cats!!!!!

QST???? - DOes anyone know if it is true or a myth that - If a cat sits on your stomach it raises the babies heartbeat? Because cats hearts beat so quick i heard it is dangerous for the baby. Has anyone else heard that?

Hi Jacci I would say that is incorrect as my midwife told me that it is perfectly ol to pat a cat have it on your lap etc the only bad thing about cats is their poo it has something in it a toxin or something that is the only thing I have been told

I'm with you becky23

One of ours sits on Jen's tum all the time (when she's in bed)

We told the ob on our last visit, and she said "oh how cute"


As for the poo, the toxins take 24hrs to be "poisonous" - so if you can get it out asap then it'll be fine

And that assumes you don't already have anti-bodies to the toxins anyway. We did a bit of reading up about it very early on


Or, as in our case, I do the cat trays etc... in fact, I do most of the cat stuff. Jen buys the cat food when shopping, and pats them - I feed and clean up after them... Which doesn't take long anyway, and they are my boys (got 2, brothers, and they'll be six on March 20th next year)

thats the first time i heard that myth. one of my cats will actually half lay on my tummy and play with jelly (he chases her movements around my tummy). poor jelly probably gets a little suashed though as sam (my cat) weight over 7kg.

Zorro sat on my lap all the time during my first pregnancy and Yasin was a healthy, full-term baby. I don't think you need worry - but you should avoid doing the kitty litter if possible.

Hi Jacci

A cat on your tummy is fine.

Jacci

I've got a cat and don't pat or cuddle him as much since i became pregnant but always wash my hads after handling him. I too was told about their poo so wear gloves etc when doing the gardening.

Jed

I've never heard of that one before, not even my GP nor obgyn mentioned that, so I'd say it's a myth. Yes cat's poo should be avoided, however it's not as bad as u think. Many cat's have already had 'toxoplasmosis', and so are immune to it, like we get chicken pox. Cats that eat birds & mice are more likely to get it & it grows in their poo, but takes 24hrs to grow, like abs said. If u have an indoor cat then chances are extremely small of ur cat getting it. My obgyn said that even if ur cat does have it, it can only be an issue in the first tri (at least I think that's what he said) & that the chances of me getting it if my cat had it was 3%, but nevertheless, DH has agreed to do the litter tray whilst I'm pg.

DH does the litter tray too, but I used to breed cats when I was younger, and did multiple litter trays when pg to my three kids. The midwife back then too told me that it was likely I was already immune.

The thing I'm having trouble with now is trying to get the cats not to climb in bed with us and cuddle up to us under the covers. I worry that they'll want to do this to baby in the cot as well. I used to have a safety cot with my other kids, but these have gone out of fashion and not available anymore. I don't blame anyone for not wanting one coz it looked like your baby was in a cage, but at least you knew that the cats couldn't get in.

My two furbabies are resisting being left out in the cold though. And I've got about 3 months to educate them. Wish me luck!

love
sushee

i haven't heard anything bad about cats on bellies - just do be careful of the cat poo thing - One of the ladies i work with contracted toxoplasmosis at about 36 weeks or so and had to have bubs out pretty darn fast - we have a cat and a dog - no litter trays - so the puss cat "goes" outside but unfortunately the dog - then eats said goings - charming i know so i get out of drop dropping collection too!!! - i am just super careful to clean my hands before handling any food and not let the cat sit on teh bench or anything....

I have never heard of that before. As the other girls have said you have to be careful with cleaning cats litter trays/poo etc... b/c of toxoplasmosis.

When I was pg with Nicholas we had a cat and she forever sat on my lap or stomach and Nicholas turned out fine.