Pets and Babies

[Mel_B1981]

Hi All,

This may be a bit of a contravertial question: But did any of you get rid of a pet because you were having a baby?

As a registered cat breeder, I have 7 cats and everyone keeps trying to tell me that when I fall pregnant I will need to get rid of the cats cause they will suffocate the baby when it's born.
My cats all love my nephews (currently 2 & 3 but been visiting us since the youngest was under 1yo) - in fact, my nephew has a better relationship with one of my cats than I do!!

I don't want to get rid of my cats, and obviously there are precautions I'm gonna have to take....but is it so wrong that I want to keep my cats AND have a child?

To me, having cats doesn't mean a thing - hell there are photos of me as a tiny baby sleeping in my cot with the cat my mum SPECIFICALLY brought for me to grow up with. Unfortunately, the cat only lasted 6 months after I was born due to developing throat cancer, but I'm still here and the only side effect seems to be my "unknown" love for the siamese cat....which I found out was the breed of cat mum had brought AFTER I brought myself my first siamese! LOL

[blessedatlast]

Controversial indeed lol but this is the FB status I had the other day

FREE TO A GOOD HOME: 2 year old child. Genuine reason, I've just got a new puppy so no longer have the time for the child. Also worried that the child may bite the puppy. Child is currently kept in a crate. Needs home by tomorrow or it'll be put to sleep. Thanks. YOU WOULDN'T DO THIS TO A CHILD SO WHY DO YOU SEE IT AS ACCEPTABLE TO DO IT TO A DOG OR CAT or any other pet? If you can't dedicate at least 10yrs to a pet, don't get one!!

That should tell you what I think of the matter.. I love pets, they are part of the family. I have a cat and although I wont be naive, I'll definitely be careful of him trying to sleep with the baby or in its bassinette etc, there is NO WAY I would even consider getting rid of him!!

The only time I think it would be appropriate is if I had a dog that was vicious which I wouldn't have anyway. I think a lot of the time it's responsible pet ownership..

[beansbeans!]

Hi,

WE have two cats and I can honestly say they have never been a problem with the girls. Our Girl cat didnt want to know them, she stayed well away, but she has never hurt the girls regardless of what the girls have done to them. The boy (who is mainly my cat) has protected both girls from the day we brought the girls home.
In the beginning we kept them out of where the girls were sleeping, but on the odd occasion our boy cat would break into the room, and he slept under her cot. these days is pretty normal to find either cat sleeping at the end of their beds.
Also they have never harmed the girls, literally. The girls can pull their tails, play rough, carry them around and if the cats dont like then they will do a runner at the earliest opportunity.

And for what its worth, we were told to get rid of the cats in the beginning, everyone tried so many excuses with even saying that our baby would be allergic to them!

[loulabelle]

As long as you're careful, I see no need to get rid of your pets.

We had a cat when ds was a newborn with no problems.

In saying that though, dd had very bad allergies, so unfortunately we did have to give our away in the end.

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[briggsy's girl]

we changed some of the "access" habits of the cats before DD was born - limited what rooms they were allowed in etc. got them used to the idea that some areas were a no go

when she arrived, one of our male cats became her "guard cat" - no one was permitted within a couple of metres of DD without being fully checked out. he would stand between DD and anyone that wasn't myself or DH until he was happy that she was safe. the only reason we don't have that cat any more is because we moved to a rental where he couldn't come with us, so we had to rehome him (the new owner of our house took him on).
the other male cat wanted nothing to do with her. he was attacked (we think by a fox) not long after DD arrived, so we think it turned him a bit sour on the idea of anyone coming near him - he would go to DH occassionally, but wouldn't come anywhere near DD or myself

unfortunately, we had to get our dogs put down when we moved. we had to keep them seperate from DD from day dot as they were snappy with children (they were hand raised from 6 days old and rarely around children. they were very intimidated by kids getting in their face or pulling at them, and would snap out of fear - i believe this is one of the downsides to having chihuahua cross) - we successfully kept a door or fence between them at the old house, and everyone was happy, but the new house doesn't allow for that - it's one big yard (we had three decent yards before), DD is now old enough to open doors herself, so the dogs would have been able to get in etc - and we just couldn't risk her being hurt. they were older dogs, and just couldn't be rehomed due to being "country" dogs, not lap dogs, as many people expect of small dogs, so we made the call to put them down rather than have them unhappy in a small yard in town. it was depressing, and not a decision we came to lightly at all

my biggest suggestion it so make sure you know the personalities of your pets, teach them well before baby arrives about limits on where they can and can't go - and be always vigilent. i have heard of people installing wire screen doors on the nursery of their home so that they can close the door against pets entering, but not actually close the baby off in a seperate room kwim?

[Mel_B1981]

My cats only concern me because they do all like sleeping in the bed with me. All have been taught that if they want on the bed they have to sleep at boobie level or lower, I will not have them sleeping around my face, but everyone still seems to thing I need to get rid of them.

I know part of the blood tests I've had for the IVF was to see if I have the anti-bodies already for the condition you can get from changing cat litter trays while pregnant (sorry complete mental blank on what it's called!) ... but even that does not concern me as hubby has told me he will do them, and I have read up on it and normal hygene practices that I take now (wearing rubber gloves and washing your hands immediately after completing the task) are apparently enough to avoid it being an issue.

My dogs - which big, and a breed that supposedly should not be trusted with children (Alaskan Malamutes), are:
a) never inside so I would only have to worry when the baby is outside - which in theory means I would be outside also and therefore constant supervision would be in place, and;
b) have already proven repeatidly that the only danger they are to a youngster is maybe a small knock which may knock a child on it's bottom.

My dogs and cats all are used to rough play, my Dad makes sure of that cause he loves to pick the cats up by their tails (which I am horrified of everytime I see it happen, but the cats just purr at him...) and my nephews have already poked most of my cats in the eyes, pulled their ears and fur, wacked them and anything else you can imagine which has resulted in the cat in question just sitting there for as long as they can stand it then simply standing up and walking away.

In myself - I feel perfectly as ease bringing the child into this house, but I just feel like I'm constantly having to argue my case with people - even with people who in the past I have seen/heard them tell others not to worry about having pets.

[skybie]

stuff what everyone else says, if u want to keep them why shouldnt you?? kids and pets can live in perfect harmony, so long as the cats dont have access to bubs room there wont be an issue at all.
next time someone brings it up just say, whats it to you?

[Mel_B1981]

BTW - thanks all for your open feedback.

The idea of getting rid of my pets has been one i have faught long and hard with and has had me quiet scared. I do not want to get rid of them - two in particular was a c-section birth and she wasn't breathing when the vet pulled her out. I was there as a "acting" nurse for him and had to compress her little chest and clear her lungs of fluid to get her breathing....only to have her mother wake up and try to squish her. Luckily another girl had just had kittens and happily accepted the new baby with her own litter and she is now fine and dandy, but I have always had an incredibily strong bond with this cat, and her adoptive mother (who was the first cat I brought to breed with)....getting rid of any of my cats scares me, but having to get rid of either of those girls would have me absolutely heartbroken.

[skybie]

What kind of cats are they hun?

[Mel_B1981]

I have:
2 oriental queens
1 siamese stud
1 siamese male neuter
1 oriental female neuter
2 domestic female neuters

[ebn_d]

we had 3 dogs when we first started TTC DS, one was from the pound, and was a good dog but couldnt trust him as much as the other two. we said we were thinking of maybe finding somewhere else for him and a week later my friends mum wanted him. if the good situation didnt turn up i dont think we would have actually got rid of him, but i think it was meant to happen. he is very happy there and we saw him once or twice after that.
we got a cat when ds was a couple of months old,to have an animal inside, and other than closing his door overnight so she doesnt go in there (only because we had never had a cat before so thought it was best) they are very good together.
Just do what you want, thinking it through like you are shows you are clever enough to not let silly things happen.pets are kids too, so why would you have to get rid of one to have another??

[Floweryfields]

If you're really worried about them sleeping in the babies cot, you could put a mesh screen door on the babies room. I wonder though, what the statistical figures actually are for babies who've been smothered to death by a cat?

[LuluHB]

I never had any problems with my cat and babies. To be honest, it horrifies me that people think animals are expendable objects just because it doesn't suit you to have them anymore. Sure, things need to change when a baby comes along, but you need to change your husband's habits when a baby comes along too and no one would suggest you have him put down!

As for issues with cat diseases (I think its toxoplasmosis?), I was told that it is highly likely that you have already been exposed to the disease if you've had puddies for any length of time, and that you have no cause for worry. I still didn't take the chance, and my DH dealt with kitty litter when I was pregnant - just as well given I had morning sickness for 9 months, let alone any disease risk.

Dogs are a different deal to cats though. I wouldn't be comfortable leaving any dog unsupervised with a baby, no matter how well the dog had proved himself to be of good character in the past.

[FabFiona]

I would ignore these people. They are clearly ignorant of the realities.

We have two cats. Like BG we changed their access for a while. No sleeping in our room when bubs was very little more because they would go straight for bubs basinette and I was sick of black cat hair!

You'll be fine.


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[alish]

i dont have my cat anymore - but we do have 2 staffy dogs, i wont be getting rid of mine - they are the most loving sooky dogs i know, and they are great with kids!

dont listen to negative people - they seem to think their opinion matters !

good luck also!