Cats and babies

Swirley

Hi. This is the first time I've posted on this forum, and I apologise if this subject has been covered before, or is in the wrong place.

I'm 24 weeks pregnant with my first baby and have a lovely moggy who is about 14-15 years old (don't know exactly was adopted from RSPCA 11 years ago). He's neutered and well behaved but is a total mummy's boy! He follows me everywhere and sleeps curled up to bump. My dilemma is, how do I make things easier for him when baby arrives? We've got the Moses basket, and will be setting that up in the next couple of weeks and I've also got some cloths that baby will lie on in hosp then DH will bring home and give to cat so he can get used to the baby's smell. What else can I do to try/do? I'm really concerned about him feeling left out.

I don't know if it matters in this context, but he does have some health problems. He suffers from struvite crystals, so has been on a prescription diet for last 3 years, and he was diagnosed with an over-active thyroid last week, so is now on tablets for life.

Any ideas, tips, stories etc will be greatfully appreciated! Thanx for your time. Jo x.

needurgentadvice

I treated my cat like an older child when the baby was here. Gave him lots of love and attention when I could so that he knew he wasn't being shoved to the side.
I had no issues, but kept the door to the nursery shut as I caught him having a 'nap' there once.
He wasn't too keen on baby as he thought the new arrival a little too loud and fidgety but never leave them alone to be on the safe side.

My cat was rather thick and docile so took it all in his stride.

tanith

Personally I don't think giving the cat babies things for the cat to smell is a good idea as cats like nothing better than a warm soft place to curl up and you do not want a cat getting in with the baby ever!! getting him used to the babies smell might encourage him to want to sleep near the baby... in fact you may need a cat net to keep the cat out of the babies crib/cot.. If the cat feels pushed out then its a shame but to be make sure the baby is safe I wouldn't do it.. one of my cats was always trying to get in the cot when my kids were small and I had to shut her out of the room in the end... she learnt that it wasn't acceptable in the end and didn't try anymore.

925dancer

What part of a cat sleeping next a baby isn't safe exactly? Or are we referring to the old wives tale of babies being smothered by sleeping cats? You might not want puss in there as a general rule but there's nothing particularly unsafe about it.

I think scent swapping is a good idea, then it doesn't come as a shock when this new bundle of scents and sounds invades puss' space. I agree also with giving him lots of fuss when you can and perhaps get a Feliway plug-in or two to help relieve any stress he feels.

I know someone with a special needs baby and she has Norwegian Forest cas, quite a large breed and they are the best of friends. The cats love Findlay and he loves them, touching them and having them next to him gives him added stimulation, it's lovely to see.

Good luck

Bunny

hi, I've got a 20 week old baby girl and 2 cats which are almost 3 years old, every one asked:-

so what are you doing about the cats? are you getting rid of the cats now? :eek:

We did get cat nets just to stop them leaving their fur on the moses basket before she arrived.

I toyed with getting the feliway plug in for them, but our 2 aren't exactly in need of calming down, they're really quite laid back.

You know your own cat and yes I like the idea of the cloth. They're both going to be there for a long time and the cat may as well have a heads up on the new scent coming in the house. Don't let him go to sleep on the cloth though, as I agree with the above, the cat might think that the cot/moses basket is a good idea especially roomy when there's no baby in there, mine weren't impressed when there was a baby in there eventually. They looked quite put out that they had to settle for our bed.

Try and continue to give the cat plenty of attention so he doesn't feel pushed out.

After she arrived, they've never really wanted to be that near to her as she makes loud random noises as far as they are concerned and wriggles a lot.
They are just happy to walk past her now without worrying about their ear drums or sit and watch her play.
tbh we weren't that strict with them.

The most stressful bit was when one went missing when she was 8 weeks old and he was locked in someones house (apparently his gf lives there )

Good luck with the baby and I hope all goes well :beer:

naomi1010

Hi,
Just wanted to tell you my story with cat and baby dilemma (sorry for hijacking the thread)

When bubs was 5 hours old she stopped breathing as she chocked on mucas but did start breathing again, air ambulance came along with normal ambulance, doctor and police, taken to hospital, lots of tests done and an overnight stay but all ok but as you can imagine stressfull!
However (and this is where the cat comes into it) on our return home we noticed big clumps of fur everywhere from our cat, didn't think much of it until 2 days later when the cat had a massive bald patch on his back so took him to the vets. Turns out the cat had developed stress and anxiety from the newborn's arrival!!! After all me and the hubby had been through it was the cat that suffered the worst lol. We were advised to 'act normal' around the cat but also if the cat wanted to we were to allow it to sniff the baby out as it were which he did do. Now we have a very protective cat who sits by the moses basket, rocker or car seat whenever bubs is in it, almost like a guard cat.

Anyway what i'm trying to say is cats do know when there is a new addition to the family but just treat them as normal and they will soon adapt and be fine (also my cat has never got in with the baby ever)
Naomi1010

tanith

I guess its down to personal choice if you do or don't prefer your animals sleeping/cleaning themselves where you are going to lie down to sleep personally I don't and didn't want my cats in or on our beds that included cots and cribs and prams. Nothing worse than cat hair over sheets and clothes , I have loved to bits all my cats I just prefer they know that beds etc are out of bounds . I don't think its dangerous just in my view not very hygenic maybe the word 'safe' was the wrong one to use.. anyway I'm sure you'll find a way that your whole family is happy with baby and cat... good luck when Baby comes along..

picklepick

Is it an old wives tale about cats smothering babies then?

I'd heard that I need to buy a cat net when we have children. And I will be. I've woken up with my cat on my head, so why wouldn't they do that to a baby that cant move the cat off or move their own head away?

picklepick

Just found two very good articles that I thought I'd post

http://www.fabcats.org/behaviour/cats_babies/info.html

http://www.fabcats.org/owners/zoonoses/info.html

Apricot

picklepick wrote: »

Is it an old wives tale about cats smothering babies then?

Im currently pregnant and have two cats so I;ve looked into it. There is not one single documented case of a cat smothering a baby (there was a case where a baby was found dead in a crib and a cat was there too but the pathologist concluded that the baby died of SIDS and it was nothing to do with the cat)

In my case, my cats won't be allowed to sleep in our bedroom any more and we will keep the door closed so that the cats can't contaminate everything with hair but apart from that Im really not worried.

picklepick

Thanks Apricot, I cant find any confirmed cases either, just lots of tales and no evidence. I think I'd still get the cat net though, our house is fairly open plan so closing doors isnt really do-able.