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The litter tray

Join our community of cat lovers on the Mumsnet Cat forum for kitten advice and help with cat behaviour.

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Original poster

Can cats smell babies?

50 replies

StarfishSandwich · 12/09/2018 21:51

Weird question...

We have what we think is a farm cat who spends most of her time in our garden and occasionally has sneaked into the house. She likes a stroke and is quite friendly but it’s always been very much on her terms and she was always very easily startled.

DS was born last week and she has become OBSESSED with getting into the house and seems really interested in the baby. She’s also become really confident and friendly and just wants to rub up against us and will happily climb on top of the furniture just to get to us. Obviously we are now trying to stop her getting in, as much as it breaks my heart, as she’s not our cat and we can’t predict her behaviour and don’t want to turn around and find her on top of DS! Plus I’m 99% sure she has fleas.

She has been sitting outside our back door meowing all evening! Is it the baby or could she just be looking for somewhere warm to stay now the weather is getting cooler? It’s so odd!

OP posts:
ShannonRockallMalin · 12/09/2018 21:55

My mum always says cats gravitate to babies because they like the smell of the milk! When my DCs were born I definitely noticed an interest from the cats we had then. I once found one of them curled up with my newborn son in his Moses basket, luckily at the foot end!

TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain · 12/09/2018 21:57

Could the cat be pregnant?

Original poster
StarfishSandwich · 12/09/2018 22:02

Entirely possible Clanger, I doubt very much she’s spayed but I can’t be 100% sure as we’re only guessing she’s a farm cat and doesn’t belong to a neighbour. I posted on the village Facebook group a few weeks back and no one claimed ownership and she doesn’t wear a collar. We have several farms and a few stables within a couple of hundred metres of our house so I’ve just assumed she’s come from one of them!

OP posts:
ChangerChangerson · 12/09/2018 22:07

My cats were the opposite. When my DS was born they stayed away and it wasn't till he was a couple of months old that they they went anywhere near me again.

OlennasWimple · 12/09/2018 22:11

Congratulations! A new baby and a new cat Wink

Els1e · 12/09/2018 22:26

Agree with Shannon. It is most likely the smell of milk that is attracting the cat. Congrats on new baby💐Be watchful of cat. I have heard of cats accidental smothering just to be close to the smell and warmth.

dieseldriver · 12/09/2018 22:32

Cats like to go where's food. I have a couple as well as next door. Being an animal lover, and that includes anything in the animal population, I welcome next doors cats into my garden. However, if I give them a few cat biscuits, they disappear when eaten them.

Best course of action here is to ignore it. Once it realises there's no food on the menu, it will probabely go away?
A cat or cats will stay outside your house crying all night in the hope its gonna get fed. BUT, be careful! Many years ago, I had a kitten sit outside my kitchen all night in freezing weather looking for comfort. Taking pity on it, gave it to my mother. But because it was worse for wear, she took it to a vet. Only to discover suffering from pneumonia. Adults cats can adapt to the cold. If its a young kitten, need to contact a cat rescue center

Wonkypalmtree · 12/09/2018 22:34

My cat knew that I was pregnant so I do think they have heightened senses

Houseworkavoider · 12/09/2018 22:37

My cat became obsessed with me when I was pregnant (started at 7wks so no milk!).
Cats are funny fuckers imo Flowers

TheSmallClangerWhistlesAgain · 12/09/2018 22:39

Flea treatments are pretty easy to administer...

SalemBlackCat · 13/09/2018 01:45

@Els1e "I have heard of cats accidental smothering just to be close to the smell and warmth."
We have all heard that old wives tale. There has never been one documented case of a cat smothering a baby. Not....one. Ever. My parents had a cat that slept with me in my cot, would belt up the barking dogs next door leaving them yiping if they woke me up. Cat followed me everywhere in the yard. Cats are EXTREMELY protective of babies.

SalemBlackCat · 13/09/2018 01:47

Here are small video clips of cats being protective of babies and toddlers. The last one is especially great.

SalemBlackCat · 13/09/2018 01:48
SalemBlackCat · 13/09/2018 01:51

Ok, honestly, this one IS the very last one. I think this is the best out of them all. Cat screams in baby monitor for help as baby lays gasping from respiratory failure, cat tries to run out to get adults but they are ignoring him, so cat races back in and starts horrifically yowling and screaming in baby monitor. This, if you never watch any other one, is it

Hence why you should always have a cat watching over your baby. They are beyond protective of babies, I would always allow a cat in the room with my babies. You should make friends with this cat, adopt it, and allow the cat to be with the baby.

MrsCatE · 13/09/2018 02:42

Perhaps you can ask for thread to be moved to the Litter Tray for some excellent advice from cat behaviourists as well as experienced cat owners.

Obviously keep an eye on because you don't know cat's true temperament but there are only positive stories here rather than anecdotal. They do know when you're pregnant and in my experience, love to curl themselves around growing bump!

Aintnothingbutaheartache · 13/09/2018 02:51

Cats know everything..................l

Aintnothingbutaheartache · 13/09/2018 02:55

“If cats looked like frogs we’d realise what nasty, cruel little bastards they are. Style. That’s what people remember “
Sir Terry knew what he was talking about

annoyedofrichmond · 13/09/2018 03:02

I absolutely SWEAR my cat knew I was pregnant. She knew before I did, just started behaving differently, wanting to sit on me, sniffing round me, being protective of me...

I was feeling unwell and because I’d seen a documentary years ago about cats sensing death I was beside myself with worry Blush until I realised what it was.

Bananarama12 · 13/09/2018 03:33

Oh god the smelling the milk thing is a load of shit.
Put some flea stuff on her and let them be 😊

WhatToDoAboutWailmerGoneRogue · 13/09/2018 03:46

We have all heard that old wives tale. There has never been one documented case of a cat smothering a baby. Not....one. Ever.

SalemBlackCat Yes, there has. A quick google found this: www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1379196/Sleeping-cat-suffocates-baby.html

It’s rare, but it does happen and people need to be wary of it. A responsible pet owner and a responsible parent would not let any animal stay alone in a room with a baby; it is not safe for either of them.

Cats in particular are known to be unpredictable.

Hertha · 13/09/2018 04:25

That turned out to be cot death, not the cat.

I can’t find a report of it ever having happened, although oddly there is a possible case from Russia reported yesterday.

TwoBlueShoes · 13/09/2018 04:35

Actually my cat did nearly suffocate my baby. I was so shocked because people on MN said it was an urban myth so I never worried about it. Then, one day I heard struggling sounds from her moses basket and sure enough the cat was curled up on her face and the baby couldn't breath. A lot of people say their cat stayed away from their babies, but mine was obsessed. I also wondered if it was the smell of milk as he'd always come over when I was feeding. I think it's important to remember that all cats are different.Just because one person's cat acted a certain way, others may act differently.

Losingthewill1 · 13/09/2018 05:29

You could de flea her yourself and put a collar on her :) instead of kicking her out :(

MNHQ
LilyMumsnet · 13/09/2018 09:38

We're just moving this to The Litter Tray at OP's request.
Flowers

Fluffycloudland77 · 13/09/2018 10:11

Put a paper collar on her, you can print one off the internet or make one. Just write "is this your cat? ring 01230378119". I'd ring the number if my cat came home wearing one.

If it does have fleas it's going to be miserablely uncomfortable and you can buy advantage over the counter to alleviate the suffering. Imagine having midge bites and no way to stop the itching.

It most likely wants a warm house for the winter. If it's friendly to humans it's not feral. Our ex feral couldn't cope with the noise of the coffee percolator, a crying baby would have tipped her over the edge.

I don't think it's the milk it's after, most animals don't drink milk after weaning. My cat is completely in-interested in milk. We do carry on, what's worse we drink another species milk not our own. Cats like warmth and humans are the hot water bottle you don't need to refill.

It's not safe to leave any child alone with a pet. Cat, dog, rat, ferret. I wouldn't leave any predator alone with a baby.

Years ago I introduced our cat to next doors 9-10 month old baby, he was very interested in her and tolerant of her trying to touch his eyes (Persian with huge sea green eyes). He'd have given me short shrift for that.

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