Kitten and a new baby. Am I mad?

[Bodicea]

So my beloved siberian cat has recently passed away. I am 33 weeks pregnant. We planned to get another siberian cat/ kitten some time next year as our house is not a home without a cat. We enquired with a local breeder but found out that she has my cat's niece who has just been mated. We were so excited about the prospect of a kitten that had a direct bloodline to our lovely cat we immediately put down a deposit for one of her litter. Eek!
Our baby will be about ten weeks old when we get the kitten. Everyone is saying we are mad. I think it is fine as our cat was not much trouble and the breed is fabulous with children, but then I haven't much experience with kittens ( or babies for that matter). We got our cat as an older adult.
Am I mad? Does anyone have and advice about making a smoother transition. Will it be too much?

[Mogz]

Sorry to hear about your cat, but also congrats on your pregnancy!
Kittens need a lot of attention, I think you may find you'll struggle dealing with a newborn human who needs you 24/7 and a tiny kitten who needs you 24/7 too.
I completely understand what you mean about your house not being a home without a cat in, I feel very much the same way, but for your own sanity I'd hold off until you're in a good routine with your new baby, maybe 6 months? The little one will be keeping you busy enough that you won't notice a lack of cat.
Not sure a good breeder would want to sell a kitten to someone who is having their first child and at the same time has never had a kitten before, I know that's not the advice you wanted to hear but I really think you'll all be happier for waiting just a little longer.

[Bodicea]

Thanks MogZ Head is telling me bad idea. Heart telling me go for it. Think we will put rest of deposit down when kitten is born and then if we do have a nightmare with baby we will look at our options then. At worst we lose our deposit which in grand scheme of things is not a big deal.

[charliezack]

Kittens do take time but most people on here seem to think that an animal will take up your whole day and that the birth of a child means animals must be got rid off
cats sleep for 18 hours a day kittens even more so, I disagree that you should hold off and think that you should go for it.
The breed doesn't matter just because people say its good with kids don't believe them! its all about how they are brought up and in what environment if its brought up with children it will generally get on with them
There is the possibility baby will get a scratch when older if it annoys the cat and it cant be nice for it to happen but they will learn what each other likes and dislikes
The best advice i can give is do what you believe to be right for you and your family x

[BettyandDon]

I got my first kitten before I had children and boy was it good training! I think to do both together would be very very hard.

I had my 1st daughter when my cat was a year old. They got along ok mainly, but my cat was hit by a car not long after. She had a very friendly personality and was actually born into a house with a baby before we had her. Maybe that helped.

We got another kitten and he disliked my then toddler quite a lot. He would attacked unprovoked etc. We felt our house wasn't big enough to give him enough of his own space. My daughter knew exactly how to be around cats as she had always lived with one.

I then had another baby and the cat was very unhappy. Lots of toilet issues and aggression. We nearly rehomed but sadly he died suddenly of a heart condition . I was very sad but also even more sadly felt huge relief as it was like having 3 children. I could not leave any of them alone together as the risk of injury was just too big. I was permanently on edge and had to operate a hellish system using doors and gates to keep them all away from each other.

We have decided to be cat free until both kids are out of the toddler phase probably at school and we have a larger house. I love cats but I'm sure it's the right decision.