Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

Flip

Original poster

Anyone got cats and babies??

24 replies

Kej13 · 16/08/2019 21:59

Hiya
I'm just looking for any advice I can get please!!

Myself and DH have 2 cats who are both boys and both about 4 years old. We've had them pretty much their whole lives and I'll be the first to admit that we completely baby them, they're so spoiled.

I'm almost 35 weeks pregnant and really starting to worry about how they are going to react to a baby in the house.

Has anyone else been in this position and what was it like once your babies were born?

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

SandunesAndRainclouds · 16/08/2019 22:02

I have 4 DCs, my cats have survived all of them! My boys were older and very set in their ways when DC1 arrived. I can’t say they noticed much, they still cuddled up next to me on the sofa and didn’t seem bothered by a crying baby (which she did a lot!) They never got in her cot or pram, but definitely stayed away from the grabby toddler phases!

TheLovleyChebbyMcGee · 16/08/2019 22:05

Yup, we have 3 cats, one approx 8yr old and the other 2 approx 6yr old, and an 11 month old DS.

They are all fine. DS loves the cats, they are less fond of him as he's a bit grabby and shouty, and god knows we try our best to prevent the grabbing, but one of the younger cats seems to seek DS out for attention so it's not always possible.

DonnaDarko · 16/08/2019 22:07

We lived with family before moving into our place so we lived with their cats for 4 months with DS from when he was born.

They honestly didn't care but they were interested in his toys and once even got in the cot (he wasn't in it)

We made sure that the bedroom door was closed whenever he was sleeping so they couldn't get the cot. We showed him to them while the other one held and petted them.

3 years later, we see them at least once a month when they visit family and they no longer run from him. They even let him stroke them.

They are the laziest cats in the world though lol

Original poster

Kej13 · 16/08/2019 22:07

That's what I'm worried about, I'm constantly moving the cats out of the cot (mainly my all black cat - he's the worst for it!) And cleaning all the hair out etc... I'm hoping he won't want to when DS is here 😞 they sleep either on our bed or the chair in our room at night and they adore my DH so I'm just worried they're going to be very jealous when DS does come...

OP posts:

Widgetsframe · 16/08/2019 22:07

My cat was amazing with my baby and super protective when I was pregnant

Willow4987 · 16/08/2019 22:08

We do! We played baby sounds to them via our amazon echo every day to get them used to the noises and also started putting baby thing where they would be around the house so it wouldn’t be such a shock when the baby arrived

It seemed to work well as they barely even blinked when we brought DS home as it was just one new thing rather than loads.

I also think they knew something was happening as they were both very protective of my stomach and when we got home they sort of stared at me funny (as if to say where’s your belly gone) and then sniffed the baby and walked off

We also put the baby straight onto the floor in the car seat and put their favourite treats around him to encourage them to investigate and sniff him etc

BikeRunSki · 16/08/2019 22:08

Our cat pushed off in a strop for 2 or 3 weeks after DS was born, popping in to eat occasionally, and then largely ignored him.

Sianlouise432 · 16/08/2019 22:10

I'm looking forward to seeing how my 4 month old will react to the cat as he gets older. Since I bought him home, the cat has legged it across the room to avoid the baby, mimicked the baby's postures, mimicked the baby's crying, sniffed the baby and more recently, allowed the baby to touch his fur. My cat has a weird temperament, he is hot and cold, throws strops, but is also very affectionate. Would never hurt a soul though.

Stormwhale · 16/08/2019 22:10

I have a cat and a dd of 5 and ds who is 11weeks. To be honest it's not a great mix. The cat gets stressed by the noise of the children and then acts out by running around full pelt knocking things over everywhere. She has also started over grooming herself due to the stress. To be honest, if I thought someone would take an elderly black and white moggy on, I would try to rehome her as she isn't happy.

Also, I do not let the cat in the bedrooms anymore as I am too worried about her smothering the children by accident. Dd would probably be ok, but she doesn't like the cat hair all over her bed anyway.

If your cat is used to sleeping in with you, I would recommend making changes now if you want to rather than once the baby is here as its one less stress for the cat at that time then.

I would also expect to suddenly become bothered by the mess the cats make. I think it's an instinct thing to keep the baby safe from germs etc, but pretty much everyone i know with pets and animals say they felt that way too.

RedSheep73 · 16/08/2019 22:10

2 cats, both hid under the bed until the DC were about 6. Honestly, unless you have incredibly friendly cats, they're not going to want to go anywhere near a baby, they'll come out when it goes to sleep.

Stravapalava · 16/08/2019 22:11

My cat (who was 6 and very spoilt when my oldest came along) was fine with my DC. He used to sit outside the oldest's room when she was napping her cot, almost as if he was protecting her.

He's not a lap cat and isn't a massive fusspot, but he takes anything from the DC, lets them maul him without reacting.

I've been really surprised and impressed by him.

RedCowboyBoots · 16/08/2019 22:12

I got very, very germaphobic when DD was born so the cat ended up spending most of her time in a different room when baby was about. She's allowed to be near DD now DD is older, but really doesn't like her and so remains in her own room for the most part.

MeadowHay · 16/08/2019 22:15

We don't but my DPs have 2 and we live near them, DD is there at least once a week, often more and in the first 3 months of her life we were round there at least a few times a week and I would occasionally stay overnight there. The cats were both terrified of her as soon as she first ever visited at like 2 weeks old. DD was a crier though, she screamed most of the first 7 months of her life so they were just terrified of the noise. They would run and hide as soon as we came in the house. Gradually this progressed to just leaving a room if we entered. Now she's 14 months and the more confident of the two isn't bothered and will just leave a room if she starts crying or making a lot of noise and it disturbs her, the shyer one still won't generally sit in the same room as her lol. DD adores them and tries to go after them but they hide out of her reach, they're not daft.

Lunafortheloveogod · 16/08/2019 22:21

Big male tom couldn’t have cared less about bring home ds, there’s a net thingy you can put over the cot during the day to keep them out of it.. wouldn’t use it at night I’d just shut them out.

Oddly enough after ds’s jags the cat would lay next to him and purr louder than I’ve ever heard, like a white noise machine on legs and put his head against ds’s legs where he’d had the jags. He now jumps onto the pram when I’m walking up the path to check I’ve brought back ds? Or maybe he’s like ah blast the bed thief again!

Angelinthenightx · 16/08/2019 22:31

My brother had 2 cats and had twin babies the cats diddnt even bother with them.
Im pregnant and we have now 2 cats i do plan on getting a net for my cot and where i go my baby will go best to be safe when u have pets. I also plan on using a baby swing and not a bouncy seat so my baby is higher up.
Try not to worry or get stressed. We always lock our cats away at bedtime due to our other children so mine are used to children and they dont really go near them x

Shmithecat2 · 16/08/2019 22:32

We've got 5 cats. They were about 3yo when ds was born. They were pretty indifferent when ds was infant. Now, 2 of them see him as a rather irritating but handy food source, 1 sees him as a nice place to nap when he's napping, and 2 keep a constant wide berth. Just make sure you have a high, quiet, baby free space for the cat/s. We invested in a large 8ft tall cat tree. I'm super vigilant with ds (he's now nearly 4yo) and I do not tolerate any behaviour from him which makes the cats look like an indulgence for him - no carrying, teasing, chasing etc. Ds has had the odd scratch from the cats, which I view as a lesson learned for him.

mathanxiety · 16/08/2019 22:33

My previous cat was the childhood cat of all my DCs.

She arrived when there were 3 DCs and presided over the arrival of 2 more, so she saw her fair share of toddlers and babies. She took it all in her stride.

She was fascinated by the sound of newborns crying and sometimes joined the chorus. Hopped into the crib, napped there occasionally, and sometimes climbed in to snuggle with DD 3 and then DD 4 a few years later. The cat probably did more sleeping there than either baby tbh. My mum had a thing about cats in cribs but no harm came to anyone.

The cat was well able to leave the room if toddlers got on her nerves.

I never had any concerns, but she was an indoor cat and never exposed to germs from prey or transmitted from other cats outdoors.

Original poster

Kej13 · 16/08/2019 22:36

Our black and white boy LOVES fuss but does get easily jealous. I think when baby is older he will probably love him, but I think he's going to be very jealous when he's first born. Our all black boy likes his own company anyway so not so worried about him but it is him I'm forever moving out of the cot. I don't want to shut them out necessarily because I'm worried this would make things worse? Happy with them sleeping in our room at night etc so that doesn't need to change I just don't want them to run away as they are much loved pets but also want DS to be safe! Xxx

OP posts:

Jinglejanglefish · 16/08/2019 22:37

We have a ten month old and two cats (who we had before baby) they weren't impressed when we got home with her, ignored her for 9 months and now she can crawl they just try to stay out of her way.

Babycakes1989 · 16/08/2019 22:38

Interesting read! I’m in the same boat as OP! Got 2 cats that are 1 years old and 2 years old and they are my babies!!! I’m 34 weeks pregnant with my first baby and just wondering how it’s going to go! Small house and they currently sleep on the bed with us ! Xx

Newmumma83 · 16/08/2019 22:40

We have two cats. We spoiled ours and they slept with us but before the baby came we stopped letting them in our room. ( about 8 weeks before )
They had the spare room with double bed, sofas etc to sleep on.

We didn’t let them come back in until baby was about 4 months ... it took about 3 months before now the girl cat now likes to
Try and sneak in with him so she has been re kicked out ( for now she adores him but he does have a habit of grabbing her so worried he will grab her and she will scratch to get away)
They will adapt and to be honest I sleep better with out the cats as they tend to literally sleep on me when in our room.

At first I thought they were going to leave as baby screamed all the time it scared them and they would try to jump
Out of the windows but now if he cry’s which is a rarer thing now the colic has touch wood gone ... they just sleep through it ... or give me a glare as if to ask what I have done to upset their baby 😂

mathanxiety · 16/08/2019 22:40

She quickly learned that toddler hands were often covered with food, and the floor near the high chair became her happy hunting ground.

Sammy867 · 16/08/2019 22:41

Our cat is my dd’s best friend. She used to sit in her bedroom when she was tiny, beside her cot or beside her pram or anywhere she was, to be honest. The cat would also sit and rub her head along DD toes and purr.

DDs 4 now and the cat still follows her everywhere, gets into bed with her at night to the point we moved the cat bed to under DDs bed so they can share the room. Giving her a space beside DD meant she never tried to get in with her whereas when her bed was a different room she’d try to get into DDs bed instead .

Poor cat gets dressed up, fur brushed, put in dolls prams and wheeled around as well as going on the back of her trike (now bike) in the dolls seat or the trailer. Seems to like it as well as she always comes back for more and never complains. The dog is very jealous of DD and the cat.

When I was pregnant we started shutting our bedroom door (the cat usually slept with us) so that she didn’t have access to the cot when DD was sleeping but she had a good few weeks to get used to this before DD came along so there wasn’t a negative association. We also had all the baby stuff set up so she could get used to it as well. It’s only now DD is older the cat is allowed to go into her room if she wants to.

Original poster

Kej13 · 16/08/2019 22:42

@Babycakes1989 it's hard isn't it!! Our house is 3 bedrooms so plenty of space for them to avoid him when he's born and we live in the country so they have a huge garden etc to go into but it's hard when they've been your babies for so long 😂 DH thinks it's hormones but I've been so sad about them running away or being miserable it makes me feel bad for them 🙈 (I think it might be hormones but can't admit DH might be right!)

OP posts:

Flip