should i get rid of my cats?

Question

i have two beautiful cats . well a cat and a kitten. ive grown quite fond of the little kitten and i am trying to think of reasons not to get rid of him. i know the litter is an issue . and the cat hair, and the fact that they both wont stay out of the bassinette, also, my 21 month old son loves the kitten to death and there both really good with each other.. any suggestions?

well. "Cat" is a 4 yr old black siamese. she doesnt shed alot but she does shed, and she tends to poop other places if she feels that the litter box isnt up to her standers. "Tommy" is a 4 month old white kinda fluffy cat who is hyper as ever and sheds like crazy. i know that the first three months of the babys life is very critical and i should be really careful.yes my fiancai, kid, and myself absolutly adore the cats. but im told from numorus people that i should get rid of them. so im thinking of giving the cats to my mother in law till the baby is a lil older. is that a good idea?

Answer 1

my sister just had a baby and she lives with my mom who has 2 cats she doesnt let the cats in the room where the baby sleeps

brush the cats hair and the hair wont be a issue i do that to my cats and i keep theirs nails trimmed and so does my mom and they havent had a issue dont clean the liter have someone else do it

i dont think people should have to get rid of their pets unless its attacking the baby or the baby is alergic sometjing like that lots of people have cats and have babies

plus its not fair to the other baby who likes the cats its not right to take pets away from kids unless its for safety reasons

Answer 2

The people telling you to get rid of your cats are idiots and should mind their own business. It amazes me the crap people will spew when they know nothing.

Look, there is nothing wrong with having pets in the house when you have infants, toddlers, children, whatever. The only time it is an issue is if the child has an allergy or the pet becomes mean and has the potential to be dangerous.

I have had my oldest cat for over 8 years. I had her through my first two pregnancies and I'm on my third. Guess what? I changed the litter box with every pregnancy. I had more than one doctor explain that the danger with the litter box has to do with the cat feces and only if said cat is an outdoor cat that is a mouser. If your cat doesn't eat rodents then you have nothing to worry about. My cat has always been an indoor cat and has no access to rodents. However, I still wore a mask and gloves while changing the litter box. Since then we've gotten another cat AND a dog.

My boys are 6 & 3. They've been around the pets their entire lives and have had no issues. I'm curently expecting my third baby and have no plans to get rid of any of my pets. Of course, if this child is allergic or if the dog shows signs of being aggressive then things will change.

Pets are family too and there is just no reason at all (expcept the two I listed) to get rid of them because you are bringing a child into the home.

Also, research has shown that exposure to pets is actually good for your child's immune system because it helps show their developing immune system the difference between real threats and common exposures.

If you really love your cats and don't really want to get rid of them then I don't see why you should.

Answer 3

Are they indoor cats? If they go outdoors, you could try and make them "go" outdoors and get rid of the littlerbox. It's not the litter which is the problem if you are pregnant by the way, it's only a problem if your cats are carriers of toxoplasmosis, as it will come out in his poop and that's what can damage a fetus. I had a cat while i was pregnant, but he was an indoor cat (had been indoors for at least 6 months) so i knew he wouldn't have the virus in his system, but i still got my husband to clean out the litterbox. Cat hair can be reduced if you brush the cats regularly, and they are fed a good quality cat food. I don't think i've heard of a cat suffocating a baby before, but just keep the cat in a separate room while the baby is young (unable to roll over) if you are worried. Or you can usually buy a net cover for bassinets too, as long as it's secured properly to stop a cat from jumping in. So, no, i don't think it's necessary to give up cats because of young children, not if the cats are friendly and child-tolerant.

Answer 4

I would keep them, just make sure you have your fiancee change the litter. I bought a product at PetSmart called Pet Organics No Scratch, and I trained my cats to stay off the sofa, curtains, etc. They hate the smell, and it's all just herbs like garlic and others. Perhaps you could try spraying that around the bassinet.

If you are pregnant, I would keep the new baby away from the cats, as much as I love cats, I still don't trust them with babies! But a 21 month old is probably okay.

Answer 5

I say no. Mainly because we have a cat and she is best buddies with our son who is 15 months old. What helps with us- we have a large gate that blocks off our kitchen/dining room area- that is where her litter box is. and we have a cat condo so she can jump from a chair to the cat condo to get to the living room... or she can just jump over it without anything if she's not being lazy lol. Then our entire living room is gated off so our son can play and not really get into anything he shouldn't. So this really helps this issue. yes, our cat leaves lot's of cat hair sometimes too... but I vaccum all the time, so it helps keep it cleaned up.

I personally think it's amazing at how well our cat and son bond together- both of them love each other- you can tell! I just think it's really neat. So I say keep the cats :) I think you'd regret it later if you didn't. Goodluck!

If you are pregnant now, have your spouse or a friend/family member clean the litter for you. Also- we put a gate up to our son's bedroom (always left the door open..but had that gate up there) so this way our cat wouldn't go in... and she's never gone in his room unless the gate was open. Get a squirt bottle to spray with water on your cats if they get into the bassinette... this works for our cat if she is getting into things she shouldn't. Other than that, keep gates up while your baby is sleeping int he bassinette.

Answer 6

By all means, keep the cats! Kids who grow up with pets are healthier, have fewer allergies, and are kinder and more empathetic. Having cats leads to a better understanding of non-verbal communication (kids learn quickly that a twitchy tail means "I'm done playing. Really."), and they're full of brain-expanding textures to explore- soft fur, hard heads, pointy teeth, squishy bellies.

Keep an eye on the boy when he's playing with the cats- babies play rough sometimes and kittens don't always know how to stop the game. Keep the litterbox scooped and preferably in a place your son can't access (one friend used the top of her clothes dryer). Make sure your cats' vaccinations are up-to-date.
Keep these things in mind, and you're well on your way to keeping EVERYONE happy and healthy and safe.

Answer 7

I had three cats and while I was pregnant I had to get rid of one cat ONLY because he started peeing everywhere non-stop. Litter isn't really an issue. I cleaned my cats boxes the entire time I was pregnant. Just make sure you clean them everyday and ALWAYS was your hands afterwards - don't touch your hair or face - just go wash your hands. If you still don't feel safe wear gloves. As long as you do that you should have no problems. The virus you are worried about you have probably already been exposed to (if you have had cats for a period of time) and it should not make you sick.

As for cat hair, just clean as you normally would. As for the bassinet issue, my cats were only curious the first day I brought the baby home. Since then they just totally ignore the baby and the bassinet. I wouldn't worry unless you cats start peeing everywhere non-stop like mine did. Then I would worry about getting rid of them.

Answer 8

Cats are really not that bothersome to babies sometimes they try to lick the milk off the baby so you need to make sure that the cat stays out of the bassinet. the bacteria that is in cat feces is dangerous to fetuses and young children make sure that you sanitize anywhere that cat may poop!!! it gives you flu like symptoms. and can make young kids sick but it wont kill them!!! but when you are pregnent it can hurt and possibly kill the fetus. Just watch the cat eventually they will know to stay away from the bassinet we have a cat and its was a pain for a while but now it just does its own thing and leave the play pen alone lol..

Answer 9

Unless the babies are allergic, the cats are fine. The issue with the litter is during pregnancy. You arent supposed to come into contact with the litter because SOME cats carry a bacteria in there feces. As long as the babies arent reacting to the cat hair..just brush it off of them and keep loving your cats. And dont believe the myth about the cats taking the babies breath..unless the little things are starving..you have nothing to worry about..unless of course they scratched your babies. Relax and enjoy your human and feline family.

Answer 10

I am keeping my cat, and I am finding out tomorrow if I am immune to toxoplasmosis. It is a blood test that your doc can order with your routine blood work. If you have had toxoplasmosis before you cant get it again and then there is no worry even of the litter box. I am worried about the bassinette too when our baby comes, but we will deal with that when the time comes, Good luck