Babies and cats

[KirstyD]

Hi all,

Who had cats before they had their first baby? I've got 2 cats which are just lovely, so affectionate and not a evil cat bone in them however they do seem ultra scared of children and run for the hills as soon as my OH's niece and nephew even get in the house when they come over. Do you think they'll get used to the baby after a while?

Is there anything i need to think about that might not have done with cats and babies? One of our cats likes to get in things, like the wash basket, small comfy areas and i'm worried he might try get in the cot/moses basket?

 

[LisaJ1986]

I have 4 cats. They just turn their noses up at her and ignore her. I am very strange to letting them in the same room as her at the moment. And they certainly can't get in to her cot. But i do have a cat net for her cot just in case, for when she goes into her own room. I'd rather it be there just to be on the safe side.

 

[kalia]

We shut our cat into the living room and kitchen at night in case he decides baby is warm to snuggle. In a few months we won't need to do that anymore as she'll have enough control to get out from under the cat. But that's it. They're not fussed about each other.

 

[Minxy]

We have two and it's only recently Stanley has started to even notice them. I heard all sorts of horror stories about cats 'smothering' babies but ours always stayed well away.

 

[maybebaby]

Our cat was never keen on my nieces but got used to Austin pretty quickly. He was really stroppy with me when Austin was first born but he's generally been really good with him. He's only scratched Austin once and he's had every right to sometimes! Austin's fascinated with him and loves helping to feed him etc.

He did go in the cot, moses basket & car seat when he got the chance and we still sleep with the bedroom doors shut so that he can't get in, it's just a case of being aware really.

 

[trixipaws]

we had 2 cats and had our first baby 16 months ago. the cats were like my babies before like family we used to sleep with them and everything. but things really changed when baby arrived! the first few weeks i was struck by some wierd primal instinct i was fiercely protective of my baby and when i looked at the cats all i saw were little carnivorous predators with sharp teeth and eyes think that was just hormones tho i wasnt like that for long. but im still not the same as i was before i became a mum, im just so obsessed with my daughter that i dont feel as strongly about my pets anymore.

unfortunately one of our cats had to go, but that was because she had special needs we can cope with normal cats and baby. the normal cat is brilliant with her and she's very fond of him too. we just keep baby and cat separate tho, never leave them alone together and never let cats in nursery.

 

[kmac]

I've been wondering about this too as we have 2 cats.
My mum seems to have condemmed the cats already with various "mark my words - there's going to be problems" comments which I am trying to ignore.
What we have done is as soon as we made the room a nursery we stopped letting the cats in there - so they don't associate the baby with the change.
I'm just hoping they get along OK!!

 

[kerryp]

we havent had our baby yet (*sigh*) but my nana bought me a cat net for the moses basket & you canget them for cots/cotbeds etc. The only time our cat has jumped into the cot is when me & OH were looking at it when it was finished & we were daydreaming a bit so i think she wanted to see what she was missing out on as we were both stood staring into it! Other than that shes not bothered by any of the nursary stuff or car seat/pram.... she would rather get in the drawer under the cot!

 

[crackers24]

I think the cats will just get used to LO. our cat got used to my lil bro when he was born. they still run a mile from other childref but not him.

 

[Sandi4Paul]

Our 4 cats pretty much ignored Logan at the start. One of them still runs a mile when she sees him. the others are getting used to his presence but don't really feel the need to be anywhere near him.

Our biggest problem has been molted cat fur, it really gets everywhere even into nappies????

Sandi

 

[Squiglet]

We had 2 cats too... At first they were curious of the new arrival and its smell but the minute it made a movement or noise they were off. After that they remained wary. They got into the cot and the moses basket but NEVER EVER when the dreaded screaming creature was in it... just when they were alone. They really were terrified of her...

Now shes mobile... its even worse for them because she terrorises them.. regularly They are really tolerant of her too... Its shocking. They'd hiss and scratch me if I did even half the stuff she does... but they only hiss at her if shes really nasty like she pulls their tails hard or yanks their ears even harder, even then they more make that... "owwww" cat noise and run off when i rescue them. But most of the time they just get out of her way and hide under the bed..

Mind we always let them know they are the bottom of the pecking order in our house... So thats helped I think.

 

[hennaly]

Our 4 cats pretty much ignored Logan at the start. One of them still runs a mile when she sees him. the others are getting used to his presence but don't really feel the need to be anywhere near him.

Our biggest problem has been molted cat fur, it really gets everywhere even into nappies????

Sandi

thats just the point i was going to make, cat hair is a nightmare and i know my son struggles to breath if he has been fussing a cat (he is 19 and we didnt have cats when he was a baby).
I foster rescue cats but once the 2 i have here are rehomed i wont take in anymore, its hard enough with dog hair but i can control where the dogs go more than i could cats.
I would make any bedroom area a no go area with cats and cat nets are a good precaution but try to be careful with them curling up on washing etc as my sneaky little puddy tats used to love the warm washing that had come out of the tumble dryer

 

[nori]

As long as the cats are friendly enough i dont see there would be a problem. I was always bought up with animals and i think it actually teaches little ones to respect animals. I would definately go along the lines of getting a cat net though.

Unfortunately i had to relocate my rescued cat to my parents. Shes 17 and was a little unpredictable. Saying that she is spoilt rotten there and is much happier. She may have been fine but i didnt want to take the risk.

I would say to just make sure you dont completely ignore the cat when you've had your baby. I think thats where many problems with dogs and cats stem from. They are spoilt rotten then when baby comes along they dont understand why they no longer get any attention.

Claire x

p.s oops.. just realised im in ask a mum section..sorry, i'll get out!

 

[lea m]

I dont have cats but I just wanted to say that one time when Joseph was a baby I called to my friends house! I was waiting out side for her when her mam called me in! I took Joseph in with me(picked him out of the pram) and when I came back just 30 seconds later a cat was lying in his pram! It scared me to death! I will never know if the cat would have done the same if my sleeping son would have still been in there but I would definitely get a net if I did have a cat! (that is just me, I may be extra paranoid lol)

 

[badgergirl]

We've got a cat and a kitten. They're terrified of him - like they can see into the future of ear-pulling, tail-pulling...

 

[gerb]

i have 7 cats i love them so much they are my babies, they havent seen many children but they arent scared of anything and i dont think theyll be scared of the baby

i had a good think practically about this situation and i think wel be fine with baby and cats, theres just certain things i wanted to be in control of in both the cats and the babys interests.
so we have made some house rules!

firstly as it stands the cats have their own room, where their food and trays are. the cats sleep here at night and do not enter our bedroom or babies room at anytime (all the doors are shut) they havent been in these rooms for a while as i dont want cat fur in them. of course they roam the rest of the house, but we can shut them away so its a controllable situation

secondly cats and baby will never be left unattended together- i know this sounds obvious but if i cant keep an eye on the baby they will be apart, i know they wouldnt ever deliberately hurt the baby but cats can be playful and if baby moved quick they might think it is a game and scratch. after all they are cats and have certain behaviours or instincts that are normal for them, u cant take that away.

we are planning a downstairs extension so the cats can come downstairs and upstairs can be a pet free zone. i really love my cats so would never want to give them up so its really important to me to have a plan so everyone can live in harmony. i also get asthma so i dont want baby subjected to lots of hair etc on bedding/ flooring and downstairs is all tiled and leather sofa so very easy to clean.
saying that i love animals and feel very strongly that i want our child brought up around them so that she learns to respect them and understands how to handle them. i loved having pets when i was young so i want her to but i need to feel i can at least to some degree have control/have the ability to shut them away etc so i can as best as possible prevent any problems with their or her behaviour and keep hygiene under control

i probably sound crazy from that discription! but i guess we are lucky in that the cats can have their own area and it allows us to have our areas too

 

[Hazel]

My 2 cats wouldn't go near Connie for the first 4 weeks. Now they ignore her and are fine. They do leave the room when she is screaming though . I bought a cat net for the cot downstairs for when I'm out the room. I've put the downstairs cot away now so she's in her bouncer during the day. I don't allow them in her room at all. The only problem I've found is because I have my door open at night so I can hear her is that they sleep on me and they both weigh a stone .

 

[kaybee]

I was wondering this the other day cos I got the whole frightening 'cats can get very territorial when there's a baby and they might try and smother him/her' from my MIL the other day.

However our cats are big scaredy cats. We had some friends to stay last weekend with their baby, and the cats ran away the moment they saw him and didn't come back home until the Monday morning . And even then they crept in, all nervous and jumpy, checking the coast was clear. I hope they don't run away and never come home when we have a baby in the house permanently...

 

[Jollypops]

We have 2 cats, like yours one of ours runs a mile when little people used to visit. When i come home with Calum the cat slept in the kitchen doorway for 2 weeks and wouldnt really come near us but now his fine!

 

[jills10uk]

I dont have cats but I just wanted to say that one time when Joseph was a baby I called to my friends house! I was waiting out side for her when her mam called me in! I took Joseph in with me(picked him out of the pram) and when I came back just 30 seconds later a cat was lying in his pram! It scared me to death! I will never know if the cat would have done the same if my sleeping son would have still been in there but I would definitely get a net if I did have a cat! (that is just me, I may be extra paranoid lol)

my two cats did and still do get into the moses basket whenever Josh isn't in it, but they never go near it when he is, i think they know that its not allowed and they have been no problem. they ignore him at the mo but i think when he starts moving and pulling their tails they may disappear upstairs!!