Baby on the way and troubles with cat

[40Crazabet2000]

Hi ladies
just looking for some advice and people’s thoughts … please be mindful that I already feel awful having to post this so really don’t need any nasty comments!

I got a cat a year ago now, before I fell pregnant. He’s been the highlight of my life. He is so sweet and I absolutely adore him.

lately I’ve been having some issues… he’s been bringing live pigeons in the house which we’ve had to capture and get out. He’s also been bringing fleas in the house, he is flead with bravecto regularly, but for some reason the fleas aren’t dying on him and instead are getting in the house. We’ve been lucky so far to capture them as we’re brushing him with his flea comb as soon as he comes into the house. I caught some in the kitchen today and had to quickly kill them before they got loose.

the problem is that I’m nearly 9 months pregnant and really can’t afford to be capturing pigeons when baby is here and worse, really don’t want baby exposed to this as they’re so unsanitary.

As welll as this, I really don’t want to be fumigating the house every month or so because of flea infestations. it’s not healthy for baby having to keep up and move to my parents house while the house is fumigated.

I know I sound absolutely horrid but I am thinking of re-homing him.
I do understand it’s not the cats fault, it’s their natural instinct to hunt and also it’s not his fault that he’s bringing fleas into the house. I really am not the type of person to do things like this if anything I hate people that get animals just to give them up, so I’m spending hours each night getting all worked about this while hubby keeps begging me to just re home him for our own sanitary and babies safety.

my instincts while being pregnant have been super heightened and I really don’t feel comfortable having a baby in this environment. I don’t want to br a new mum with a newborn chasing pigeons around the house and having to disinfect every minute. I’ve got the point where I’m spending hours on my hands and knees searching the house and ensuring it’s flea free which is absolutely ridiculous and can’t continue especially not with a newborn. I’ve done my back in so much that I can’t even move today… I have hubby hoovering the house multiple times a day too and we’re not going ti have time to check him with a comb every time he wants to come in when we have a newborn.

I really just need some advice as to whether it’s completely unreasonable to re-home. There’s a lovely farm sanctuary near me that takes animals in and when they’re not rehoused they keep them to live on the farm… I feel like he would be happier as would we, but my guilt is really holding me back ..

There are stronger anti flea treatments than Bravecto if you ask your vet.

Pigeons presumably won’t fit through a cat flap so should be less of a problem once the weather is cooler and doors/windows are shut.

Could you make him a house cat for a while? Just until baby is a bit older? Bringing birds in can be due to pregnancy. Cats sense change is coming and some play up.

@minipie Thanks for replying so quickly. Yeah I spoke to vets last week and they said bravecto is the strongest thing out there according to them … they also said there’s nothing else they can do as the fleas are meant to just die off but some reason they don’t for my cat… the fleas jump off into the house and then we have to kill them….

@Pippinpops85 thank you as well for your quick reply. I did mention that to my mum about making him a house cat but she said it’s really cruel and he could get depressed etc which makes just as bad! :((( just feel like there’s no right answer here :(

@40Crazabet2000 if it helps I have 2 indoor cats. 1 loves the outdoors and is a bit of an escape artist. 1 will scratch you to pieces if you even try to get her outdoors.
I feel bad to an extend keeping the cat who loves outdoors in but to be fair she's a happy healthy cat. As long as there are plenty of toys and hiding spots, maybe even buy some cat grass for them to roll in and chew. This particular cat had 2 sisters who are no longer around due to being outdoor cats so I totally feel OK keeping her in.

The fleas are a little odd. Do you have a flea collar for the cat? This may help reduce this.

If you do rehome kitty that's OK as long as you find a loving home who you know will given kitty the best. It's not easy I know ❤️

My little one is 1 and a half now and it's nice to see the bond between them so if you can find a solution it should get a great ending

or you could rehome the baby.

You won't be getting all the fleas and they'll no be in the home, which is why you keep seeing them on him.

You need to treat the home. Hot washing, hoovering and a good spray like RIP flea.

Hey hun, cat owner here too but in a different country - a country where outdoor cats is considered wrong!

First time I got a cat and my ex said "we don't let them out" I was shocked, it's so cruel I thought (fellow Brit so same as you).

I'm now with a new husband with a new cat and I don't let her out because it really is no problem.

The main difference is adapting your home for a cat to enjoy climbing etc - we have a beam in our house that my husband wrapped with rope that she climbs like a tree

The biggest difference is once a cat has gotten used to going out, it takes them a while to adjust

A friend of mine thought it was cruel too, then her cat got killed by (we think) a car and now her cats are indoor cats

A couple of years in you could switch to outdoor again 🙂

You have to treat the whole house and cat with something effective every month for 13 months to get rid of fleas.

If Bravecto doesn't work then use one of the others.

Mine have a twice yearly flea injection as well as a spot on on every month that I buy from their vet.

Loads of people give up their placeholder cat when they have a baby. It's so common it's a cliche.

All I ask is that you give him up to a good rescue and don't hand him over to any old random that might hurt him.

Poor cat. This is the most common reason cats are given up for rehoming.
Hunting for fleas in your house is just silly. Use appropriate treatments and there are other flea treatments for cats out there. Two of mine are on bravecto but the others are on Nexguard which also prevents worms.
It's been quite a year for biting insects and two of my cats have needed additional medication because the flea treatments weren't dealing with everything.
Keep your cat in overnight to reduce hunting. Or even close off the cat flap so you can choose when to let them in.
I've had multiple cats, dogs and children in the house and a bit of dirt and the odd flea really didn't hurt anyone.

@Beamur That’s so lovely to hear your situation and how happy they are. Thank you for your kind words as well ❤️

I know it’s really strange re the fleas… Screening kitty everytime he comes home is very tiresome and probably not nice for him as well… the vet said there’s nothing more we can do until his flea treatment runs out as otherwise he could overdose and have adverse reactions…

My MIL was nearly smothered by a cat sleeping on her face as a baby.

Thanks for all the replies…. We can’t treat the home. Midwife has asked me not to fumigate the house due to fumes and spoke to my local pest control guy who said he will refuse to treat while I’m pregnant and also refuse to treat when baby is here too due to chemicals being strong and reside sitting on the furnitures etc. we hoover daily, well now multiple times a day. Eveything goes in a hot wash including kitty’s bed weekly.

my vets have advised me that treating the home won’t help in the long run. I can treat, but kitty will keep dropping them off, and then house will keep needing treatment. This is what I mean when I said it’s just no feasible for the constant fumigation and fogging… it’s not sustainable or healthy …. This is my dilemma.

The flea thing is unusual, bravecto is usually very effective. But obviously if it's not working it's worth changing, see what else your vets offer, it's not overdosing if the product has a different active ingredient. The house does need treating, I understand it's not great to do whilst pregnant/with a baby or even the cat it should be done room by room with windows open and cat not in the room being treated for I think at least an hour as per the instructions, something like indorex spray bought from the vets or online? Is there somewhere you could go for the time whilst partner/friend/family member does the house? It stays effective for a while so that alongside flea treatment on the cat should break the life cycle and any new fleas brought back would die before reproducing, it's not unusual to see live fleas of the product works by the fleas having to bite first to then be killed, could this be the case?
I'm sorry I do feel for you (I work in a vets so thinking what we'd advise a client, and have a baby around lots of pets at home)

@Bunny2006 Thank you for replying and so amazing that you have the knowledge!!
What you’ve said makes sense and interesting about treating room to room and that would be better… I worry about treating baby’s room with all the furniture and clothes up but I can cover the clothes and give the furniture a good wipe down I suppose.
I suppose I could stay at my mums for a couple of nights just means kitty would be alone as hubby is going away for a week soon as well. so maybe I’ll ask a neighbour to feed him and he’s often hanging around in the neighbours houses anyway…
I haven’t seen fleas in the house jumping around Willy nilly. What I have seen is a couple of fleas on the floor in one room after he was finished eating and I had brushed him, and only until I touched them did they try to jump and I was able to capture and kill. Have scoured the house top to bottom and seen no others. But for me it’s the worry of what could become.
My vets did say the same thing that the fleas will land on him, feed, and then die. They might jump off him alive but they will eventually die off. But to be honest this isn’t the most reassuring as until they do feed and die they’re just sitting on him and can therefore escape in the house. Even if they are lethargic when they jump off, they could still survive and then breed…
I do appreciate I sound utterly mad right now. I’m ready to pop any minute and feel the house needs to be absolutely perfect before baby comes so this is something that’s really got to me and feel that the advice I’m getting from all professionals is that there’s nothing I can do until baby is here and much older!

This is how we got our DCat. DD got pregnant and asked us to look after him for a while. More than 6 years later and he is still here. I honestly think he has a better quality of life with us as we are retired and my DH absolutely dotes on him. DD did consider having him back after the first 12 mths, but she could see how settled and happy he was and how much we loved him. They now have a DDog instead! Do you have any friends or family members OP who might want your DCat, even as a temporary measure? That way you could still see him sometimes too. DD always gives our DCat a cuddle whenever she comes over.

As others have said , it’s your house that has fleas and that is reinfecting the poor cat . Go stay in a hotel / with relatives / friends for a couple of days so the house can be treated . Make sure the cat is wearing a collar with a loud bell so the pigeons can hear him coming . Don’t be that person that rehomes their pet because a baby comes along .

🙄 of course she was.

Treat your house with indorex, and vacuum regularly. Try a different flea treatment or a Seresto collar.

Although in all honesty, it sounds like you just can't be arsed with a pet now there's a baby in the picture. A sorry tale, as old as time. I had 5 cats when ds arrived, and also did monthly TNR for ferals, plus rescue and rehoming. It's quite possible to manage one cat and a baby.

they also said there’s nothing else they can do as the fleas are meant to just die off but some reason they don’t for my cat… the fleas jump off into the house and then we have to kill them

I haven’t seen fleas in the house jumping around Willy nilly. What I have seen is a couple of fleas on the floor in one room after he was finished eating and I had brushed him

That’s two very different statements. Are you trying to make this sound like a much bigger issue that it has actually been?

just keep him indoors. Is it more cruel to keep him as an indoor cat for the time being, with scratch polls, toys and beds, or to discard him?

@Floralnomad I don’t really have much experience in this field so genuinely responding no sarcasm is intended here!!!….

I am slightly confused as to how the house can be infested when I’m not seeing any in the house randomly? I only see them in the spot the cat has just been. So for example he comes inside and goes to his food bowl and I might see one on the floor when he walks off so I quickly kill it. When I then sit with the flea comb and groom him, I find nothing….

I’ve spoken to friends who have had flea infestations who said they could see them jumping in their carpets, rugs, sofas, so they knew it was an issue. Whereas that’s not been the case for me, if anything, I have unfortunately had to go searching for the fleas to find them - I.e by hanging around where kitty has just eaten.

as everyone has suggested I treat indoors I certainly will, just don’t feel this will stop kitty from being affected as I can see the fleas outside jumping in the grass and also neighbours have said how their cats are experiencing the same issue. So just really confused as to how the house is the problem and feel that it’s not reasonable to keep treating the house every couple of months when baby is here …

@ConnieTucker - hiya, both what I said is the situation at the moment ?

the fleas aren’t just hanging around the house in the bedrooms and carpets etc. I certainly wouldn’t still be living here if I was being eaten alive by fleas every day. Kitty comes indoors from playing outside, usually either with other cats or at neighbours houses. He goes straight to his food bowl and the fleas jump off him, on the floor, and then I’ll spot them and quickly kill them.

its happened a handful of times so not every single day. But doesn’t stop me from having to comb him daily to ensure there’s nothing live on him and continuously hoover to ensure I haven’t missed anything on the floor.

in terms of how big the issue is ? I mean to me having any amount of fleas in the house is an issue. To others they might not be so fussed. So can’t really answer that for you.

Some advice...

• there can be different strains of fleas and sometimes they get resistant to treatments a good vet will know which one works this year
• get your house treated - I had to do it with a newborn and just moved out for a few days
• restrict the areas the cat can go in the house - he shouldn't be in your baby's room anyway
• consider access point (ie cat flap) in to a place you can control so any pigeons etc can be boxed off eg mine can only get into the garage so anything that happens can be dealt with later.

I don't really understand why the house can't just be properly treated and think there have been some really good ideas here. However it is still really common that cats are given up when owners become pregnant which is really unfortunate in my opinion.

However if you do decide to re-home, I can't stress this enough, please, please use a reputable charity and do not give away 'free to a good home' or sell as the latter two opinions mean the cat is open to being abused.

From reading your posts it sounds like your lovely cat might be better rehomed.

But please do it responsibly through a charity (if you can find one with capacity). Giving cats away can lead to horrendous things (dog baiting etc).