Cats and PFB. AIBU?

[qazxc]

I am due baby any minute. I have 2 indoor cats.
Cat 1 is old and sleeps pretty much all the time and is very laid back/would do anything for rubs.
Cat 2 is about 3 year old, a bit on the nervous side but a run and hide kind of nervy (she's an absolute ninja when it comes to hiding, we often think she has found a way out of the house until she turns up at feeding time or wants a cuddle).
Both cats are kept downstairs (no access to bedrooms) and out of the kitchen.

Several people have expressed shock at the fact I am not getting rid of the cats. One colleague even said "but what if they scratch the child's eyes out?!".
DP has even suggested we "hide" the cats from Health Visitor.

Am I bonkers? Do people not have cats and babies? I do not plan to leave baby alone with cats, cats have no access to bedroom or food preparation area, so I don't really see any issues. I think Cat 1 won't care and Cat 2 will probably just hide. I've not known any cat to scratch anyone (unless you count the over-enthusiastic "cat massage" when getting rubs).

[Nononon]

Of course people have cats and newborns! Ridiculous - you don't need to hide them from the health visitor! And they wouldn't randomly scratch a baby's eyes out. Like any pets you just have to be cautious but plenty of people have cats and babies

[AbbeyBartlet]

That is just ridiculous. My parents had cats when I was a baby.

Ime, they just keep out of the way of the baby (and as the baby gets older, they are very unlikely to hurt him/her unless the child is particularly rough with the cat).

[Essexgirlupnorth]

We have an 8 month old and two cats. Midwives and health visitors were aware we had cats and weren't bothered just said to make sure we kept them out of her Moses basket/pram/cot. Wouldn't even have considered getting rid of them. They have been fine with her but are given her a wide berth now she is crawling!

[qazxc]

Well I'd imagine the HV might be concerned if I had 50 cats, or that they were not housetrained, or any other health and safety concern. But not 2 housetrained, healthy cats.
TBH I don't think any of them would muster the energy to smother or scratch the child. They will not jump up on the sofa, preferring instead to sit at my feet and miaow until I pick them up, they are that lazy.
I've told DP, that IME, Cats have no interest in babies (well until cats can sit under a high chair eating stray bits of chicken or fish fingers) as they are too loud and unpredictable (and cannot provide dreamies or rubs).

[cozietoesie]

I'd not leave them alone with the baby when it's too young to turn in its crib if they decided to sleep with it and make sure they have a safe/quiet place to retreat to if the noise gets too much. (For the cats' sake.) Otherwise ....... I'm not seeing why other people have such a problem. It'll be fine.

[Harry1603]

Ridiculous! We always had animals at home and I think that helped me to grow up respecting animals.

I would have probably been taken into care these days though - the cat used to with me in my pram and have his food on the kitchen work top! I wouldn't do that but I survived!

[Fluffycloudland77]

No on ever says it about dogs do they?

People are very ill-informed on animals, people were shocked when I said I wanted a house rat because apparently rats fly at your face to scratch your eyes out

There's lots of videos on youtube of cats meeting babies for the first time, some of them are really heartwarming.

The cat will love the baby come weaning time when under the high chair becomes the place to be at meal times, or this if your cats are more proactive

[qazxc]

Yes fluffy DSIL is one that is shocked at the fact I am not getting rid off cats, despite the fact she owns a massive Doberman.
I have also before being pg/meeting DP, had people "helpfully" inform me that "you know that those things will eat you if you die, whereas a dog would just sit by you and starve".

[passmethewineplease]

Their cats not lions..lol I'd just keep an eye and like you said don't leave unattended.

Cats seem to make a beeline for Moses baskets, I once found a cat in my ds basket?! Little bugger, i had only just washed the bloody bedding!

[animallover85]

Oh my goodness! Can't believe people think you should get rid of your cats! That's crazy! I think my biggest concern would be them sleeping on the baby as they like to go somewhere warm....so perhaps just make sure they do not go in the room where the baby is asleep x

[gobbin]

Yes just keep an eye on the Moses basket. Our Aggie managed to outwit us twice to snuggle up with our DS. They just like the warmth but of course it could lead to suffocation so you do have to be more careful than we were

[Madratlady]

Of course you can have cats and a baby. The HV won't care. We have 2 cats and 15 rats and our hv didn't bat an eyelid.

My cats keep their distance. Girlcat isn't too
impressed that we have a small noisy thing now but she tolerates him and keeps away from him. Boycat is interested but stays a safe distance away and comes and meows at me when ds cries.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Do the rats & cats get on lady? I wanted rats but at the same time I started thinking about it the cat started bringing dead ones in.

[springbabydays]

You'll be fine! Our cats avoided our ds bless them, they were quite freaked out at first! At one point I thought they might leave home of their own accord (thankfully they didn't). Ds is now 15 months and loves the cats, they'll let him get close enough for a brief snuggle now till he squawks at them

You can get cat nets for Moses baskets and cotbeds as an added precaution.

[springbabydays]

Oh, and our midwife and health visitor loved the cats too

[SixImpossible]

It's actually healthy for your dc to grow up with pets. Not just for learning about compassion, responsibility, etc, but because children who live among animals from birth are significantly less likely to develop allergies, asthma and eczema.

[Madratlady]

Fluffy the cats totally ignore the rats, not sure why but I do wonder if they got their noses nipped when they were inquisitive kittens. I wouldn't trust them without the cage bars between them though.

[angelopal]

We have a 3.5 month old and a cat. Never crossed my mind to get rid of her. I dont leave her alone in the same room as the baby and she does not get in the bedroom at night.

The cat is not really interested in the baby. Just the occasional sniff if she is playing on the floor.

Hv just told us to make sure the cat does not get in the moses basket.

Hiding the cat from the hv sounds stange. What happens if they find out. Think thats worse as they may question how truthful you are on other things.

[Fluffycloudland77]

Yes, "they keep cats locked in a cupboard" would raise more eyebrows than you just having cats.

[PestoSunnyissimos]

Well we had a cat when DD1 was born, and I bought a cat net to keep her off the pram or Moses basket. However, it was a total waste of money. The cat didn't want to go anywhere near the crying, screaming 'thing' and steered well-clear!

[Meow75]

Some people think cats make a beeline for babies as they often smell of milk.

Stop even thinking about it. The occasional incidental scratch vs a massive Doberman going postal one day? I know which one is more likely to kill a baby.

[Xcountry]

I have 2, big nasty things normal people wouldn't go near too and frankly there is no point in hiding them from the health visitor - they wont come near her anyway. Also as Pesto said - cats don't really like babies so they wont get close enough to scratch the babys eyes out. It really annoys me when people just 'get rid' of their pets, you wouldn't 'get rid' of your kid so why would you get rid of your cat dog etc? maybe suggest that to the next person that wants you to get rid