cats and newborns

dirtynosebeps

hi all we've a newborn baby and the problem is the wife is getting alot of grief from her said of the family telling her to get rid of the two cats we have. ever since we got the cats nearly 7 years ago her family have tried every excuse for us to get rid of them. when we found out she was pregnant it got worse so much that they come up with a different and harsher excuse each time. latest thing is there was a bug going around where junior was and they were moved. so lord and behold the in laws come out saying it was because of our cats the bug went around when in fact some parent had a tummy bug. we're on our wits end and if it keeps up i'm just afraid i'll loose the plot with the in laws as we've some much more going on without having to listen to excuse after excuse. by the way junior not home yet but we're taking precautions already to make sure junior and cats will never be left alone together.
your thoughts really appreciated.

Bagheera

Just tell her family to mind their own business! I have a cat and an eight month old; my baby has thankfully never been sick but if he was I wouldn't naturally assume it's because of the kitty. As long as your cats are healthy, vaccinated and de-wormed there shouldn't be a problem.

The amount of people who assumed I would get rid of my cat just because I was having a baby astounded me. As long as pets are healthy and the baby is never left alone with them, they pose no threat. In fact, some studies have shown that having pets around can help build up a natural immunity in children.

crazy cat lady

When I became pregnant our cat got moved out to the hall and was only allowed 'in' when she was invited. She hasn't ran away so I guess she is happy enough with that!

I kept hr away from my daughter for a good while, but only because I was afraid of smothering.

Now my nearly 2 year old daughter has a great play mate in our cat! She loves feeding her and patting her, and Muffin (the cat) is great with my daughter!

Tell your in-laws to mind their own business. Its only becaise they care but is your lives and you need to live it as you wish! A pet can be as much a part of the family as a person! Reassure your in-laws that you are responisble parents and you are not going to do anything to put your baby at risk

milkandsugar

Hey i have 2 cats and a 3 year old as well as an 8 month old. When you are pregnant somebody else has to change the litter box due to the risk of toxoplamosis ( and even this is a small risk seeing as most cat owners are immune) The cats took to the newborn very well and my toddler loves them. My children don't get sick any more often than any other child and I think they learn a lot from having animals in the house. P.S I have never even heard of a cat actually smothering a child I think it's a bit of a myth to be honest.

angelfire9

I was very concerned about our cat before Aisling arrived and to date haven't had any problems in fact have only had positive experiences
You should have a look here, I got great advice from The Sweeper:
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=67606426

And here to see our progress so far :D
http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=73306213&postcount=1

annamcmahon

We followed The Sweeper's advice when our daughter was born and we've had no problems. Like the others have said they ignored her for the first 8months and now that she's interested in them they keep out of her way.

Saurelin

Dirtynosebeps my mum thinks that we should get rid of our cats, but she doesn’t like animals at all.
I told her that cats stays and it will be better not to come back to this conversation if she doesn’t want to have fight with me. She tries ones more and gives up. But I was really defending them and told her it is our home, our cats, our decision and the most important our baby.
Now when she saw with her own eyes how my cats react to my pregnancy she changed her mind.

Mink

Some people just hate cats and their fears regarding newborns seem to stem more from that than genuinely having a medical reason that babies should not be around cats.

I've never heard a doctor saying to get rid of cats before bringing a newborn home, nor is it anywhere in the What to Expect book. In fact the book goes more into preparing your cat or dog for the new arrival so that they won't be shellshocked.

Cats, once kept healthy & well looked after, are extremely clean animals. I was raised around cats and dogs from birth. It's also supposed to be good for their immunity and stops them developing allergies to pets.

Tell them to provide exact medical evidence that cats are a danger to newborns or else shut up. Seriously just ignore them. You will know instinctively what to do when you have your baby home, ie keeping cats out of bedroom etc.

bad2dabone

Mink wrote: »

Some people just hate cats and their fears regarding newborns seem to stem more from that than genuinely having a medical reason that babies should not be around cats.

100% agree, some people just hate cats. Our cat - sadly died last year - was amazing around our newborn daughter and she adored him. I recall people saying that cats smother children - garbage - and cats "suck babys breath!"..... Of course we were careful to make sure that the cat stayed out of her room as he would have loved to sleep in a warm cot i'm sure (and he was so fluffy we didn't want cat-hair in her cot) and we made sure the litter tray was covered and miles away from the baby at all times - especially when the baby started to crawl! again, just common sense. Also we never ever ever left the cat and the baby alone in the same room together, but I wouldn't leave a newborn alone with any animal to be honest.
We also brought the cat for a thorough check up before the baby arrived to make sure all was ok and there was nothing that could be transmitted from cat to baby - although chances are very low.

deisemum

Here's a cat soothing a baby

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PWXigjFm4TM

ziggy23

I had the same from a few friends when I had my son. There was no way I was getting rid of my cats. One of them actually slept in the bed with me all through my pregnancy and I asked my doctor was this safe she said yes once the cats were de-flead,wormed etc. All these stories of cats smothering babies are made up. Most cats dont bat an eyelid at a baby or move away from them as they are too noisy. And once your cat is clean has all it's boosters etc it's fine in fact they say it's good for a child to grow up around pets as they are less likely to suffer from allergies.