to be really upset by this?

[maybebabybee]

I am pregnant with my first (very early days). I just told SIL and her immediate reaction was 'well, you'll have to get rid of those cats then won't you'.

DH and I have two cats (both a year old), who we love very much. They are indoor cats, very friendly, very gentle.

SIL says that cats could suffocate/scratch our baby/baby might be allergic etc etc and I am irresponsible to consider having pets in the house with a baby.

I grew up with three dogs, four cats and an assortment of various reptiles so admittedly I am animal-biased, but was I BU to be upset that this was her reaction to our pregnancy news?

Personally I find the idea of having a newborn baby around pets absolutely dreadful....I always think it must be terribly unhygienic. However, many people have pets and kids so I presume it must be OK?

I had this when I was pregnant - we have two lovely cats who are exactly a year to the day older than DS, so were basically still kittens when I was pregnant. A friend assumed we'd be getting rid of them, and I was incredulous! They're lovely with him, actually - he's crawling and they sit right next to him and follow him around, and when he chases them or grabs them, they just put up with it with a longsuffering expression or move literally six inches away from him!

She was unreasonable to say it and YANBU to keep thm, OP. Congratulations on your baby!

Personally I find the idea of having a newborn baby around pets absolutely dreadful....I always think it must be terribly unhygienic. However, many people have pets and kids so I presume it must be OK?

It's ok, I don't think the cats would catch anything.

I'm sure I've read that children who grow up with pets have better immune systems than children who don't have animals.

Former how dirty do you think my cats are?! They live inside FGS. I'm probably dirtier than they are.

Sil sounds horrible. I'm very wary of people who don't like animals. She's talking crap.

Bollocks. We have two cats and they'll get on fine with the baby, they just won't be allowed in its room or anywhere near unsupervised. I was born into a house full of cats and it was fine, as was my husband, all but one of my siblings in law and many other people I know had cats and dogs before they had a baby and it's never been a problem. If anything, they run away from loud screaming humans who don't know how to approach them. Tell your SIL to mind her own business and bog off.

One of my cats thought my son was a particularly stupid kitten. Once DS was toddling she used to bring him dead mice and try to get him to play with them. She was so patient, putting it down and patting it towards him hopefully.

That's so sweet, Messy! My cats really stepped up the vole-murders when I was pregnant... I had very bad morning sickness and I think they thought I needed the extra protein.

I'm just bricking it about how to keep them out of the bedroom :S Should I start doing it now? They are very needy and want cuddles all night usually!!

Our elderly cat used to guard DD. he was a biter and scratcher, but never touched her. She was gutted when he died when she was about 4.

Never left them alone together during the day and the cat only started sleeping in her room when she was old enough to get up and open her door.

what an awful woman, I'd say she isn't welcome at yours because your cats don't like her!!!!! congratulations by the way. When I brought my first born home and introduced him to our two cats, I realised that the way I spoke to the cats was the same way I now spoke to my baby!!!, they were all my babies, and as my son grew they had a mutual love of each other. All my children are now great animal lovers, don't listen to any ridiculous comments.

Op. I wouldn't worry too much. I had twins and 3 cats, they never went near the babies. My cats didn't like all the noises and smells they made! Dogs pose far more threat to a baby than cats. Sil is being alarmist.

thank you everyone.

I would love to have a dog as well, the only reason we haven't got one is because we live in a small flat. The minute we get out of London we will be adding a dog to our brood too. SIL hates dogs even more than she hates cats so that will be interesting.