Toi
Kicking a cat?
How about stomping your feet (yelling “scat”) or jumping hard in front of them.
We only have a pet fish, but we love animals and our kids have learned the same.
They ask to pet neighborhood dogs. They play with our neighbors cats.
We once found an ailing baby bird (fell out of it’s nest). We brought it home and cared for it until we were able to bring it to an animal medical center.
Kids learn what we model. We don’t have a dog, but our kids love dogs because that’s what we model.
I grew up with cats, birds, and fish.
One thing I’ve noticed is that modern families will typically embrace getting a pet much more quickly than a yeshivish family will (and, so, their comfort levels will reflect that familiarity).
Is there a Halacha about having a pet (ie: on Shabbos, etc)?