fao pet owners

[trixipaws]

i feel a bit sorry for our cats. i still love them and look after them etc- but since i had a baby i view them waaaaaaaaaaay differently! before i was a mummy the cats were "my babies"! now iv actually got a baby, i dont hav the same kind of relationship with the cats at all. iv only just noticed this really since i got millie in a bedtime routine, so in the evenings i can pay more attention to the cats and it highlights that they dont really get any during the day anymore (as millies awake- she gets it all!)
i will NOT rehouse them coz i love them too much- but i feel a bit mean.
ne1 else experienced this?

 

[Misslarue]

OMG I feel exactly the same way about my dog. I feel so guilty about it all the time.
I've had my dog for 7 years and she was always my baby. She is a rescue dog and is the sweetest, placid, gorgeous black lab ever.
She went everywhere with me.................peoples houses, walks, the beach, bike rides etc etc.
I spent so much time with her as I worked from home. Don't get me wrong I still love her so much but I don't feel as 'close' to her.
I feel bad even just saying that. But I just don't have the same amount of time as I did.
I will say though that since Dan has got older it has been easier to spend more time with her.
I'm hoping things will get back to how they were (runs off to hug my doggie)
I have 2 cats too but they have never been that affectionate, so they still get their evening cuddles!

 

[Redshoes]

This just makes me real glad I have OH here as he spoils the dog rotten as often as he can, walks, treats, cuddles, I can completely understand how hard it is when you come home with baby and it's like dog, no time for dog
I actually feel guilty sometimes when I call him over and hug him, like I don't deserve to because I've neglected him so much But I know I love him to death and he's very much part of our family and always will be and I can't wait until Isaac is older and they become best friends

 

[mrs_tommo22]

Yes! my cats were my babies for ages but then stephen came along and took over my life!
And the same for Imogen. But we let them sleep on our bed at night and they alwasy snuggle for a cuddle and a good fuss and they always seem to br happy - there alwasy bringing me presents (dead mice)

 

[Nicky_Jones]

Very soon, I am sure that your LO will start to notice the cats. Ellie loves our cats and chases them around, tries to play with and cuddle them. I feel really sorry for our Max who isn't well, and she keeps grabbing his tail. They do love the fact that she likes to share her food with them, she has realised that they eat anything she drops so she now quite deliberately feeds them.

 

[Sarah&Braydon]

i am the same Gen our dog was my baby and i didnt even go out with out her, for 6 weeks before i had Bray wen i was on mat leave were i went gen went and we were so close then as soon as i had Bray it all changed i feel so bad for her altho its better now she still doesnt get wot i gave her, now im moving out i think shell be so happy coz that means she will have my mum, dad and sis attention alot more ill miss her so much tho

 

[enn]

my bro lives in canada with his lil family and they had a cat but cause they couldnt cope with baby working and cat they gave her to my brothers mother who is looking after her. dont think they could afford to feed cat aswell as baby. they have another child now kids are now 5 and 7.

love my cat but mum has him as she was feeding him. i have a bird did have 4 but 3 died one recently like 2 weeks ago but female seems happy shes got her cage. very domineering lol shes happy on her own she was my baby sorta lol but now not got time for her as i did. always talking to her and her bf all the time but now im distracted by emily.wouldnt get rid of the bird/birds tho cause i see them as pets which they are. they were here before me and i took over from my bfs brother as he didnt want them and ive always wanted birdies. his bro said last year and year before about a pub somewhere near me or a sanctury or whatever that has loads of birds including zebra finches and they should or could go there. i was like nah no way their pets i dont get rid of pets pets are for life not for xmas i say

offtopic i saw an advert on otehr day that should be abnned cause its damn annoying

 

[amzhunny]

i wouldnt say that a baby has changed how i see my dogs, i found it hard to tolerate them during my pregnancy i didnt like being crowded etc by them and they would persistently annoy me wanting attention. I felt really bad about that.

But since i have had Amber i am fine, obviously i don't have as much time for them in terms of giving them a fuss but where ever i go or Amber goes they always follow. To be honest its nice to be able to fuss them without a big fat bump in the way..

Its natural that the pecking order has changed and your baby goes up over your pets so don't worry about it and no need to feel guilty as long as they are being fed/watered and are contented its fine

 

[Lou]

We have a rescue cat so she's always been a bit scratchy and a bit mean but we used to have a cuddle most nights especially towards the end of my pregnancy when she would sleep on my bump but I have to admit since I gave birth I look at her now and see a furry ball of germs! The vet told me that because of the way cats groom themselves they are literally smothered in their own pooh And the mouse and bird torture is evil

Lou

 

[lella]

Before I had Evan, my cat was my baby. when I came home from the hospital with the baby, I didnt have as much time for her and as the baby is in our room she isnt allowed to sleep in there anymore. But sleeps just out side the bedroom door. She seems to have accepted this. Now he is a bit older, i can spend a bit more time with her and when he moves into his own room she can come back in with us. But I do feel guilty about it, but there is no way she is going to live anywhere else as we are very much attached to each other.

 

[Rosieroo]

I had two yorkies that were my babies, they went everywhere with us and I loved them to bits. When DD came along they got so little attention On the home vids of Ella you can hear Rosie (one of the yorkies) constantly after us with her squeaky toys for attention. When Ella started moving around when she was around 9 months the dogs really started getting annoyed by her and eventually they both snapped at her after she'd grabbed them. We realised that it wasn't fair on the dogs or Ella (if she'd been attacked then I never would have forgiven myself). So they were rehomed - one with my Mil and one with my sister so we do still see them. I miss Rosie the most, she was my little girl and sat on my bump when I was pregnant with DD. She even snuggled up on top of it when I was having contractions It wouldn't be fair to disrupt her now but I'd love to have her back.

 

[Bagpuss17]

I have 4 cats and was worried sick about how they would react to a baby in the house.

Thankfully for us, everything has worked out well. The first night we brought our son home from hospital, the most nervous of the cats was sat on my DH's lap with our son. Amazing.

We got LO into a bed time routine from 10 weeks or so, so from that point on we've had the evenings to ourselves. The cats get undivided attention in the evenings but they get plenty of fussing during the day when we're around too.

LO is fasinated with them, especially our youngest cat who is really sociable and likes to be stroked by him.

Our cats still sleep in our room if they want to, so the change hasn't been as bad I'd thought it would be for them. I dont feel differently towards them at all.

Maybe as your daughter gets a bit older and takes an interest in them, you'll feel like you have the same relationship with them again.

So long as they have a bit of fuss, a warm bed and food I'm sure they'll still be very happy puss cats