newborns and cats

[dappymoo]

I'm expecting my first baby in September and just wondered how people's cats get on when they have a new baby?
I know this seems silly as obviously the baby is much more important but I really don't want to be one of those people who disowns the cat and makes it stay outside all of the time! I know a few people who have actually got rid of their cats when they have a baby and I hate that thought!

Our cat will be about a year old and she is totally our "first baby", it's very sad!! She is massively affectionate and despite not wanting to kick her out I know lots of things are going to have to change, e.g. she won't be able to go into the baby's room, I wouldn't want to leave them alone together, and generally won't want her climbing/ sitting on everything... I can see why people get paranoid...

So basically I wondered how people get on with cats and a baby, also, does having a cat around increase chances of allergies, or is it good for them to get used to that kind of thing?

Sorry that was a long one!

Sorry, with the affection thing, I mean she is quite likely to go up to the baby and cuddle up, which could be a worry in itself I suppose? Many incidences of cats sleeping on baby's faces??!
I think my hormones are making me a little paranoid perhaps....!!

My cats stayed well away from my babies - I think they were terrified tbh.

This is something that is playing on my mind as well (31 weeks with first and uber affection cat who rules our house!)

Not got any real answers but have started little things like shutting cat out of our bedroom to get him use to not being there etc.

Plenty of people balance babies and pets so it must be possible and trying not to worry too much......it's not as if we're going to be leaving baby alone in the early days anyhow so we be easy enough to keep them seperate

Instances of cats on babies' faces is a bit of an urban myth, I think... If you are very worried, then do get a cat net for the cot/moses basket as this will make you relax a bit more!

My cats were a lot older than yours (approx 7 years) when I had my baby. Initially they were wary of her and gave her a wide berth. The female cat used to come and find me, meowing really loudly, if my DD so much as whimpered never mind cried (like I couldn't hear her!) and still does that. If DD cries, cat immediately rushes to find out what's wrong and joins in. Male cat pretty much kept out of her way. Once she was mobile, their lives were a misery but they seem to have coped. They've never scratched or bitten her.

Obviously, I didn't let them in the room she slept in and kept an eye on them.

Unless your cat is particularly aggressive, I think you'll be fine.

And, congratulations too!

One of my cats would try and lick the babies head while I was feeding her. The other liked to sleep on the edge/handle of her pram while she was sleeping, but never in it. Not while she was in it anyway. It was the only thing that kept her quiet actually, watching the cat snooze whilst balanced between the edge of her pram and the handle bars.

By the time she was moving about they both kept a wide berth. Too many grabbing fingers for their liking.

I'd never consider re homing my cats. Though mil often tried to persuade me to. She was fine with Jack Rusell staying though

with PFB i was very worried to start with. Cats totally ignored him until he started to move, then retreated to where he couldn't get at them. Really no problem. But I was careful not to let them in his room etc. Cats seem perfectly capable of understanding what a baby is - they definitely used to swish their tails for him to catch, like mummy cats do with their kittens. The cats NEVER scratched or bit either child and don't appear to have given them any germy lurgies either.

with DD i was always finding the cats asleep with her - in her moses basket, in her cot (despite netting on the top), in her carrycot in the garden (ditto). In the end I gave up and let them get on with it - but this was 17 years ago when we weren't so paranoid didn't have the same information about overheating. As soon as she was able to grab the cat's fur it all ended!

(This is the DD whose first solid food was a McDonalds chip stolen from her brother so obviously I am a completely slack mother, but she now has loads of gcses including a*s and plays sport for her county so it all worked out ok in the end ).

My cats avoided both of my kids when they were tiny and then one of them loves to play with them and other gives them a wide berth.

I did often find one or the other in a cot, but only in the beginning and never when dd was in there.

Cats sleeping on baby's face is an urban myth.

I really wouldn't worry.

And as for hygiene thing, wait til your dd is 13 mo and steals their food. it will happen, I assure you.

As long as the cat is vaccinated etc there's no risk to the baby, so I don't see why would you have to forbid her to climb on furniture etc.

Our cat was really not bothered by DS as a tiny baby. Obviously, we never left them alone together but I don't think the cat would have done anything anyway. He did once jump into the (empty) Moses basket and got mightily shouted at so never tried it again!

The cat was never allowed upstairs anyway, even before DS was born.

He was a very affectionate cat and very good with DS when he got older and wanted to "play" with him.

It's great for babies and small children to have pets around to teach them how to be gentle. DS was very good at stroking gently from an early age.

There is evidence that living with furry animals in a child's first year is associated with a greatly reduced risk if developing asthma.

So cats and babies are A Good Thing.

We worried a little about how our cat would cope with the new baby but she has been great. She used to lick her head when I was breastfeeding. And would try to sit on the end of my lap. I think they know babies are like our kittens. Our cat learn't to go up high to avoid the baby. And the baby LOVES the cat. Her first word was Ca.

I think the research shows that kids in families with pets have lower incidence of allergies.

We worried a little about how our cat would cope with the new baby but she has been great. She used to lick her head when I was breastfeeding. And would try to sit on the end of my lap. I think they know babies are like our kittens. Our cat learn't to go up high to avoid the baby. And the baby LOVES the cat. Her first word was Ca.

I think the research shows that kids in families with pets have lower incidence of allergies.

Yay!
Wow thank you for all the lovely replies!
I think she'll be ok, she's a good girl, may just not be too happy about being kicked out of the spare room! But that's a good idea to get her used to it now.

How lovely that you cat comes to get you BelleDame, that is really sweet!

Pretty's right - it's not just asthma, it's allergic disease generally (so obviously only atopic asthma, not other forms). The study I saw (which was a reputable study) found there was a marked decrease in allergies where a cat had been allowed in the child's room before the child was one.

We kept our cat out of our bedroom when ds was tiny and sleeping in with us - although I know the suffocating thing is a myth I was worried the cat would curl up on him and make him too hot (he was born during a heatwave).

Poor moggie never really recovered from the shock of having a nasty loud unpredictable scary thing in the house, though. Always gave ds a VERY wide berth - used to run away from him and hide. She only showed up at mealtimes/after ds had gone to bed. We got those hormone dispensers from the vet that are meant to calm cats, but I still feel guilty about the poor animal even though this was nearly seven years ago (and the cat died of kidney disease three years ago).

New cat loves ds but we got new cat as a kitten so he doesn't know any different.

I have cats and when ds1 was born the cats were interested in him and came up to him for a sniff. I let the cats go into ds' bedroom now but he is almost 6. I wouldn't leave the cats and sleeping baby together in room alone.

We did have one problem with one cat (an abandoned cat who we had taken in a few months before ds was born). She was lovely to people but agressive to other cats and we were seeing the vet about this to see if we could settle her down. She jumped at ds and scratched him when he was a few months old. Ds was sat in his chair and was pre the age of being able to move/chase her. After this the vet said we must get rid of her and we had already decided the same so she was rehomed in a childless household.

My lovely daft old cat though became ds' best friend and followed him everywhere as ds got bit bigger.

I have 3 cats (including a 17 week old kitten!) and a 3 week old baby (pfb) and so far, it's fine. The kitten is fascinated with her, and frequently curls up on my chest beside her, one of the older ones isn't interested, and the other is currently cuddled up with DH and DD.

The only issue I have is them jumping in the crib we have in our lounge for her daytime naps (she has a cotbed in what will be her own bedroom, and if we open the door they are in there like a shot too). She's obviously in our room just now, so at night she sleeps in an Amby hammock - if (like us) there is no way you could keep the cat(s) out of your bedroom overnight without them yelling the place down then it's great. We had it up for a good few months before she arrived and they just don't even try to get in it, it's too soft and flexible so it means we can sleep easy.

Try not to worry - I've had sooo many people asking when I'm getting rid of cats etc, and I just laugh now. I think children learn so much from growing up with animals if it's handled well and safely. A good friend has a 2 year old boy who has grown up with her cats, and he is a delight to watch with them (and ours) - so gentle and caring. He met our kitten when kitten was 12 weeks old, and didn't scare or chase him and petted him so carefully.

Our cat got really depressed about a week after we bought ds home from hosp - wouldn't eat and sat despondantly and sadly in the corner. We ended up taking her to the vets who completely ripped us off (but that's a different story!!) Anyway she got better after about a week or 2 and is fine now although ds is overly 'affectionate' towards her so she stays well out of his way! (ds is 18mo!)
She never really showed any interest in him as a tiny baby but would have happily nicked his cot/ moses basket/ bath to sleep in if given the chance (which she wasn't!)
All the best

We have 6 cats. Not one of them has been really interested in the baby - but one has been very interested in my breastmilk and will NOT leave me alone when I'm feeding

My cats all slept in the cot and pram prior to DD's arrival.

As soon as she arrived they gave her a wide berth.
She is 6 now and she loves the cats and they love her.

Mind you, MIL was convinced the cats would sleep in DD's cot and suffocate her and forced me to buy cat nets etc and induced a real worry for me. All a complete waste of time, the cats were not interested. As long as thier food bowl was full, they were happy.

They were a bit pissed off when they tried to settle on my knee and found DD there.

I have/had 4 cats.

We had 3 cats when dd was born.

I just found an old photo of her asleep on the sofa at about 1 week old, with the tom asleep with her. His paw is gently resting on her arm. This was habitual for afternoon naps.

The older female cat loved to sleep with dd. She would curl up in the cot alongside her, with one front leg thrown across dd's chest. An eye would open and an ear twitch if you went in. When she (the cat I mean) saw it was one of us then she'd close her eye and sleep again. If it was a stranger she'd become completely alert, protective, until she'd sussed out the situation.

The younger female would rub her head against dd - wherever she could get to - when dd cried, making little chirruping noises.

No cat slept on dd's face (though the younger female liked to sleep next to the top of her head sometimes).

DD got a scratch once, but had grabbed the cat and half dropped her and half sat on her.

Of course, it does depend on the temperament of your cats, but mostly cats don't like the noise or the nappy smell and keep away.

Cats generally avoid small yowling things that kick like buggery

Seriously, my toddlers have both got a nip from the cats when they've been horrid to them. They deserved it frankly.

They don't sleep on kids though, they move too much. It is also lovely when you do get five minutes to sit down because the cat forces you to stay put and rest.

I stopped Mokie (the cat!) sitting on my lap during my pregnancy so she got used to being a bit further away. She's never been allowed in our bedroom but I also started shutting her out of the nursery long before I had DD.

Mokie is quite affectionate but is a rescued cat so we were a bit unsure of how she would react. TBH she's been fine, a bit unsure of the baby and visitors though. I've probably been more uptight about it as I think Mokie can smell my breastmilk and follows me around all the time - this is more irritating as she's always under my feet, getting in the way and generally a trip hazard.

We didn't bother with a cat net on the crib or cot but I always check where Mokie is before shutting the door. This does mean we still use a baby monitor as I can't hear DD very well with the nursery door shut.

DD is now 9 months and loves Mokie. Mokie is less keen as DD can now grab her tail or ears if she gets too close.

The cat hair everywhere (on DD's clothes and toys) is irritating as DD is putting everything in her mouth. I don't think it's having any affect on her though. DH is allergic to cats but DD doesn't seem to have any symptoms.

While I was pregnant I had the cot and moses set up and the nursey door open. Everytime she attempted to go in one, she got told off (stern voice, name and NO) and moved away. It didn't take long before she knew not to go in these places. Though the stage where she knew it was wrong and was slowly tip toeing in was actually kinda amusing.