Giving up pets because of pregnancy

Sooz00

Why does there seem to be an ever-increasing number of people giving up their cats and dogs because they are pregnant? I am getting a bit fed up reading 'Sadly handed in because owner is now pregnant' etc. I don't understand how people can do it... I really don't. As if the rescues aren't struggling enough...

fluffnutter

I wouldn't have a dog around a newborn but, tbh, that's probably because I don't like dogs. Not bothered about anything else though.

Fosterdog

It's a sad fact that too many people see animals as throw away objects. Yes sometimes there are genuine reasons but the majority are just down to selfishness. If you can't make a lifetime commitment don't get a pet simple as.

krlyr

Better than "because we got new curtains and his fur clashes" (have heard from rescue that it has been said!).
I think there's a mixture of reasons. Some may be experiencing problems with the dog/cat already, and the being pregnant is just the straw that breaks the camel's back, or a convenient excuse.
For some it may be a genuine need - side effects or complications in pregnancy have caused health issues making it impossible to provide even the basic of care for a dog/cat. The extra addition to the family could mean they're having to change jobs, move house, adjust their schedule, or have additional outgoings in a budget with no room for flexibility, etc. and it does unfortunately make it impossible to keep the pet.
For others, it could be ignorance or following bad advice, e.g. their health visitor telling them they need to rehome the dog/cat, and as a first-time mum they're too worried to ignore this advice.
And I'm sure there's many where it's just a complete lie, they may not even be pregnant at all, it just makes them feel less guilty than admitting they're bored of the responsibility.

Person_one

fluffnutter wrote: »

I wouldn't have a dog around a newborn but, tbh, that's probably because I don't like dogs. Not bothered about anything else though.

Well then, you wouldn't have a dog would you? So no issue!

I think some young couples get a puppy as 'practice' for the eventual baby, or in a rush of gooey hormones, and don't actually think ahead to what they'd do if they were to have children.

Plenty of people do keep their dogs and the child grows up happy and safe with a canine friend, it is possible! I just wish some people would at least give it a go for a bit and rehome if the situation is truly untenable rather than deciding that baby automatically equals 'dog must go'.

dizziblonde

I started a bet with my hubby about how long after I announced our pregnancy before the first comment came about getting rid of either the dogs or the cat. Two hours. It's become the ultimate socially acceptable excuse for dumping an animal. The number of threads on one pregnancy forum I go on where basically women are back living with their parents, and don't like their parents' pets and think that it's perfectly OK to demand they're rehomed now they're pregnant is insane.

One of the reasons we got the dogs is we wanted a child of ours to grow up WITH pets - I know we both got a lot from owning them as kids and we wanted the same for ours... plus to grow up knowing how to behave around dogs and how to treat them properly.

System

i waited till my kids were grown ups before i had my dogs. I would have loved them before but i knew i wouldnt be able to give them the attention they needed and my time was stretched as it was.

geri1965_2

I think it's appalling. My mum & dad got our first dog when I was a baby, and we grew up together. Animals can enrich children's lives so I think it is very shortsighted. However, as has been pointed out, some people view animals are disposables, to be got rid of when they start to inconvenience you.

PixieDust

I wondered the same thing when I saw ferrets offered on a forum "because of my pregnancy". Except in exceptional circumstances it seems ridiculous and counter-intuitive. You spend all that time bonding with the creature and building up a relationship....and instead of allowing that relationship change and develop to include the new arrival (as all relationships have to), they just get rid. So sad

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

It's rooted in the unenlightened days when cot deaths were more common, as were undiagnosed congenital conditions leading to babies being found dead in their cribs - the family cat was blamed.

Add in a bit of newspaper baby-eating dog propaganda and that gives you the hysterical grandparents to be or random neighbours down the road, etc, shrieking that the animal must go - and if someone grows up hearing that, they come to believe it.


Basic hygiene precautions are sufficient. You already sterilise the bottles, you breastfeed with a clean body, you wash your hands after emptying the litter tray or poop scooping. You also don't leave the dog/cat and kid unattended on the grounds of common sense - the animal needs protecting from the child in 99% of cases.

Despite my mother's pretty appalling hygiene in a house full of children, unvaccinated cats, dogs, rabbits, fish, plus the various bugs and beasties that lived outside, I never came into contact with toxoplasmosis (had immunity test in each pregnancy), never had worms, never caught anything from the animals. I also never got smothered by a cat or eaten by the dogs, despite not being particularly well supervised. (plenty of injuries, some more accidental than others, though)

******


The only thing that can be seen as pregnancy making it necessary is where someone has next to no backup - and is probably already struggling to cope with the animal - to think that on top of current problems, they have to walk, feed and care for the animal whilst chucking up profusely and potentially having a caesarian section might just seem too much to cope with. Even then, if they had the help they should have from partners or family, it wouldn't be necessary to get rid of the animal.

(obviously where someone has a vicious dog, they shouldn't have it near children at all - but pregnancy isn't the reason for rehoming then, it's being a crap owner and finally realising it)



I feel sorry for those who spend their lives convinced the family cat is just waiting to murder the baby or spread biological weapons of mass destruction over the high chair, and those who give up much loved animals because they have been bullied into it by family.

jamespir

cause people think that the animal will attack the baby which isnt really true