Owning a cat is good for your child’s mental and physical health. But parents love to ensure kids’ safety, hygiene and comfort with a cat. Since all cat breeds are not suitable for kids, you need to find out the best cat breeds for your baby.
Best cat breeds for kids should have some individual traits. It is recommended to choose a cat for kids that is associative, hypoallergic, calm natured, playful, active and less vocal. Besides, remember that your chosen cat must be of low shedding and low maintenance. It is better to have short hair or hairless cat breeds in many cases.
In this guide, we have outlined about seven best kids-friendly cat breeds. In the meantime, you will know why our mentioned cat breeds are good for a kid.
Top five associative cat breeds for kids
The kids want to get one that will be associated with them. Not all cats are friendly. Some species are very friendly and love to spend the whole day with the kids. Here we will talk about the top 5 cat breeds that are very friendly. They can also be called lap cats.
Abyssinian Cat:
Abyssinian cat breeds are super active, energetic and associative with kids. They are such natural athletes who never sit still without eating or sleeping. But this breed is affectionate, loyal and people-oriented. Abyssinian is the perfect choice to make your kids entertained all day long. Your kids won’t bore to play with this cat. This cat is suitable for six years and up to age.
Average Size: Medium-sized
Average Weight: 8 to 9 pounds
Maintenance and care: Low
Personality: Athletic, intelligent and affectionate
Why is the Abyssinian cat especially good for kids?
It is especially good for kids because of the activeness. Young children usually like to play and run, and Abyssinians can be their best friends. At the same time, this cat is medium-sized, so the baby can easily take it in its lap.
Birman:
Birman is considered a magical breed that has a sweet temperament. These breeds of cats don’t get angry or aggressive easily. They are less active but associative with kids to adults. Birman breed is respectively gentle, intelligent, loyal, passionate and loving. These natures make it best cat breeds for first-time owners
Average size: Medium
Average weight: 10–12 pounds
Maintenance and care: Medium
Personality: Medium active, notably associative and loving
Why is Birman cat especially good for kids?
Because of the calm nature, different cute color availability, and the extremely associative tendency is best for kids. As well as, easy maintenance and care make t perfect for kids. The fun facts are that Birman is ideal for medium active kids. Additionally, this breed sheds less than is good to maintain kids’ hygiene.
Burmese:
Burmese is another wonderful breed that is best cats for autistic child. This breed comes with dog-like loyalty, affectionate nature and playfulness. Due to staying with a human touch, this breed is considered the most affectionate cat breed. The downside is that the Burmese can’t stay alone at home for a longer time.
Average size: Medium
Average weight: 8–15 pounds
Maintenance and care: Low
Personality: extremely affectionate, playful, associative with kids
Why is the Burmese cat especially good for kids?
The Burmese breed is affectionate to the owner, so they stay longer on the kid’s lap. And they shed less that is helpful to maintain children’s health. Moreover, they are very loyal and calm. So, there has no chance of aggressiveness and angriness to the kids. Overall, Burmese is completely secure to the kid’s companion.
Maine Coon:
Maine coon is the larger domestic cat that is very social with family members, including kids. It is called giant gentle due to the larger body and sweet cool temperament. Having distinctive physical structure and excellent hunting skills, the Maine coon gets popular. This breed originated in Maine state of the United States.
Average size: Medium to large
Average weight: 8–18 pounds
Maintenance and care: medium
Personality: extremely adorable, cuddly, playful with kids
Why Maine coon is especially good for kids?
Maine coon is extremely gentle, sweet-natured and tolerant of kids’ behaviour. Also, they can adapt to children, loves to stay on their lap and love to cuddle. Because of having these natural habits, Maine coon is especially good for kids.
Ragdoll
Ragdoll is another best cat breeds for cuddling. They have come with relaxed nature and laidback temperament. This cat breed is attractive because of its color point coat and blue eyes. American originated Ragdoll became family cats year after year because of their elegant characteristics.
Average size: Medium to large
Average weight: 12–20 pounds
Maintenance and care: medium to high
Personality: Gentle, calm, attractive
Why is Ragdoll especially good for kids?
Because of the large size of this breed of cat, kids take great pleasure in holding and cuddling a Ragdoll cat. At the same time, this breed is highly associated with little kids. Moreover, it does not get angry easily and does not tweak or bite. So, this is a safe cat breed for kids.
Top five hypoallergic cat breeds for kids
Mites, dead skin, and germs are hidden inside the cat’s fur because of allergic reactions for the owner. Since babies play and cuddle all day with cats, babies may have allergic reactions. That is why the hypoallergic cat is good for kids. Here is the list of best hypoallergic cat breeds.
Sphynx:
Are your kids suffering from allergies? Then this is the best cat breed for your little kids. Sphynx is a hairless cat breed known as a hypoallergic cat. Allergenic protein from cat saliva and dead skin can’t accumulate inside this cat’s fur because they have no hair. Besides, this breed is best indoor cats for family.
Average size: Medium
Average weight: 6-14 pounds
Maintenance and care: high
Personality: sociable and affectionate
Why is Sphynx especially good for kids?
Sphynx are cuddly, loveable and people-oriented that are a perfect match for any kids. They have no hair, so there has no possibility of shedding. Most importantly, this breed is hypoallergic, ensuring kids’ health from several allergic reactions. It is also best cat breed for busy family.
Cornish Rex:
Although Cornish rex has hair, it is considered a hypoallergic cat breed. Do you know that cats may have hair in three-layer top guard, middle awn and bottom down? Cornish rex cat comes with a bottom down haircoat. It means they have smaller and less amount hair. As a result, they don’t shed like other cat breeds.
Average size: Medium
Average weight: 6 to 10 pounds
Maintenance and care: Medium
Personality: sociable, intelligent and affectionate
Why is Cornish Rex especially good for kids?
Cornish Rex is a naturally cuddly cat who loves to get attention and companionship. They are also active and playful and love to stay near their family members. Children love to get a pet that will always be active in playing, jumping and running. That is why Cornish rex is an especially good choice for a child.
Russian Blue:
The Russian blue breed is considered a hypoallergenic cat because they produce very less Fel d1 protein. And we know Fel d1 protein is responsible for allergic reactions in the human body. However, their coat is short and less shedding. Due to the fewer sheds and less allergic protein, Russian blue is the best cat breed for kids.
Average size: Medium
Average weight: 7-15 pounds
Maintenance and care: Medium
Personality: Social, loving and active
Why is Russian blue especially good for kids?
Russian blue is softly talkative with the owner, and they love to stay around the owner. Besides, Russian blue loves to stay on the lap, and they are calm enough to tolerate cuddle. Most importantly, this breed is best due to its less allergic protein production.
Siberian:
It is normal to think that a Siberian cat is super allergic when looking at its long hair coat. But these are hypoallergic because of less Fel d1 production. This breed is attractive, and kids are easily impressed with their soft, silky long coats.
Average size: Medium to large
Average weight: 15 to 20 pounds
Maintenance and care: Medium
Personality: Calm, active, attractive
Why is Siberian especially good for kids?
The Siberian breed is sweet-natured and loves to be devoted to their human parent. At the same time, they love to play and cuddle with small kids since they are hypoallergic, so they are kids friendly.
Bengal:
Although the Bengal breed doesn’t produce less Fel d1 yet, they are considered hypoallergic cats. Since Bengal has a pelt-like coat distinctive from other breeds, it sheds less. That is why Bengal is a good breed for cats to stay safe from allergies. Besides, their warlock appearance and spotted coat make them more attractive to the kids.
Average size: Medium to large
Average weight: 8 to 15 pounds
Maintenance and care: Low
Personality: Social, intelligent, cuddly
Why is Bengal especially good for kids?
Bengal is special for kids because of its hypoallergic traits. At the same time, Bengal cats are friendly, associative and intelligent. They also love to play, jump, run and roam around the kids.
Most popular cat breeds for kids
Besides the cat mentioned above breeds, the Manx, Himalayan, American shorthair, and Scottish fold are some popular breeds suitable for kids. If you want to take the most popular kids-friendly cat that is comfortable, calm, loyal, active and friendly, Persian would be best.
Persian:
Persian is a very calm-natured and cutest cat breed. Its external beauty and features are all pleasing to young children. The squashed shaped face, fluffy thick and longer fur, adorable eyes are enough to make a kid happy. Although Persian is less active, it loves to cuddle and stay on the owner’s lap.
Average size: Medium
Average weight: 7 to 12 pounds
Maintenance and care: high
Personality: Social, intelligent, cuddly
Why is Persian especially good for kids?
Persian is a social, friendly and adorable cat that a kid likes usually. Kids can keep this cat on their lap because of its calm nature. Moreover, kids are very interested in fostering a Persian cat due to its beautiful appearance.
American shorthair:
Another popular pick for kids is American shorthair. First of all, this breed is calm, sweet-natured and social. Secondly, this is a bit hypoallergic. Third of all, American shorthair comes with low maintenance. Moreover, this breed is genetically healthy and can live longer.
Average size: Medium
Average weight: 10–15 pounds
Maintenance and care: low
Personality: Social, intelligent, cuddly
Why is American shorthair especially good for kids?
This breed is considered the overall best breed for kids. Because this is a somewhat hypoallergic breed that ensures kids’ health hygiene, besides, they are friendly and playful with kids. Additionally, this breed is healthy and needs very less maintenance.
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FAQs:
- Why you should let your kid get a cat?
Having a cat can give your kids a lot of lessons in life. Besides,
- Reduce Stress Levels
- Make Companionship
- A Lesson on Empathy
- An Understanding of Cat Biology
- Reduced Risk of Developing Allergies
- Reduced Risk of Developing Asthma
- Entertainment
- Responsibility
- What is the best age for child to get a cat?
Five years or more older is the perfect age for a child to adopt a cat. Remember that, Child should have a minimum common sense and responsibility to play with a pet. Otherwise, playing with cats can be life threatening for your kids.
In closing:
Finding out the best cat breeds for kids is related to some variables. We have mentioned the core factors. Generally, the kids-friendly cat should be calm-natured, associative, hypoallergic, active and playful. After considering those, you can find out the best pet for your child.
