along with some responsibility.
Introduce Them to Cats
Eventually, you can introduce your little ones to cats. A simple and easy way to do this is to take them to visit a friend’s or family member’s cat, where they can get the opportunity to interact with it and familiarize themselves with felines.
In case your kids are uneasy or nervous, hold the cat in your arms and ask your kids to gently pet the cat. Just make sure the cat is tolerant enough to be petted. If visiting a cat isn’t possible, try and find a friendly neighborhood stray to pet and feed.
Learning to Respect Boundaries
Teaching your kids to respect a cat’s boundaries is absolutely essential to creating a harmonious household with children and pets. If you’ve bought a small pet and you see your kid handling it excessively, now is a good time to train them not to do so.
Instead, ask them to observe from a distance and allocate a certain time of the day when they’re allowed to physically interact with the pet.
This way, your kid will learn to give space to your Maine Coon – something very important to all cats. Even the gentlest of felines can tolerate only so much petting, and kids in their overzealousness can often tug and pull cats.
This leads to injuries, both to your child and the cat. So try to spend at least a week training your kids to respect boundaries and to be gentle around pets.
It will also pay off if you give your kids certain instructions beforehand, such as not to chase after the Maine Coon in case it tries to get away or trying to forcefully hold it.
Also, instruct them to not disturb the cat when it’s using the litter or eating. Teaching your kids to give cats their space is probably the most valuable lesson here.
Learning Cat Body Language
The next step when preparing your little ones for a Maine Coon is to teach them how to read a cat’s body language. This is important for your children’s safety, as bothering a cat when it’s already agitated can lead to serious injuries.
Teach them some of the most basic and important signs of a cat being upset, irritated, and threatened, which include:
- Drawn back ears
- Hissing
- Tail swishing
- Raised fur on the tail
You should also make them understand when it’s a good time to interact with a Maine Coon, such as when it’s relaxed and laying down or when it approaches you.
Try showing them the following video made specifically for kids. It teaches the basics of a cat’s body language and what certain signs mean in a simple and easy-to-understand manner with pictorial references. The video is also available on YouTube Kids.
Preparing a House with Kids for a New Maine Coon
It’s not just the kids you need to prepare to welcome a cat – your house needs some work too, along with some other important tasks. This includes buying some necessary items, setting up a safe space for your cat, and paying attention to paperwork to ensure a smooth transition for everyone.
Ensure Your Cat is Vaccinated
Vaccinations are one of the most important points to cross off your checklist before bringing in a cat. You’ll want to ask for some paperwork from your breeder as proof of your Maine Coon getting vaccine shots against common viruses.
These include the FeLV for feline leukemia, a shot for rhinotracheitis, calicivirus, and panleukopenia known as FVRCP, and a rabies shot. Also, ensure the cat has been dewormed and ask for a health certificate signed by a certified vet.
Not only does this ensure that your cat is healthy but also keeps anyone who interacts with the cat safe. Cats can transfer several illnesses to humans, which include ringworms and rabies – a fatal condition for humans and animals, both.
If you’re adopting a Maine Coon and you don’t know anything about its medical history, you’ll have to get all the necessary vaccine shots, including deworming and flea treatments done before introducing it into the household.
Quarantining your cat for two weeks inside a small room might also be necessary before you let it roam free in the house. Make sure you consult a vet about what’s the right path for your specific situation.
Creating Hideaways for Your Maine Coon
Even after plenty of encouragement and training, children can still act unexpectedly at times. Between unwanted handling and a cat’s limited tolerance for it, things can quickly get out of hand. This is why it’s important to create some hideaways for your Maine Coon in case things get too stressful for it.
One of the best things that you can buy for your Maine Coon to feel safer is a cat shelf. These are multiple pieces that go up high on walls, so your cat can climb them and escape any noisy and overexcited kids. On its own, these shelves are a great way to entertain cats and offer them safe climbing spaces to enrich their indoor lives.
Another item that can prove quite useful is a cat cave. These are small cozy hideaways that your Maine Coon can snuggle into and hide, but you’ll have to ensure that it’s spacious enough to comfortably fit a large feline.
If you can’t get any of that stuff, a tall cat tree will do. These are quite necessary for house cats, especially an active breed like a Maine Coon that loves to climb and jump about. It won’t just be a place for your cat to climb but will also serve as an escape from stressful situations and chaos.
Restricting Certain Areas
If you have a toddler in your house or a kid who likes to explore, you may want to restrict certain areas of the house when bringing in a cat. These include the kitchen or wherever you choose to place the food bowls. Kids are often quite intrigued by cat food and can accidentally topple it over or worse – start shoving their hands into it.
Another area that should be restricted is where the litter tray would be. Cat poop, when touched or ingested, can cause the spread of some dangerous infections, especially in kids whose immune systems are still developing.
The best way to prevent young children, especially toddlers, from getting into rooms is to install a safety gate. Just make sure your cats can jump past it when they need to, although considering Maine Coons and their size, they’ll probably manage to leap over most fences.
Another important thing is to ensure your cat isn’t able to escape outdoors. You’ll need to take a few precautionary measures for this. This includes ensuring your doors and windows lock securely, sealing any pet flaps on doors, and fixing any screen doors that are tattered – cats escape even if they find the smallest openings to the outdoors.
Also, encourage your family to keep an eye out for any open doors and windows and to ensure they’re locked at all times.
Assigning Tasks to Take Care of Your Maine Coon
It’s a good idea to discuss responsibilities and assign certain tasks to each family member before your cat arrives.
Maine Coons are social felines, which means they aren’t quite independent and need you to interact with them daily. Aside from this, taking care of the cat together can be a bonding experience for the whole family and a fun way of instilling responsibility into kids.
Here’s a quick checklist of things that you may want to discuss:
- Where does the cat sleep?
- Who feeds it?
- Who plays with the Maine Coon every day?
- Who grooms it and when?
- Who cleans the litter box?
Dividing responsibilities will not only make taking care of the cat easier but also ensure your Maine Coon has an enriching and healthy indoor life.
Getting Pet Insurance
In a household with kids, things can get chaotic and the chances of accidents and injuries for a cat are much higher. In such unfortunate scenarios, having pet insurance can prove very beneficial.
Not only does it save on unexpected vet bills but some of them also save bucks on routine checks and tests that Maine Coons need as they get older.
Introducing Your Maine Coon Kitten to Children
Maine Coons are confident, gentle, and affectionate, but they still need a bit of time to adjust to a new house. Take things slow – cats like to sniff their new surroundings to get accustomed to them, so giving it some space is the best way to go initially.
Here’s how the first few days should go when introducing the cat to your family:
Spend Time in the Same Room
On its first day home, let your Maine Coon explore its surroundings and give it some space. Introducing it to everyone on the first day may make it feel overwhelmed and stressed out. Meanwhile, let your kids observe the cat from a distance, and don’t let them touch it yet.
The next day, begin by spending time with your Maine Coon and your children in the same room, so the cat can get familiarized with all the family members. Let it sniff everything and get comfortable in the presence of everyone.
Establish a Positive Relationship
Before your kids and the cat interact, you need to establish a positive relationship between the two.
Allow your kids to play with your Maine Coon using a feather wand and similar toys. This way, your cat can positively associate with your kids while they can interact with the cat from a safe distance.
Meanwhile, keep a close eye on your cat. If it seems curious and confident – which, considering a Maine Coon, it probably will be – then you’re on track. If it seems shy or nervous, give it some space for the time being and try again the next day – you don’t want the first interactions between your child and cat to be intimidating.
Demonstrate How to Interact with the Cat
When it’s time for your little ones to hold and pet your Maine Coon, start by demonstrating how to properly hold a cat by cradling your Maine Coon into the crook of one arm while the other is securely around the front body.
Ask your children to closely observe you and then let them pet the cat at the appropriate spots – the head, chin, and back. If your Maine Coon seems comfortable, let your kids pick it up and hold it gently.
It’s important to note the size of your Maine Coon cat before letting your kids do this. If it’s especially big, don’t let a small child hold it while standing. Cats hate it when their legs are dangling in the air, so they may try to squirm away or get agitated if they don’t feel secure.
Instead, ask your child to sit on a sofa before placing the Maine Coon in its lap – a far more safer and appropriate way for kids to pet and hold large cats.
At the same time, reinforce the importance of letting the cat go if it tries to get away and handling it gently. Maine Coons are sweet and patient, but it’s best to be careful and instill good pet-handling habits in kids.
Don’t leave Them Unsupervised
With toddlers and very young children, it’s best not to leave your Maine Coon unsupervised with them, at least not in the initial days. Once your cat has settled in the house and is used to being around all the family members, you can be more confident in letting your kids spend time with it.
Final Thoughts
While Maine Coons are sweet-tempered beings and will tolerate kids to a good extent, it’s still essential to take the necessary precautions for your kids and the cat’s safety.
With a little bit of love and encouragement, you can teach your kids to safely interact with a new cat. Even so, make sure they’re under your supervision and that your Maine Coon has plenty of ways to stay out of reach of any stress and noise that may be present in a busy household.
