Kitties and a Newborn!!!!?

Question

Well they aren't kitties (2 1/2) but I call them that. Ok I am 4 months pregnant, and I have heard stories about cats and babies. Watching a baby story or bringing home baby on TLC you see cats in the background and no problems, but yet that is TV!! I heard that you have to watch your cats closely someone told me that they like the smell of food that will prob. be on your baby's mouth and the cat will lay on the baby, which could sufficate him/her. So now I know i'm going to have to keep the room shut when the baby is sleeping. Also how do you keep the cats from laying in all the baby's stuff. I have one short hair and one long hair, so I know i'll be vacuuming all the time. Probably even having to step up my cat grooming skills. What about jelousy? One of the cats is calm and laid back, the other is hyper and can get jelous if she doesn't have all the attention. She's also the one that doesn't always play with her claws in. I don't like the idea of declawing, but for my baby I would.

Also....they sleep on my bed now, so when should I start to reverse that habbit of theirs since, they baby will most likely be on the bed some nights. I don't want the cats messing with the baby, or the fact of all that hair on the bed.

To one of the anwers about your baby getting scratched. I'm talking about a newborn!!! I know that later on when the baby is older that will happen, and the baby will prob. deserve it. But as a newborn to at least 6 months, the baby is helpless.

Answer 1

I have gotten the baby stuff set up really early so that my pets (2 cats and a dog) can get used to it now. I run the swing, and the furniture in the nursery is all set up. I leave the door open so that they can go in there and see everything, that way it isn't a new, novel thing that they want to explore. I don't allow them in the crib, though, and I've only caught one of them trying it once.

Once the baby is born, I do plan on locking them out of the nursery while she sleeps, just in case they try to get in the crib. Cats trying to get the milk out of a baby's mouth is an old wives tale, but I would worry that they might want to snuggle up to the warm baby and sleep, which isn't good. Also, you should never leave the baby alone with any pets, no matter how well they get along. It would only take a minute for your cat to really hurt a small child, even if it was by accident.

If you have a way to expose your cats to babies or kids now, that's probably a good thing. My neighbor used to bring her 3 yr old and 1 yr old over every day, and one of my cats loved them. The other cat just hid when they came over.

Try not to worry about it so much. The cats will get used to the changes in your house once the baby comes. Just be sure to give them as much attention as you can and watch them really closely, especially in those first few weeks, to see how they will react. Good luck!

Answer 2

There is an old wives tale that the cat will 'take the baby's breath'. This results from a comnination of things: the cat smelling milk on babies' breath (back when babies drank MILK) and sniffing at it, a general tendency to associate cats with witches familiars, and the once-high mortality rate for infants.

A cat cannot suck the breath from your infant.

To train your cats to stay off the baby's things: a srpay bottle of water. It won't take many times. This may seem cruel to you but baby has to come first, and water doesn't actually hurt the cat, just annoys it.

Claws: try clipping, so that they aren't too sharp. That might be a workable compromise.

Animals tend to understand that babies are innocent and have no illl intent- a 6month old that pulls a tail is more likely to end up wondering where kitty went than to end up scratched. A newborn is likely to get watched a lot but not bothered much.

That said, observe CLOSELY for several weeks, and occasionally afterward, to see how your cats treat the baby. If there are any danger signs, act accordingly.

One more thing- put the crib and things in baby's room early, so the cats can be trained to leave it alone BEFORE baby comes home.

And you probably know this but just in case: pregnant woman must not handle cat litter, so hubby should be doing that for the next several months.

Answer 3

Yes it can happen where some cats get really jealous when there's someone new in the house. I would start training them to stay off the bed now. It could take awhile. Also, keep a really close eye on the baby because it is true that sometimes the cats will lay on the baby. We had a siamese and she always wanted to lay in the babies bed. If your cats lose lots of hair, this may cause breathing difficulties for the baby.

Answer 4

I have two cats (ages 4.5 and 5 years), I have two boys (ages almost 2 and 4 years). When our first son came home from the hospital, the cats liked to sleep near him and touch him with their paws but not actually on him. I always kept a close eye on them and he slept with us at night (I breastfed and like having him close). The cats would sleep at the foot of the bed and meow at me when I sat up to feed him (I'm still not sure if they were mad because we woke them up or were just saying hi). By the time my son was 3 months old, the cats didn't want anything to do with him because he could and would grab their fur. With my second son, they knew what to expect and didn't want anything to do with him. They would sometimes get a little lonely when I was busy with the baby but I made sure to pet them and carry them sometimes when the baby was asleep. As for the fur, we have one long-haired and one short-haired and we vacuum a lot and I didn't let them lay in the baby's stuff, except on the blanket at naptime when the older one was new. I figured that that cuddle time was a special connection for them. My 4-yr-old has since had two fights with the cats that left him with little scars but the first time he was 2.5 and the second time he had just turned 4. He deserved the scratch and more both times and the cats were careful not to really hurt him even when they scratched him. My third baby is due on July 4th and I have more worries about my second son than I do about the cats. Some cats like to lay on people, if they don't lay ON you, they probably won't lay on the baby. You drink milk and they don't chase you around the house to lick your mouth, do they? You should watch them closely but don't worry about them too much, they will be fine. One day, they kids and cats ay be good friends (my 4-yr-old and the cat that always slept with him are the best friends now).

Answer 5

I live in a country where declawing is illegal, as it is in quite a few countries. Lots of families with newborn babies have cats here! Don't worry about the claws, the suffocating is an urban legend, and the hair will not hurt a baby. Generally, children that grow up around pets are more healthy, exposure to a few germs is good for the immune system. It's the overtly-cleanliness that causes many children to get asthma & similar problems, their bodies never get exposed to any germs or irritants and when they *do* come into contact with them, their body over-reacts.

It's probably a good idea to not let your cats completely alone with the child but in general don't worry about it, people are much too worried about small scratches & small amounts of hair/dirt/germs.

Answer 6

Wow... it's not that big a deal!!!

My cats hate my baby... she's loud, she's rough, she serves no purpose to them. When that baby arrives, your cats will become "second class".
It is important to socialize your cats with the baby... let them smell the baby's things, smell the baby, even rub on the baby. Once you set up the crib... never let the cats go in there. Teach them right away that that is off limits.
Your baby is going to get scratched... but it will probably be deserved. The baby needs to be taught how to treat animals, and that animals get angry.

Just wait and see how things go... you can't keep your baby in a bubble forever.

Answer 7

I never had any issues with my cats and my kids as babies. Keep the baby things in the baby room with the door closed if you are worried. Cats tend to avoid babies and toddlers anyway.

Answer 8

Watch your kid around the cats. The cats will either deal with the baby or not - and if they don't, then you can get rid of them.

Answer 9

my mum when i was a baby got rid of our cat she gave it to my grandmother so she could still see it, as she a few days after having me she found it sitting on my face...luckily very quickly but it meant she could never relax and leave me sleeping in a pram in the garden or something.

you will know your cats best and what you feel comfortable with, so you can make your decision on that, but if you love them too much then you can make it work, dont upset yourself on this as it wont help your pregnancy and well being!!

Answer 10

YES THE CATS ARE OFTEN FOUND IN THE COT OR PRAM AND HAVE BEEN KNOWN TO ACCIDENTALLY SMOTHER THE BABY I THINK IT MAY BE THE SMELL MILK AND THE COZY WARMTH THAT ATTRACTS THEM ... U CAN BUY CAT NETS TO STOP THIS, BUT ID BE VERY CAREFUL