The cat in I Am a Cat calls the children 'dear little things':
The children, dear little things, now trot off, day after day, to kindergarten: but on their return, they sing songs, bounce balls and sometimes hang me up by the tail.
I Am a Cat, chapter 1
But even in that quote we see that they don't treat the cat well - they 'hang me up by the tail'. And we see earlier, as well, that the cat and children don't get along so well:
There are two children, one of five and one of three: they sleep in their own room, sharing a bed. I can always find a space between their bodies, and I manage somehow to squeeze myself quietly in. But if, by great ill-luck, one of the children wakes, then I am in trouble. For the children have nasty natures, especially the younger one. They start to cry out noisily, regardless of the time, even in the middle of the night, shouting, “Here’s the cat!” Then invariably the neurotic dyspeptic in the next room wakes and comes rushing in. Why, only the other day, my master beat my backside black and blue with a wooden ruler.
I Am a Cat, chapter 1
So... why does the cat call the children 'dear little things' if they treat the cat so badly?