How can I make our house with three cats and a dog safe and clean for a BABY?

Question

We have three indoor cats, and they're going to stay indoors. We also have a dog who is out most of the time but is inside in the evenings. All four animals are friendly. We don't give our pets run of the house; we definitely won't let them in the baby's room, our room, or the kitchen. I'm mostly concerned with keeping the house clean enough to be safe for a baby. We aren't even pregnant yet, but we're thinking about it and want to be sure we're bringing a child into a healthy place! How clean is clean enough? Does anyone else out there have a baby and pets? Please tell me what problems you've had and what you did to solve them. We have a nice big house to work with, so hopefully that will help us because we want a baby but can't face kicking our pets out!

Answer 1

Make sure your pets are up-to-date on all their vaccinations and are free from parasitic infections (worms, toxoplasmosis, etc.) before you start trying to get pregnant, and make sure you keep up with them. After the baby arrives, keep the floors swept and vaccuumed regularly, and that should be enough.

My son's pediatrician reassured me that as long as I kept my cats and dog healthy, my son should be fine- and would likely be healthier than children of "germophobes" and pet-free households.

Make sure you introduce your baby to your pets slowly and with lots of supervision- some pets, like some people, get along better with babies than others. I lucked out, our son is the only person our dog won't step on, and the cats are thrilled to have two more hands for petting them (which is good tactile stimulation for the baby, too!).

Answer 2

You SO don't have to "kick the pets out."
I had two (indoor only) cats when I had my son. They already didn't get on the counters or the table. One hid for about the first two months, the other was curious. The cats were allowed on the furniture, and it was on the couch, under supervision, that the cats and my son were introduced.
If you just do your regular housekeeping, you should be fine. You may want to wash the floors and run the sweeper a bit more often, especially when the baby begins to spend time on a blanket on the floor for "tummy time," and when he starts creepy crawling.
I have pictures of my son and one cat asleep "spooning" when he was about 6 months old.
With babies you don't want the place spotless and all sterile. You and the pets live there too. There will probably come a time when you'll catch your toddler eating the cats food. (Don't worry, it's harmless) The best thing you can do for the baby to keep the baby healthy is to breast feed. He gets immunities from the milk.
Try to relax, and make sure to take any prenatal classes you can.
And, most important, don't forget to enjoy your baby!

Answer 3

If you have the money now- go ahead and invest in a Dyson vacuum! (or something top of the line like that) You will have things to watch for with the cats but PLENTY of people have cats and babies without ANY problems. Your OB will give you some info on it. Most people say no cats 'cause they can give your baby some disease but the truth is that if you already have a cat, then your body already has the antibodies for that SO your baby will have them too (at least 98 % chance they will). When your baby is crawling then floor cleaning is extremely important because Everything goes in the baby's mouth. it's just a parenting fact! haha! Just start good habits now and then adding a baby to the picture won't cause a huge uproar with the animals- and I advise (having bigger dogs) to introduce lots of kids to your pets now instead of waiting. if your pets get very jealous of other people, it will be difficult when you have a baby that takes up all of your time. (so was this long enough for ya hehe) GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

Before you bring your baby home from he hospital, steam clean or shampoo your carpets and upholstered furniture thoroughly. Most people I know have their carpets cleaned once or twice a year. With so many animals in the house, I'd do it quarterly if I were you.

If your baby is newborn, it won't be such a big deal at first, but once the baby starts having tummy time, sitting alone on the floor, then crawling, the baby will be putting EVERYTHING in her mouth, and you don't want any stray cat litter on the floor. I'd suggest putting the litter box in the basement, or somewhere as far away from the main living area of the house as you can. Get one of those litter trappers mats (that traps the excess litter from the cats' paws when they step out) and vacuum your house frequently.

Buy a tent for the crib so that the cats can't get into the baby's crib. Cats don't intentionally kill babies (old wives tale) but they do like to get in cribs or bassinets becuase the babies are warm, and they can smell the formula/breast milk on the baby's breath, so of course they're going to get up there and investigate. I think babies smell wonderful, and if I could have lay in my sons' cribs with them and slept, I probably would have too. :D

You should also keep in mind the temperaments of your animals. Are your cats friendly and social, or are they the stand-offish types who want to be petted when THEY want to be petted--not when you want to pet them? Are they prone to biting/clawing/hissing? If they have their claws and you don't want to have them declawed (a cat scratch can become infected VERY quickly...especially on a newborn or infant who doesn't have much of an immune system) you can buy those Soft Paws caps. They're kind of like acrylic nails for cats. I think they just glue on. :)

Answer 5

There was a study a few years ago showing that children who grow up with animals are less likely to have allergies and certain health problems than children without animals. The more animals, the fewer the children had. Kids living on farms get the best of this. I wish I could remember who did the study but I read about it on babycenter.com about 4 years ago.

Anyway, if you keep your house clean and vacuumed, then having animals and babies isn't a big deal. Just remember you can't change kitty litter when you're pregnant because of toxoplasmosis.

Answer 6

I don't think the dog will be a problem because when the baby is out of the crib, he will ALWAYS be supervised, right. Oh, and TELL ME it isn't a pit bull terrier :).

As far as the cats. Cats can jump into cribs and other places that they aren't supposed to be. Most cats will give newborns a wide berth (won't want to be around them). However, some cats have been known to sleep in the crib, and even lay ON the baby, including the babies face. It is critical that you keep the cats out of the babies sleeping and play areas especially when you aren't supervising.

Good luck, Pat

Answer 7

i have two cats and dog, just make sure you vacuum and sweep the floor often. make sure the dog doesn't bring in any fleas, and give it a bath about once a week. Just make sure to spend time with the animals after the baby comes. A jealous or bored animal may destroy things.

Answer 8

I have friends who have indoor cats who insisted on trying to sleep in the cot. Their remedy was to put a screen door on bubs room. They could see baby, hear baby but cats could not get into bubs room. I thought that was a good idea.

Answer 9

I have 3 indoor cat's and an 11 month old,3.5 yr. old and 13 yr.old.As long as you vacuum alot,and of course keep the litter box in the appropriate area there should be no problems.My children are never sick!In fact,they are messier than the cats!

Answer 10

I am going to be the prude here? What is more important to you ? Your child's health or your pets ??? I have allergies and so does one of my children, so I know how it feels to be around pets. I don;t know what it is with parents trying to bring their baby into their home where they have had pets before the child they won't give up! I mean that is part of responsibility ya know... knowing what is best for your child.. your baby may be allergic to your dogs and/or cats and have severe allergies to them or maybe not severe but have them... and still you cannot have them in the house even if they are not in her room or around her things.. the pet hair flies and floats in the air, he/she will still be very effected by it. If your wanting a child, please put them first, which would mean get rid of the pets before he/she comes, or stick them outside. There is not other way to put it. It is harder on you than it is the pets... rid them or don't have a baby!