18 Sept 2026
Welfare charity has launched “How to be Kind to Cats” campaign in response to findings that children younger than six are harming them.
Chris Simpson
Job Title
Almost two-thirds (64%) of incidents involving cats referred to the RSPCA’s interventions team this year have involved children aged 11 and below, the animal welfare charity has revealed.
New RSPCA data showed children aged 6 and younger accounted for 28% of the feline cases referred to the team – which provides guidance and resources to educators, social workers and anyone working with young people who display concerning behaviour toward animals – in 2026 up to August.
More than half of RSPCA referrals involving young people harming animals this year have concerned cats, up from 25% last year.
Boys accounted for 64% of referrals involving cats this year, although there has been a rise in the number of girls at 36%, an increase of 12% from 2025.
Among the harm caused to cats includes physical acts, confinement and causing intentional distress.
The charity has launched a “How to be Kind to Cats” campaign that seeks to educate young people on feline body language and potentially harmful social media content involving cats.
RSPCA senior prevention manager Claire Blakey said: “We want young people to become confident at recognising how cats are really feeling and to understand that choosing not to engage with harmful content is one simple way everyone can help improve animal welfare.
“Our referral data shows that many of the young people coming to us after harming cats are of primary school age, or even younger. That underlines why it’s so important to help children understand animal behaviour from an early age, before harmful behaviours become established.”