Cat and a baby on the way. can someone please help me !!!?

Question

I hate a cat and I am expecting to have my first child in October. My grandfather is really afraid that my cat will harm my baby. My cat isnt the curious type of cat though. She doesnt really come around people exspecially if it is loud, but I've been hearing things about cats harming babies. Can someone please give me some advice because I really dont want to get rid of my cat.

My cat is an indoor cat. She has never gone outside or been around other cats

Answer 1

When I had my daughter we had 2 cats (now we have 3). One was a rambunctious kitten and the other was older. I heard all the horror stories on what other cats did to so and so's baby when it was born and everything else under the sun. My cats were just fine when I bought my daughter home from the hospital. The day before you bring your baby home, have you husband/partner take home a blanket or hat that the baby was wearing so the cats can get used to the babies smell. They then have some sort of sense as to what it going on when the baby itself is brought home. As far as sleeping goes, we bought something called a Crib Tent. Its a mesh tent that traps onto the crib that has a zip-up side so when the baby is in the crib nothing can get at him/her except you when you unzip the side. These should be able to be purchased at any baby retail store.

Good Luck!!!

Answer 2

The whole thing about cats harming babies is an old wives' tale. Cats are naturally curious creatures and may try to "check out" a new baby because (to a cat) it's something out of the ordinary, it's a warm body, it smells funny, and it's noisy. But cats will not "harm" babies... I mean, you shouldn't let the cat sleep with the baby, but cats don't suck the breath out of babies, or whatever other crazy tales you might have heard. Your cat will probably spend a lot of time hiding out (from your description), but she will not harm your baby. Eventually when the baby becomes more aware and more mobile, they will be more likely to get along, particularly if you teach your child that animals are to be handled gently and with consideration. Whatever you do, you do NOT have to get rid of the cat...they are great animals and can adapt well to the existence of a baby in the house. Be sure to give your kitty plenty of attention, because sometimes the animals get overlooked in light of a new baby and the craziness of the new routine, and may seem a little jealous. Sometimes cats will actually become rather protective of babies...they will prefer to sleep by the crib or whatever, as if to watch over them.

*Footnote: the only possible way a cat can cause problems for a baby is if you (as a pregnant woman) are exposed to toxoplasmosis, which is a parasite sometimes carried in cat feces. The easy way to solve it is to have someone else in the house take care of the litterbox.

Answer 3

I have a baby and two cats. one is very lovey so I kept her locked away from the baby until he was 6 wks and able to turn his head better, but to be honest, I never had a problem when the cat was out. You will want to watch out for scratches though. cats claws can have the bacteria Bartonella that causes cat scratch fever, yes it is a real disease and it's no fun. My first son was hospitalized with when he was 18 mo. because he had a fever over 103 for 4 weeks straight despite medicine. It is pretty rare though and usually only caused by kittens (in his case it was a stray kitten he chased at my mom's house.) It can also be avoided if you wash the scratch immediately with an antibacterial soap. There are no effective antibiotics for it so you have to wait it out which is torture, but on the bright side it almost never does any permanent damage. Any way it is something to consider but as I said before I have two cats and a baby even after going through this... I just don't think there's enough risk (very rare and no permanent damage) to get rid of my other kids pets. just be careful.

One more thing: don't touch the litter. Cat feces can contain the parasite that causes toxoplasmosis in pregnancy.

Answer 4

Your cat isn't gonna hurt your baby. Just be sure you don't let the baby & the cat alone together for a while. Your grandfather is probably afraid of the old wives tale that a cat will steal a babies breath, it will not, that's not true. ALso, toxoplasmosis is in some cats but not all. If you can get soemone else to do littler box duty then do so but if not jsut wear gloves & wash your hands immediately. Toxo is not in all cats & if you've been around cats alot you're probably already imune to it. ALso, it's not only in cats, its also in the dirt outside so if you garden you have to wear gloves too or not garden. Keep loving your cat! Jsut be sure that when you bring the baby home you give the cat something witht he babies scent on it(a blanket) to get them used to it.

Answer 5

We have two indoor cats, and we never had a problem with them with either of our children. They were both initially curious and would sniff a new baby, but they soon realized that these babies are loud and squirmy and not much fun to be near anyway (from a cat perspective).

The only thing we did before the babies came home was to make sure the cats knew they were not allowed in the crib. I spritzed one cat with water a few times when he got in, and he never did it after the baby was born.

My daughters are now 3 years and 21 months, and the cats still mostly keep their distance, allowing the girls to pet them once in a while.

Oh, and FWIW, one cat was very interested in the smell/taste of my milk, but she just wanted to sniff/lick burp cloths, T-shirts that I'd leaked on, etc. (Sorry if TMI.) She never once tried to get near the babies' mouths.

Obviously, keep an eye on your cat to see how she reacts to the baby, but my guess is that things will be just fine. Good luck!

Answer 6

You know before I had my daughter, EVERYONE was throwing a fit telling me the cat was going to jump on her, claw her, the wives tale about stealing her breath. My cat sounds similar to your cat. He sleeps all day, only goes around people he knows, doesnt get into things. When the baby got here, I let him smell of her and after that he really could care less about her! lol Just watch the kitty, I am sure everything will be fine. Tell everyone to be quiet and stay off your back. If you get really worried they have crib and play pin covers that keep cats out. Good Luck.

Oh you know I saw a study done where children that grew up around animals were less likely to have allergies. Another answer where they said cats carry bacteria....its toxoplasmosis which being pregnant you probably already know about.

Answer 7

I have an indoor cat and she have never bother my baby and he is now 22 months old and he loves to chase her. The cat hides and only comes out when he is in bed or gone. But that is a myth about cats, they do not harm childern. My cat even has all claws, she doesn't suck the breath away, or like the milk.

Answer 8

My mom's cat has been around many babies. He is a hider, he came out looked at the baby and went away.
My uncle and aunt have two cats had two babies never any incidents.
Just watch your cat around the baby, don't allow it to be alone with the baby for the first monthor two. If it doesn't bother the baby then it is fine.

There are many people out there with cats and babies and not everyone of them is going to say I got rid of mine because it hurt my baby. People hear one story and want no animals around babies. What about all the stories of dogs attacking babies? Better yet older siblings attacking?

Answer 9

get a spray bottle and squirt the cat when it goes around the baby. i have a 3 week old baby and a 9 week old kitten she's just curious but never harmed the baby. but having other kids to play with the cat helps i guess. also put the cat up at night so it can't get to the baby

Answer 10

The main thing that is harmful to your unborn baby is the fecal matter of the cat. Some cats carry a harmful bacteria which, when a mother deals with the kitty litter or even smells it, can infect the baby and cause birth defects.

A friend of mine had 2 cats. She was warned of the possible problems and told me that she never cleaned the kitty litter. They kept the litter box in the small bathroom that she used everyday.

The baby had two major defects. One was a hole in the heart and the other was in his penis. The hole in his penis was located between his testicals instead of at the head of his penis.

He had to have surgery to correct both problems.