My 4 year old blames everything on a cat. We don't have a cat.

teal_pool_200916 Sept 2026

For about two weeks now, every small mess in our house has been the cat's doing. The cat spilled the water, the cat drew on the cupboard door, the cat finished the biscuits. We have never had a cat, and as far as I know nobody in her class has one either. Part of me finds it very funny. Part of me wonders whether I should be treating it as lying and correcting her every time, or whether it's normal at this age and she'll grow out of it. What did you do when yours started inventing explanations?

5 comments

hazel_violin_758116 Sept 2026
I teach older kids and have a toddler. We see this a lot around 4 or 5. I wouldn't call it lying yet. Ask the cat to help clean up.
gentle_quilt_323316 Sept 2026
Ours has a 'big boy' who lives in the building and does all the bad things. He's 3, so I've been wondering the same thing. So far I just say 'okay, then let's both clean up after him' and he goes along with it. Not sure it's right, but it keeps the peace.
orchid_piano_517416 Sept 2026
In my memory of this with my son, it came and went over roughly six months. What I would separate is whether she is avoiding blame or enjoying the story. The first is worth a calm 'I think you did it, and that's all right, let's fix it'. The second is mostly play. That is one parent's view, not a rule for every child.
- mellow_trail_402017 Sept 2026
  the avoiding blame vs enjoying the story split is useful. ours blamed the ceiling fan for a while. i'm fairly sure that was the story kind
lagoon_violin_701516 Sept 2026
Oh, I remember this phase! Ours had a 'small girl' who lived under the dining table. She stayed most of that year and quietly disappeared around the time school stories took over. I'd laugh along a little and still have her help clean up. You'll miss the cat one day ♥
apricot_moon_348616 Sept 2026
Maa vaadu at that age blamed everything on 'the boy from the next flat', who is actually a grown man of 30 😄 It went away on its own in a few months. We didn't make a big deal, just said 'sare, cat ki kuda cleaning duty undi' and handed him the cloth.