Lockdown cat and a baby

[Help23]

My cat is a lockdown kitten and she follows me everywhere, we go to bed at night and wake up together in the morning. I didn't have plans to get pregnant when we got our kitten and have always treated her like a child. Anyway... now I'm pregnant and I'm petrified about 2 things:

1.) the cat sneaking into the baby's cot and accidentally smothering it
2.) the cat feeling depressed and lonely especially in the first 6 months

Our cat is natural and now we plan to let her have one litter before we spay her now - so we can keep one kitten and let her have some company / understood motherhood / be distracted milking herself at the same time. Making it easier to shut her downstairs and obviously out of baby's room without her feeling left out.

• Has anyone got any tips from experience for me of having a very spoilt cat and having a first baby?
• Are there any monitoring devices I can buy to give me some reassurance / peace of mind which check a baby's face is never covered etc.
• Are there any animal nets for by the side cots? I don't see how they work when you need to take the side down in the early days..

start keeping her out of the bedroom now so she gets used to it before the baby arrives

Cats don’t smother babies - but they will sleep on / in all babies things if you leave them uncovered. So don’t leave things out / uncovered! Mine loved the car seat.

Get a felliway plug in to keep it calm for the cat.
I have 2 very spoilt cats - kicked them out the bedroom for 6 months whilst the baby was in here - now they are back.

A litter can be a lot of work and unneutered cats can be more unpredictable so I’d consider having her done before the baby arrives.

I irrationally worried the baby would be allergic to the cat! It will all be fine but good to put some thought to it!

Congrats!

Do you have a male lined up for her to mate with and a plan for the kittens regarding potential homes?
If not that's a pretty silly idea. You should've got two to start with company wise and had them both spayed/neutered.
I had five cats and a newborn baby. All spayed and neutered. None of them came near her Moses basket or our bedroom. We already had rooms they weren't allowed in. Baby will be fine if you're sensible around the issues. How old is the cat you're planning to let have a litter?
Think carefully and don't be irresponsible.

Also baby will be supervised at all times surely. Never leave any pet unsupervised around a baby.

Firstly, get the cat spayed. They don't need to have kittens. They also don't need cat company if they've been used to being a solo cat in the household. She will adapt to not being the centre of attention when the baby comes, she will probably just ignore the new noisy creature, or actively avoid it!

Cats don't necessarily like their grown up kittens!! They are also messy and hard work.

I've never let our cats sleep with us always shit downstairs overnight with a litter tray, food, water. We get complaints if we put them to bed late!

There are several posts in mumsnet about cats and babies, which I've found quite helpful.

Please please reconsider letting her have kittens, they really do not need to go though it and so so many unwanted cats. Please check out thecatsite.com for advice and appreciate how big the problem is. I have previously adopted a pregnant cat, and looking after kittens was a lot of work and expensive. She was spayed as soom as the vet said ok to do so, and you have to keep them in as can get pregnant within days of having kittens - and cats in season will be utterly determined to get out.

Our cat is natural and now we plan to let her have one litter before we spay her now - so we can keep one kitten and let her have some company / understood motherhood / be distracted milking herself at the same time

Oh for fucks sake.

1. Have your cat spayed
2. Have your cat spayed
3. Have your cat spayed

Yep keep her out of the bedroom now. We had a cat that started pissing on everything all of a sudden- maybe all the new baby stuff smelled too new and different, having to chuck it was gutting and of course it stopped immediately. Dunno if toms are different but he was a spoiled housecat who slept in our room too so as soon as it was banned from the bedroom, the stupid thing would just yowl and launch itself at the door repeatedly.

It was really sad but it had to go and live with a friend of ours, where he had a very happy life. There have have been news stories about cats smothering babies and could just picture this being mine, he'd often sleep at the bottom of the bed but by morning he'd be snoozing on top of one of us.

Neuter the cat! Seriously a bunch of kittens and a new baby is nuts.
Other than that I wouldn’t worry too much just start now by gradually getting the cat used to sleeping downstairs, they get used to new routine fairly quick I find !

I have no experience with cats and new borns but I will be finding this out for myself soon. Id expect the cat to not be interested in a small, loud human but everyones cats are different.

With regards to letting her experience 'motherhood'.
Dont.
The cat couldnt care less if it has kittens or not. It is basically forcing a creature to breed for your own joy and to fulfill a void in the cats life that isnt there.
Its messy.
Its not straight forward.
Its not beautiful.
Its a lot of hard work from you.
And it brings more cats into the world who will need homes when rescue centres are full to overflowing currently.
Be responsible and have the cat spayed, it really is the most sensible option by far as other posters have rightfully said.

@Flutterby8

I have no experience with cats and new borns but I will be finding this out for myself soon. Id expect the cat to not be interested in a small, loud human but everyones cats are different.

With regards to letting her experience 'motherhood'.
Dont.
The cat couldnt care less if it has kittens or not. It is basically forcing a creature to breed for your own joy and to fulfill a void in the cats life that isnt there.
Its messy.
Its not straight forward.
Its not beautiful.
Its a lot of hard work from you.
And it brings more cats into the world who will need homes when rescue centres are full to overflowing currently.
Be responsible and have the cat spayed, it really is the most sensible option by far as other posters have rightfully said.

Ditto this x 1000, put so perfectly. Cats aren't humans. Or accessories .

Have the cat spayed for the love of god

Oh my god you don’t need to let your cat ‘experience motherhood’. Jesus wept. She doesn’t care, honestly.

1. spay your cat now. Don’t be an irresponsible pet owner. Your cat doesn’t give two shits about experiencing motherhood so she can have some deep bond with you, or whatever it is you hope to get out of this.

2. make sure you give fuss and attention to your cat, even when baby is here.

3. felliway plug-in

4. shut doors. Cat doesn’t not sleep where you and baby sleeps.

1. Get the cat spayed.
2. Cats don't smother babies.
3. Get the cat spayed.

Why would you have a litter?! The world is overflowing with unwanted kittens who don’t have homes, you absolutely do not need to add to that.

Your cat won’t smother your baby, but she will sleep in the cot etc and fill it with cat hair. I would start shutting her out of the room now so she gets used to it. You can buy nets on Amazon but in my experience they’re rubbish. Better to just manage spaces so she can’t get into the baby’s bed / pram etc.

Spay her now so that is all settled before the baby arrives.

I was worried about how my cats would take to my baby, but they absolutely love him and have never been a problem. I just keep the bedroom door shut so they can’t sleep in his bed.

Do you know how many unwanted kittens there are out there?

Stupidest thing I’ve read today. Get your car spayed.

1. Cats tend to be scared of the new noisy, smelly thing.
2. Get your cat spayed and do not contribute to feral kittens.

My cat has always slept in my bedroom, and, like an pp, yowls outside the door literally the whole night if not let in. Unlike a pp though, I didn’t get rid of her when the babies came along.

Get the Moses basket long before the baby comes. Set it up in your room and put tin foil in the bottom of it. Leave it there for weeks. The cat might jump in once, but she will hate it and won’t do it again.

Also, you’re obviously mad about the cat. I can practically guarantee you’ll feel differently about her once your baby is here. I still love my cat. I just don’t anthropomorphise about her, like I used to, and like you’re doing now.

Why on earth you'd want a new kitten and a new baby, let alone a whole litter of kittens at the same time, is beyond me??

We lost our second cat in January this year when I was 10 or 11 weeks pregnant, and would love a new kitten / rescue cat to give our other kitty a new little friend as we are sure he misses him dearly, however we know our baby's arrival is already going to be a new experience and potentially stressful time for him so we have put it off for now.

We haven't started blocking him out of the bedroom, but we have started getting things in gradually so he gets used to the changes a little at a time. We'll also get him a new scratching post with a high up bed which I'm sure will be his new sanctuary and safe space while we all settle in. And he'll be given lots of attention and one on one time with him where possible. Feliway does not work for our cat, but we know other ways to keep him calm so will practice those. You need to be learning what your current cat's needs might be for when baby arrives - that should be your priority.

I'm 99% sure he will not be interested in our little one in the beginning, as he is terrified of all children even quiet ones. But we'll be extra careful regardless, ensuring they're never left together unattended anyway. Especially for the first 6-12 months. And then hopefully they'll become good friends as time goes on (a girl can dream, right?). Once settled, we will then consider whether a new pet is the right next step for us - there's really no need to rush it all at once.

You need to prioritise your baby and the cat you do have. Get her spayed now / ASAP and if, in a year or so once you're all settled into new family life, you still want a kitten or another cat, you'll be in a much better position to consider this more carefully and adopt one. She does not need a litter of her own, and you really not need the extra aggro at this stage. Nor does the UK need another litter of kittens struggling to find new homes / living in rescue centres as things reopen following lockdowns. Have a really good think about this. Good luck!!

I’m not sure of your cats exact age but isn't she be too young to have kittens anyway? Even if not I don’t think having babies together will be the bonding experience you’re imagining. More likely you’ll get annoyed at the mess and worried about the germs and resent the cat and the kittens. It would be far kinder to your cat to start putting boundaries in place now and by just having the one animal to care for alongside your newborn you’ll still be able to give it a fuss when your baby is napping etc

Re-home your cat to someone who will be responsible and neuter her

You don't mention if she's an indoor cat or is allowed out. She might take herself off a bit more when there's a baby but she'll be fine. My parents had a tom when I was born. He was a bit put out when I cried but he became my best friend and loved me more than them!

Cats don't smother babies.

Not do they give a shit about experiencing motherhood. Please don't have a litter.

To be honest I think it's pretty irresponsible to "allow" your cat to have a litter, they don't "need" to have one for medical purposes that's just your "wants" coming through - and of course with bog standard kittens selling for £200 a time pretty lucrative??🤔 And cats are not like lions that live in generational prides - they raise their young and then send them off into the world she doesn't need to keep a kitten for herself. Lots of mother cats actually get pretty pissed off having one of their own litters kept. She'll be interested in them for a few weeks whilst feeding them but that's it then you'll have a house full of kittens running around causing mayhem

• I had 4 cats when I had DD none attempted to get in the cot. They were too scared of her - babies are an assault on their senses

• keep the door closed to the bedroom at night - the cat will get used to it very quickly

• buy a video monitor if your want but they are expensive - more expensive than just shutting the door? Babies are supposed to sleep and nap with you at all times anyway so won't be left unattended for long periods?

• make sure flea treatment up to date and vacuum daily to keep on top of hair

• a net isn't structural - it isn't going to hold the weight off the cat if it jumps on it - both the net and the cat will land on the baby....