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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To consider getting a rescue cat with a new baby

33 replies

QuietBatperson15 · 13/07/2019 06:17

Hi there

We moved into our house last year and were considering getting a cat at the time however I fell pregnant and decided to shelf the idea for the foreseeable. My partner and I have a 5 year old and now a baby who is a few weeks old.

Last night we discovered we have a mouse in the house which is a total nightmare as my partner is terrified of them. We will do all the measures (traps, sealing off gaps etc) to get rid of it but it has got me thinking about getting a cat again. I would like to re-home a rescue cat but worried it might be a bad idea with a new baby.

I'm just wondering if anyone has had experience of adopting a rescue cat with small children? Should I hold off until baby is older? Or best getting a kitten? Separately has anyone dealt with having a mouse and did getting a cat help keep them away? I'm also worried the cat would start bringing dead rodents home to us...my partner would have a meltdown!

OP posts:

Pipandmum · 13/07/2019 06:24

Frankly I only had mice when I had a cat! She’d bring them in when still alive and after a while get bored with it and mouse would hide behind the fridge or something! And also no guarantee a cat would be a mouser anyway. Hold off until baby is older and call an exterminator.

KatherineJaneway · 13/07/2019 06:32

I agree, there is no guarantee your new cat will be a mouser, and if they are, they are likely to bring the remnants of mice in to you as a present.

I'd wait until baby is a bit older. Kittens can be hard work, with young kids it is better getting a slightly older cat whose personality the rescue centre can tell you about so you know they are a fit to your household.

blackcat86 · 13/07/2019 06:34

I wouldn't get a cat to cure a mouse problem as a lot can become quite lazy or just bring wildlife in. However there are lots of cats in need of loving homes if you want one with or without the mouse. We adopted a cat when I was 27 weeks pregnant. He's an ex stray but very sweet and has been no risk to baby at all.

Aquamarine1029 · 13/07/2019 06:38

I am a very, very experienced cat owner and have been my entire life. I currently have 5 cats. It is absurd to think a ca t will solve a mouse problem. It just won't happen. Given you have a 5 year old and a baby, I would NOT get a rescue cat unless it's a very young kitten. Older cats can be very set in their ways and simply don't like young children. A poster above said kittens can be "hard work" but I have never found this to be the case. Keep them indoors, from their nails weekly, have a good spot for their litter tray and they are just fine. Cats are incredibly independent by nature and don't stay kittens for long at all.

Aquamarine1029 · 13/07/2019 06:39

*TRIM their nails weekly

adaline · 13/07/2019 06:50

Trim their nails? I've never trimmed a cats nails in my life and I've had four over the years - if they have scratching posts or go outside there's absolutely no need to trim a cats nails whatsoever!

Anyway OP if you want a cat, get a cat but don't expect it to solve the mouse problem. One of mine is great at catching things, the other is far too lazy and things hunting for his own food is far far beneath him 😂

Original poster

QuietBatperson15 · 13/07/2019 06:51

Thank you for the replies, so it is looking like it could be worse for us if we get a cat. I would love one (mouse or no mouse) and would have liked to give a rescue cat a home. It might be too risky because of partners rodent phobia though. Would definitely want an outdoor cat if we went ahead. Ah well back to the shelf with that thought! 😞 Thanks again

OP posts:

Original poster

QuietBatperson15 · 13/07/2019 06:55

I love lazy cats! I know our luck would be ending up with a cat that brings more mice home, alive, and turns out to hate children. Such a gamble if it's a kitten but if it's a rescue centre I thought they could also tell us if our house would be suitable for a certain cat.

OP posts:

icecreamsundae32 · 13/07/2019 07:02

You need to think ahead to when your baby is mobile and they are potentially chasing the cat and the cat gets the hump and maybe scratches or bites... and if your baby is interested in the litter tray and do bowls etc. Not a cat owner myself but went to look at a childminder with my then crawling baby and was shocked to see the litter tray and half eaten food bowls etc just on the floor in middle of kitchen and it put me off as I thought my baby will explore everywhere and be touching that! I know it's different if it's your home as you would monitor it and teach your child but sometimes you can't have eyes in the back of your head lol.

fantasmasgoria1 · 13/07/2019 07:08

I too am a very experienced cat owner and I have never trimmed a cats nails. Every cat I have ever had has kept their own nails short by using various provided scratching items. My kitten uses her scratching post and pad and her nails are fine. I so agree that you cannot guarantee that a cat will solve a mouse problem. They only catch them when they feel like it which may not even be once a week! Cats are amazing pets though and are good companions but i would wait a while before getting one. My cat is a member of the family.

lyralalala · 13/07/2019 07:21

For catching a mouse you either need to call in pest control or see if a friend has a known mouser. My old cat used to be loaned out for an afternoon if someone had a mouse, and was known at the local pub for mousing in their storage yard.

Current runs away from birds, and I suspect probably mice too.

Separate the decision about getting a cat or not from the mouse problem

madcatladyforever · 13/07/2019 07:32

Haha you would have died if you'd lived here. My alpha male cat used to proudly bring in live mice and abandon them in the house. A lot of them were pregnant and he would just totally ignore the resulting mouse infestation in the house and justkeep bringing more in.
Before long the entire house stank of mouse pee as they dribble urine everywhere they go.
He was so proud of these live "gifts" he brought me for my dinner.
I had to get the exterminator in. He is no longer with us but the other cat likes to bring in snakes (slow worms) and leave them alive in the house. They must think i'm a rubbish hunter.

eurochick · 13/07/2019 07:40

I'd be surprised if you were able to get a rescue. We tried, with one calm four year old. The vast majority of cats were limited to adult only households or households with teenage children. One rescue said they wouldn't rehome to us at all because of the road we live on (a busyish B road) even though we said we would be happy with an indoor cat. We have ended up reluctantly buying two kittens from a breeder because I want my daughter to grow up with pets. Plus, I agree with the comments about any cat not necessarily being a mouser anyway.

Moominfan · 13/07/2019 07:47

We got our cat when ours was 6months old. Rescue cat. She's so easy and loving. Previously had dogs so can't. Believe how easy cat ownership is. However she has brought live mice in, half dead seagull, bitten the heads off birds and left the parts round the house....

Vinorosso74 · 13/07/2019 07:59

I would wait until baby is older before getting a cat. Still get a rescue, an adult would be best. Rescues will want the whole family to meet the cat to check everyone gets on.
I volunteer at an adoption centre and they do home cats to families with young children but there can be times where there are no suitable cats.
Our young lad us a terrible hunter. He has brought rogue feathers, a piece of black banana and a ball of kitchen foil so no guarantees of a mouse! They don't always kill their prey so not good for the rodent phobic. Some cats hunt less as they get older but this isn't always the case!

TheVanguardSix · 13/07/2019 08:00

Our cat is a fabulous mouser! He's from Battersea and I do wonder if he was a farm cat (he was a young cat, a few months old when we got him, now going on 6 years). He's a neutered ginger tabby and a proper outdoor cat. As he gets older, he spends a lot more time at home, but be prepared with a serious mouser to have a cat who may go walkabout for days at a time. Ours is a serious mouser. His nickname is Psycho Killer.
You could look at farm cat rescues (at some point- but I really would not get a cat right now while pregnant or about to deliver). If you really want a guaranteed mouser, I'd look into the farm cats. Though in the UK, I have no experience of this. Maybe others do.
I grew up with cats and dogs in a rural environment. And the one thing about a good mouser (and this is why I suggest farm cats) is that they are properly taught by the mother to mouse. And that mother has to be an outdoor cat. 'Snowball' from the breeder and kept indoors as a pet will almost never be a mouser.
We got our cat when our youngest was under a year old.

recklessruby · 13/07/2019 12:11

As previous pps have said cats often bring prey into the house live. My previous cat was a lovely gorgeous girl very affectionate and loving but she did love to hunt and would bring small rodents in, half kill them then play with them, letting them run away before pouncing again.
A rodent phobic would have freaked out.
And you have to dispose of the body.
Present cat kills outright but sits and crunches her kill. Not for the faint hearted!
But cats are amazing pets and lovely companions and i think you are leaning towards cat ownership

Toddlerteaplease · 13/07/2019 12:35

I have a rodent phobia. Fortunately, I have never had any cause for concern with my Persian rescues. They aren't over endowed with brain cells and couldn't catch a cold. And they do have their nail trimmed and cheddar enjoys having hers filed.

WantLifeToBeBetter · 13/07/2019 12:52

I wouldn't get a cat right now in your circumstances, but wouldn't rule out getting an adult rescue in the future. If you go to a good rescue they will advise you about the cats' personalities and whether they are suitable to home with children. We got our boy from Celia Hammond in East London. He's incredibly tolerant and affectionate, I'm sure he was a pet before (was 5 when we got him).

To consider getting a rescue cat with a new baby

WantLifeToBeBetter · 13/07/2019 12:53

P.s. he's also a great ratter, although I agree with pps that you can never know if they'll be a hunter until you get them home.

PookieDo · 13/07/2019 12:57

I think you will have problems getting a cat from a rescue, they often do not rehome with babies and many in rescues have FIV which means a lot of extra care for them, you can’t have other pets, keep them indoors etc etc (the last rescue I went to had this on every single pen!)

Also yes some cats love to maim them but not kill, half eat them and give them to you as presents it can be quite gross. I’ve had some who just like collecting live rodents and bringing them home some who kill and leave them whole for you and some who will eat parts then dump it for you to clean up

Luxembourgmama · 13/07/2019 13:00

If you get s grown up cat not a kitten and explain your situation to the shelter it would be fine

stayathomer · 13/07/2019 13:00

The only traps that have ever worked for us were humane ones. The other ones always ended in us hearing squealing as the mouse's paw or tail was stuck in it . The only other thing was catching it and putting a box over it and scooping it up the way you would a spider ( sliding cardboard infer then carrying container out and a long long long way away. Best of luck OP, we went through this in two different houses. Nice are cute but hate them and now pretty much have a phobia!!!

MereDintofPandiculation · 13/07/2019 13:42

I think our cats have kept the house free of rodent infestations. Yes, we do have the occasional sessions of trying to retrieve a field mouse or frog from behind the dishwasher, but we have none of the signs of mice setting up house.

We have kittens at the moment and I think they would be a lot to cope with on top of a baby - they get everywhere, usually horizontally through the air about 4ft from the floor. My cats were about 18months - 2years when I had my first DC - I found it very difficult, but probably easier having the cats around than it would have been without them.

Sweetpearose · 13/07/2019 13:45

Don't do it. My cat drove me mad when my son was little. Perhaps wait until he's a bit older.

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