Cats and babies....?

Question

I'm 31 weeks pregnant almost 8 mths. I have 2 cats and most people think that I should get rid of them because they'll try to steal the babies milk right out of there mouths. Is this true? Has anyone had cats and a baby at the same time has the cats tried to do this? It does scare me to think about it. I don't want to hear shame on me either. I need to know and if you have personal expierience (not old wives tales) then please tell me.

Answer 1

That's an old wives tale. I had 2 cats (male & female) when my son was born. Neither of them was the slightest bit interested in my breast milk, even when I was pumping. They do like heavy cream once in a while, but that's a different story. I don't know if it was gender-based, but the male cat liked to hang around the baby, and would even sleep on his changing table. The female was curious, but a little standoffish. That is, until he got older and became gentler with her. Then she would lay on his lap and follow him around. I only found the male cat in his crib once and the female in his bassinet once, and both times he was not in them. They were just sniffing around to find out more about him.

Another old wives tale was that a cat would jump on your chest and "steal your breath" while you were sleeping. When my mother came to live with us, she would wake up in the middle of the night and find one of the cats either lying on her chest or near her face. We were a little concerned, having heard the old wives tale. However, when she went to her doctor and he started running some tests, we found out she had sleep apnea, which meant she would stop breathing for a minute or two while she was sleeping. After some medication & a machine to stop the apnea, the cats stopped waking her up in the night. We finally figured out that they knew she had stopped breathing and were trying to wake her so she would start breathing again. I can't think of a better, more loving character to have in a family member. :-)

It's very important that you get someone else to clean the cat's litter box. You should have been doing that already. There is an airborn virus that can seriously effect infants, so you don't want to have any risk of that virus coming into contact with your newborn.

Otherwise, enjoy watching the interaction between your new baby and your cats.

Answer 2

This is an urban myth. I worked as a live-in nanny for a family starting when their daughter was one month old. When she was two months old, I got a cat. She avoided the infant because of her 'baby' smell, and never went near the bottles, nor tried to drink the milk. My cat and I were with them for six months after that, and not once did the cat ever try to take milk from the baby, nor did she ever hop into the baby's bed to 'steal the baby's warmth,' claw up the baby's toys...the most she'd have to do with the baby was sit nearby and watch, but more often she'd just curl up and take a nap when I was busy with the baby.

Answer 3

Gawd that is so stupid!

Cats can lick the baby's faces, but the can't suck stuff out of their mouths--not milk or breath or anything--their mouths can't make a sucking shape, it's anatomically impossible.

Babies and cats are fine, just make sure the cat doesn't sleep in the crib with the baby if the baby isn't strong enough to push the cat off of them. Cats like to snuggle, and if they lay against the baby's face they could block the airway. Keep them out of the baby's room (you can install a screen door on the baby's room if you like) or put a cover on the top of the crib so they can't get in it.

There are thousands of households with cats and babies, if not hundreds of thousands of households in this nation. Taking normal precautions to keep the cats from laying on the baby (they won't if the baby pulls the fur) is usually the only thing to worry about.

Answer 4

This is complete nonsense. This is an old wives tale, can't believe people still believe this. There are literally MILLIONS of pet owners with babies..don't you think that this would have happened MILLIONS of times already if it were true. I have known hundreds of people with cats and babies..and the cats never harmed the babies...usually it is the other way around. You not only need to train your cats to be gentle with the baby, but you need to train your baby to be gentle with the cats so no one is harmed.

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/catsuck.asp

Answer 5

there are a few issues with cats, pregnancy, and babies. you can get very sick, and pass it to the baby from scooping a cat box. it has some airborne virus which effects the fetus. this happen to my niece, she was lucky the baby was not affected, just her. cats love to snuggle, and will try to sleep with the baby. i've had this happen to me. the baby gets cat hair in its eyes, and mouth, not a good thing. the wives tale is the cat will suck the breath from the baby while it's sleeping. i never chanced it. the cat went out side, or the kids room door was shut while sleeping until my son was two.

Answer 6

I have never once been approached by a cat wishing to steal my milk when I was an infant. I've lived with them all my life. If your worried keep them in the separate rooms.

Congratulation on the baby.

Answer 7

Cats are jealous creatures, so when you put your baby in the cot close the door so the cats cannot go in. Give your cats attention and pat them otherwise they will become angry and try to jump on the baby. Teach your child to be gentle with a cat and scold them if they try to pull its tail as a cat will go into full attack mode if a child was to do this.

Answer 8

That is definitely an old wives tale of long ago!
I've heard of lots of others too.
Like don't get a cat if you're elderly coz when you die, the cat will eat your body.
All rubbish.
Enjoy your pregnancy and cats!
All the best.

Answer 9

In my experience, the cats just sniffed at the baby and walked away. They didn't go near her nor did they try to sleep in her room. If anything, I think the baby actually spooked them so they kept their distance.

Answer 10

The only thing you have to be careful of is your cats sleeping on top of your baby. This can be prevented by getting a screen door fitted to your nursery!