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Original poster

Do I really need to worry about the cat smothering my new baby?

41 replies

catlover89 · 16/02/2021 00:04

Hello,

Heavily pregnant here and have bought all my bits and pieces for new baby. This is my first baby. I am noticing my cats are loving the new furniture. I have three cats. So far they have been in the cot, one of them has been sleeping in the Moses basket and I just found my eldest boy in the carry cot. These items of furniture are obviously empty and just look like comfy places to take a nap to them - I assumed this would stop once there was a screaming baby present!? Anyway I posted a photo on my FB as I am always posting photos of my cats and someone said I need to put a stop to it now as cats don't care what's underneath them and may smoother a baby? Is this something I legitimately need to be concerned about or are they overreacting? I can't imagine any of my cats doing that.

OP posts:
MumUndone · 16/02/2021 00:09

You can buy cat covers or cat nets for cots, pushchairs etc., so yeah, I think it can be a risk.

RockCrushesLizard · 16/02/2021 00:15

It is absolutely not a risk. It does not happen!

Think of how many news articles you see where there has been a tragedy with a dog and a child, you never ever read about cat smotherings. So they're either so common they aren't news, or they are an old wives tale.

My cats enjoyed an empty cot/pram/basket, but pretty much ran from any room with a baby in it 😀. Small babies were too noisy, big babies to prone to grabbing handfuls of fur.

A preventative product existing doesn't mean there's a risk (I'm thinking of the 5G filtering phone stickers etc)

Poppins2016 · 16/02/2021 00:17

I also have 3 cats! Plus a 2.5 year old and another baby on the way...

Yes. Be concerned. Cats can be drawn to the warmth of a sleeping baby and treat them like a lap. They won't realise that baby is tiny, helpless and can't push them off if they can't breathe. Obviously the risk lessens as the child begins to move - once you'd allow them a duvet or pillow I'd stop worrying about the cat!

We set a rule that if the baby was sleeping in the room and we weren't present (or we were asleep), cats weren't allowed in and the door had to be firmly closed.

Enough4me · 16/02/2021 00:19

I kept my cats away when my DC were babies, as toddlers the cats kept themselves away. Now my current cat is conjoined with my teenager and sleeps next to her.

I didn't want the cats overheating my DC as babies and cat hair (cat spit) causing allergies.

Poppins2016 · 16/02/2021 00:21

Just to address the post above me, sadly it can happen: www.google.com/amp/s/www.thesun.co.uk/news/7232699/pet-cat-suffocates-baby-death-sleeping-pram/amp/

It is, however, unlikely... but I'd want to eliminate the possibility. I'd treat it as a SIDS risk, same as not allowing cot bumpers, pillows or loose blankets (as I said above, if you'd allow a pillow/quilt I'd stop worrying).

Do be assured that cats and babies can coexist beautifully, despite the above... my toddler adores our cats and they love him in their feline way.

Eleoura · 16/02/2021 00:23

Surely you wouldnt allow 3 cats to roam the entire house with a new born in a another room? Can they not be kept in a seperate part of the house with no access to the babies bedroom?

Poppins2016 · 16/02/2021 00:24

P.s. (sorry about the multiple posting!) I'd also treat cats sharing sleeping spaces as a hygiene risk! Again, not so concerned about my toddler but I make a point of keeping my cats away from my own pillows (they're welcome to the foot end of the bed), so I'd do the same for babies.

Ruddyfedup · 16/02/2021 00:26

I never let mine in the crib/cot/pushchair from get go so i never had the issue of kicking them out and fighting with them over sitting in stuff once baby had arrived. I had a cat net for moses basket but that was only to stop them getting in it while i was out. We shut them out of our bedroom until dd was a bit bigger as she was prem and tiny. Never had a problem with either of them sitting on her etc, they sniffed the weird pink thing when she came home and now avoid her like the plague in all honesty!

Original poster
catlover89 · 16/02/2021 00:37

@Eleoura

Surely you wouldnt allow 3 cats to roam the entire house with a new born in a another room? Can they not be kept in a seperate part of the house with no access to the babies bedroom?
Honestly I never gave it a second thought. I bought a stair gate to keep our dog away from baby while unsupervised but never thought about the cats. Myself and my younger siblings were brought up with cats, never had a problem. I think it's a low risk from what people are saying but I will look into getting a net or something just to be on the safe side.
OP posts:
Original poster
catlover89 · 16/02/2021 00:45

@MumUndone

You can buy cat covers or cat nets for cots, pushchairs etc., so yeah, I think it can be a risk.
Oh, I had no idea they made these. Have ordered just to be on safe side. Thanks
OP posts:
Fluffycloudland77 · 16/02/2021 09:23

You shouldn’t leave a baby alone with any animal anyway, it’s not just cats either, my mum remembers a news item 50 or so years ago where a couple left a sleeping baby alone with ferrets and they mauled the baby to death. They couldn’t go back to the house after because the neighbours were fit to lynch them.

You can get automatic door-closers in screwfix to keep the door shut to the nursery. If the cats can open doors you can turn the door handle around to pull up or to the right so they can’t do it anymore.

If you buy a second hand Moses basket they can all pile in it, cats and newborns are similar weights so baby stuffs ideal for them. Decoy Moses basket.

Thisyearcandoone · 19/02/2021 07:04

My cats never attempted to get in with kids when they were babies. One used to sleep in the basket of the buggy if I left it out. Do what makes you feel comfortable but I don't think you need to stress.

JohnLapsleyParlabane · 19/02/2021 07:16

We've had two babies alongside our incredibly pampered (indoor) cat. We taught CatBaby to avoid the cot/Moses basket by putting balloons in them for a few weeks before each baby arrived. She hates balloons. Once the children moved to beds (13m for DD and 9m for DS), normal house rules apply (she stays off pillows and isn't allowed to treadle the bedlinen) and she purrs our 5yo to sleep most nights.
That said, I wouldn't have left her in the same room as a sleeping infant but neither of my children were ever willing to sleep anywhere but on an adult until the were at least 4months old.

StrayGoose · 19/02/2021 07:51

I used to think that cats smothering babies was a myth, and I don't think it's a common occurrence BUT my cat loves to sleep on my head and face. Probably the warmth? Regardless, I've had cats my entire life and he's the only cat I've ever had that has done this. But it only takes once. @catlover89 I'm sure you'll take sensible precautions and that's all that's required.

BertieBotts · 19/02/2021 07:53

I think it's an old wives tale, but I wouldn't leave the baby and cat unattended.

justanotherneighinparadise · 19/02/2021 07:55

I think it’s a slim risk but a risk nonetheless. Your newborn baby will not be able to roll away and a cat likes warm, cosy places. So there is a possibility of cat plonking their body on a newborn and suffocating them. Most cats I’ve even known wouldn’t want to come within 3 feet of a newborn, but if you had a dopey cat and a very good sleeper, it’s a possibility!

user1493413286 · 19/02/2021 08:00

We always kept cats out of the bedrooms but mine have tried to jump into the pram when DD was in there; she woke up very unimpressed. I also think a cat jumping into a Moses basket and being startled by a baby crying would be enough to topple it over.
I’m not keen on the hygiene part of a baby’s head being where a cat has slept either to be honest.

Heyha · 19/02/2021 08:00

One of ours would gleefully sleep in the pram just as long as the baby was absolutely nowhere near it! The other one likes to sleep on a chair in her room now but again as long as she isn't in there. They are fine with her and let her fuss them during the daytime but only on their terms.

We got the cat nets for the cot but really because she was always in the same room as us when she was asleep, upstairs or downstairs, and our cats only sneak into our room to tell us it's breakfast, it just never really had the chance to happen.

SionnachGlic · 19/02/2021 08:11

A sleeping newborn could be at risk of a cat looking for a warm cosy place. You will need to supervise carefully. For now make sure they keep off baby furniture..if thry claim it now, you might have a job keeping them out once your baby arrives. Do the cat nets etc...but also make sure you know for sure if leaving your baby asleep & unsupervised that a cat cannot get into the room/crib...

catatecheese · 19/02/2021 08:13

interestingly it doesn't actually happen. Obviously don't leave baby and cat alone in room together and you can get cat nets. But cats seem to realise quite quickly that things that screem and have a grab reflex are not ideal for napping with.
Try and discourage cats from baby items but they will probably continue to use them when empty as comfy but hopefully with a baby they will avoid. My cat used to like the pram but if baby in there he would do a sudden mid air turn not to jump in if the baby was in it. He only came near the baby if I was holding them and he wanted a cuddle. he would watch them from a good arm's length away but certainly never tried to sleep near them. He increased the distance between child and cat as they got more able. Always just out of reach , which was great motivation to start crawling for a baby to cats absolute horror!
Just consider it a risk and don't allow cat in with baby to sleep so remove instantly if they try and get in crib etc. But I think you will find they pretty quickly make own decisions not to risk sleeping near the baby.

Heyha · 19/02/2021 08:26

I suppose it depends on the cats' temperaments too...one of ours is quite snuggly but scared of anything new, noises and so on. The other is quite aloof and spends most of his time outside, he'll hang out in the same room as us and take a fuss but he's never been a lap cat. So I suppose that has helped in our house too

Grognonne · 19/02/2021 08:27

I think it probably depends on the cat. Mine are absolutely petrified of everything, there is no way they would get near a baby. I’m not worried about it, but I’m not going to put up cot etc. until the last minute.

Lordamighty · 19/02/2021 08:31

Why on earth would you let your cats sleep in new items you have bought for your baby?

Clymene · 19/02/2021 08:34

My cats were horrified by babies Grin but I guess you don't know how yours will react until later. I did get a cat net but never got it out the box

doctorhamster · 19/02/2021 08:36

My dm for obsessed with the idea of my cats harming dc1 when I was pregnant. Wanted me to rehome them and everything.

We just shut them out of the room when dc was asleep. That's it.

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