Cat and newborn

[first_time_mummy]

I had an arguement with DP last night, as to our pet cat.

Im not a cat person, however there was a cat being put down in our local pound, and so i took it in, and since then its been a wonderful cat. Very friendly, sleeps all day...a typical house cat.
My DP loves cats, but didnt really want another one. But eventually gave in to me getting this one.

We have since got it chipped, vaccinated etc.

I got to thinking that i really DONT want any animals in the house when my baby comes, especially a cat.
I find cats are unpredictable, they can scratch and pounce at any slight movement, plus they try sleeping ontop of things (ie- my baby)

I have been worrying a fair bit, and mentioned to DP last night that i would like the cat to go outside, when bub is born.
He was angry, said that it would be ruining a good house cat, and said i should have never go the cat in the first place.

I think that if i saved its life, it was well worth it, and maybe if i rehomed the cat to a close friend, that would be a better option.

I just want others opinions on this, as i feel bad for getting the cat, and now having to give it away to another home, however i cannot risk having the cat in the home with my newborn. It wouldnt take much for the cat to pounce on my baby, at a sudden movement, or even curl up and try sleeping in the cot.

Please, let me know your opinions...am i doing the right thing by rehoming the cat? I mean, its not cruel is it? Its a lovely cat, I just cant take any risks when it comes to my baby.

[skybie]

we have an indoor/outdoor cat, although he really only goes outside when he's giving me the irrites, he's 3 and a bit and the miss is nearly 3 and he's never once scratched her or bitten her and the kid gives him ALOT of hell! lmao
i think so long as u leave bubs door closed at all time, when baby's in there or not u dont want cat hair all over your cot, you should be fine.
cats are incredibly smart and will know what the baby is, it'll be curious but wont do anything to harm it.
If the cat is already a good cat and u like it, i really dont think rehoming it is the right idea,the cat has already been through enough and sounds very settled with you guys and rehoming it will just stress it out unecessarily(sp?) and could cause issues for the new family.
An animal is for life not just when its convieniant for the owners.

[Cassius2]

at the end of the day if re-homing is the only option that makes you feel comfortable then go with it.

that said, we have 2 cats and a dog (and a baby!). if there is a sliver of a chance of you keeping the cat then do some research into how to find house-harmony for your pets and new baby. we spoke to our local vet who gave us HEAPS of great tips for the transition.

some included: letting the animals explore the nursery BEFORE bubs arrives. then, close the door and that's it. out of bounds.

get DP to bring back bubs clothes and your clothes from hossy so that they can smell it and get him to put them in the nursery and let cat sniff it in there.

at night, we put the cats in the spare room and closed the door. they had their water and tray and were happy as larry (in fact i think they were relieved to be away from the screaming, pooping machine LOL!).

true, you need to be vigilant and let the cat know that you are TC (top cat LOL!). and that baby and baby's things are off limits. water in a spray bottle may be your best friend for a week .
BUT, the reward of pets for kids is also amazing. and so so quickly cats (and other pets) begin to see the new one as part of the group and harmony is achieved again. our cats NEVER show interest in DDs room and have NEVER scratched her as a young baby...one gave her a swat when she pulled his tail but the claws were sheathed and that was only a couple of months ago (DD is almost 2). in fact we found they largely avoided her. were a bit perplexed as to why we went and brought home such a loud and hairless beast LOL!

[skybie]

mums cats bolt and hide as soon as they hear my car in the driveway! they dont come anywhere near DD
also like to add if your going to make the cat an outdoor one, try find out if it's been an outside cat before and what breed of cat it is, some cats like ragdolls cant be outside cats because they dont have the fighting skills should they need them and cats who havent been outside can sometimes not have any road sense.
and if your going to do it, do it asap so ur cat doesnt associate being kicked out because of the new addition and become resentful of the baby, sounds far fetched but it can be a possibility

[NaeNae]

I am far to attached to any of my animals to even consider rehoming them. Especially my moggy he has been a life saver of sorts for me.

Moe loves the nursery especially the snuggle bed, I have found him in there many times comfortably snoozing away. so much so that I am going to give the snuggle bed to him once bubby comes

When baby comes home I plan on using a hammock until bub is ready for the cot. I have a mosquito net over the cot and when that is closed the cat avoids it - you can also get ones that fit over the cot but are more like a tent (sitting taught IYKWIM)

As for all the other stuff, prams, bassinet, bouncer, rugs etc I leave them out and allow the cat to smell them so he knows its nothing to worry about but if I see him playing with them I make a loud clap and he *****s himself and runs away.

As with ANY inside animal, you need to be vigilant and keep your eyes open, you can lock the animal outside or allow it inside but locked in a different room. My Nursery door will always remain closed when bub is sleeping in the cot.

You can also buy pheromone (sp?) sprays and mark areas where the cat will be allowed to go making it a more appealing area.

No offense, but I do side with your DH on this issue the animals are a part of your family to, there are many many people who have babies and pets inside who never have problems.

FWIW - a friend bought over her 4-6 month old and Moe sniffed her and was curious but after a while he ignored her. A different friend had their 1+ year old son and the he was really interested in the cat but the cat was scared of him and kept running away

[misty]

Cat's can be prefectly fine with kids. The truth is you don't know how any pet will react to the introduction of a baby into the house, but there are steps you can take to eliminate dangers and keep everyone happy.

Making the cat an indoor / outdoor cat should be a serious consideration - they get to burn off extra energy outside and can escape any unwanted attention.

With newborns, the biggest danager a cat poses is when baby is sleeping. NEVER leave pets and baby's alone together unsupervised. Cats like to curl up and sleep on or around baby's faces. Our cats are banned from the baby's designated sleep area (ie, our bedroom for the first 5-6months after birth, and a couple of months before birth, so they get used to it). If you put bubs down to sleep somewhere, then just ensure the cats are not in the same room and that they cannot get into that room while you are not there.

As baby gets bigger and is able to start grabbing at things, then the biggest concern is in regards to bubs pulling fur and the cat retailiating by scratching. The only thing you can do to minimise this is supervise.

Generally cats avoid confrontation. And if you are aware of the dangers that do exist then you can avoid them.

[Lisa]

My cat that I had when Harrison was born was actually scared of Harrison. He was a little curious and would come up when Harry was in his bouncer and have a sniff, otherwise he completely ignored him.
I was just a little more aware of where the cat was at all times when Harry was little. My cat also spent a lot of time locked up in his favourite room of the house when I was home alone with Harrison.

[Laranna]

Your cat sounds very young and playful if it is pouncing around at things! My 2 cats are 9 years old and I've had no problems at all with the baby. As soon as we decided which room was going to be the baby's room, we banned the cats from there. They haven't shown one bit of interest in DS or his stuff. They've never jumped in the cot whether he's been in there or not. They keep their distance! Now that DS is walking around, he follows them and they just run and hide under the bed or behind the couch.

I wouldn't be so quick to give the cat away just yet. Maybe wait and see how it reacts when you bring the baby home. Keep the distance between the baby and the cat and you should be fine.

[phynna]

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[Evie76]

I'll second Lisa on this one.

My cat is an indoor cat and she was the queen of the house. She'd bite and scratch us if there was something she didn't like. TBH she was a TOTAL b***h!!! We would put up with it though because she was our baby and I carried her everywhere - TOTALLY SPOILED!!!

Then DS came along. She was very wary of the nb and sniffed him from a distance a couple of times. I think she then worked out he was boring as all heck. NOW - I should put the picture up in my gallery..... he pulls her tail, he pokes her in the nose, he strangles her, he chases her - anything in a cat nightmare happens to her. But she always comes back for more and NEVER bites him. DH and I try anything even slightly resembling what he does to her we get the teeth and claws.

Cats and kids have very odd relationships - I call these two 'Two peas in a pod'. They are always together, it's like they have this psychic thing going on adults just don't understand.

If you're worried about the cot thing phynna's suggestion is great. Apart from that, I think you'll be surprised about the value having a cat with the baby is.

[~Raven~]

My cat that I had when Harrison was born was actually scared of Harrison. He was a little curious and would come up when Harry was in his bouncer and have a sniff, otherwise he completely ignored him.

My boy went from smothering me when I was PG to not coming anywhere near me when R was born. He has only willingly jumped onto my lap a couple of times since and that was at night when she's asleep in her cot.
He has never liked being in the same room as her and if he's in the house when she cries or squeals and giggles he starts jumping at the door to be let out.

He also prefers to be outside and only comes in to eat. He sleeps in the garage.

[Lulu]

*sigh - I don't know why people think a cat suddenly turns into a baby smothering ninja .

If your cat is a typical lazy ass house model, I expect it will remain that way. Puss may be interested in sniffing around any new stuff that comes in the house, but usually the baby and all the associated noise is enough to have them retreat to the nearest quiet hideyhole....

[MantaRay]

We had a cat when the boys were born. She wasn't very happy about losing her place as "child" of the family, but she was always very good around the babies.

However, having a cat in the house is one of the factors which increases the risk of a baby developing allergies. It doesn't mean it will happen, but it is a factor, so something to consider for you.

[Evie76]

*sigh - I don't know why people think a cat suddenly turns into a baby smothering ninja .

What a cracker Lulu!! That made me choke on my apple.

[STARRYSKY]

I read somewhere that the whole cat on the babys face thing is an urban myth!

we introduced my 10year old princess sylvie, to our ds when we brought him home, she took a sniff then ran outside, I watched her pretty carefully for the first few weeks, but she just wasnt interested at all!
then one night while bfing him, she jumped up on the bed and came and sniffed me, my breasts, jacob, then lay down next to me, staring intently at us for a while, then she went to sleep.
since then she and jacob have been fine together, he is so nasty to her! pulls her hair etc, we tell him no, gently, etc, she has never even growled! but if we are not near she stays away from him.

[nelly]

We had no problems - typical "lazy house model"! We just made sure that she had "her" time after Jake went down for his night time sleep and she has been fine ever since. He is 2.5 and she thumps him when he gors too far but has never tried to murder him for usurping her position. We have just brought home number 2 and she hasn't flickered a whisker. She comes and curls up next to me in bed when feeding DD and then DD does back to her bassinet, Millie crawls under the blankets and has her cuddle till next feed.

I guess if you chucked them suddenly outside you could encounter problems, but we just treated it like introducing a new baby to a toddler when DS1 came home.

[AnnaChas]

We have 2 cats (8-year-old and a 6-year-old who we think was the runt of the litter as she still acts like a kitten and is a liitle slow). We have had them for 7 years and 5 years respectively. I was worried about how they would react to DS particularly as the older one has big issues with change and is quite nervy. I was also worried as we got the older one from the RSPCA and the reason she was given away by her original owners was because she was found sleeping in the baby's cot.

When we came home, it was the younger one who was scared of the baby (particularly when he cried as it was quite loud). They have both got used to the baby's noises now and we have not had any issues with them. They know they aren't allowed to go into the baby's room (they will actually sit at the doorway and peer inside, but never go in) and it only took a couple of weeks to get them to understand that they weren't allowed in there. Another thing they have started doing is jumping off our bed at night when they hear the baby crying and sit outside his door until we get get up and feed him. It's almost as if to tell us that something is wrong with the baby and we need to do something about it. It's very cute. Also, when DS is on the floor in the living room, they will walk around him, look at him, they may sniff him sometimes, but they have never scratched him or anything like that.

So anyway, I'm rambling. Main point is, we've never had problems with DS and the cats. We also make time each day to play with the cats like we used to before DS came along and I think that has helped too.

[Now we're 3]

Hi

I agree with the other ladies who have said no need to get rid of the cat. Regardless of age of animal, whether it is a dog or a car or what its behaviour its behaviour is "usually" like you would never leave it alone with a new born baby. You just then need to take measures to make sure the cat can't have access to the babies room (whether it is there or not). Most animals accept that they can't have an "access all areas" pass and will keep to themselves especially if there is something that makes a lot of noise around.

Also check out cats reaction to baby crying - go to You Tube and play one of the many baby crying clips. The cat may just bolt!

We tried this with our "first born" - our puppy who is now 18 months old and his initial reaction was hilarous. He stopped dead in his tracks stood with his head on the side trying to work out what the sound was then stood on his hind legs checking out the computer trying to work out where the sound was coming from ................. then just ignored it and went back to playing with his toys when it obviously wasn't doing anything else. We have been told to make sure to bring home something with the babies scent on it from the hospital before the baby comes home but I don't know if this works with cats or not ............ google should probably be able to tell you that though

Last comment and I'll shut up. Personally I think it is really important developmentally for kids to grow up with animals so I wouldn't get rid of the cat. I also think your vet could probably give you advice on how to make sure cat keeps away from baby.

Hope this helps