Pets and first babies !

[firstangel]

Hey girls !

You may think im daft, but we have a wee cat, who is very attached to us, we did have 2 cats, and one was sadly run over and killed in april ( same weekend I had a miscarraige ) and we were so upset we had had her 10 years, and the other cat misses her alot.

Since then she doesnt really leave us much, doesnt want to go out, although she didnt much anyway ( as she had been a house cat for the first 4 years of her life , till we moved last year, she is very timid ! )

She goes out on the odd ocassion, but doesnt leave the garden.

she started sleeping at the bottom of the bed when I became pregnant again, and likes alot of attension etc!

We are usually at work all day, so she is on her own a lot, so she makes the most of when we are at home !
Im a bit worried how she will be when baby comes and she cant get all the attension! I know some of you will think, its just a cat dont worry about it, but she isnt just a cat to us!


anyone got any tips, or had any experiance of how their pets took it when your first babies arrived !

Thanx girlxxxx

 

[Jollypops]

I to was worried how our cats would behave when we come home from hospital, but found that they have been as good as gold. We have a shy timid cat and a persian that rules the house! Our shy cat seemed to become a 2nd mum, if Calum cried upstairs then she would come and get me, she would sit at the top of the stairs until i come and would then walk in front of me till i got to the crib. My persian didnt come out of the kitchen for 2 weeks and only ever got as far as the kitchen doorway, when he did come out he seemed to do the nightshift and he would go under then crib when he cried.
They have got on better than i thought although i no that Calums crying gets to them sometimes!

 

[EllieBelle]

I think its all about preparation, we have 2 cats and a dog - the dog is more of a worry to be honest than the cats.......

About 3 months ago we installed a dog gate - so that the cats can no longer get upstairs, one of them used to sleep in our bedroom and the other in the spare room which is now the nursery - I didnt want them in the nursery, trying to sleep in the babies cot etc. Our dog also used to sleep by our bed, and for the last month she is now also sleeping downstairs and has gotten quite used to it now.

I would suggest removing the cat from the bed asap, toxiplasmosis is a big problems for newborns as it is for pregnant ladies, and I personally wouldnt want my cat and baby on the bed together, but thats just personal choice.......I know its horrid as I love my animals dearly but in our case our baby has to come first - and the animals have adapted to the changes very well!

Because I am having to have a c-section and my husband can only take limited time off from work, our dog is off on a 3 week residential training course when the baby is due - to allow me some time to recover when I come home.......

As I said its all about forward planning........

I dont think you are daft at all, I love my animals dearly, but have had to be quite pragmatic for once!!

 

[Naterjack]

We have 2 house cats that are just over a year old
They have always been used to our full attention and now they arent getting nearly as much, they are running riot and i just cant have them like this around my baby

Soooo....... in a couple of weeks they are off to my in laws for a long holiday where they can go outside when they want - we plan to have them back when we can move into a house rather than a flat

 

[dtaylor21184]

i was gonna start the same thread up.

I have a boxer who's 18 months and he's really friendly loves attention i was just worried he'd get jealous he's never show any signs of being nasty ever. he loves everyone. i think the main problem i'm gonna have with him is that fact that he's an 18 month old male boxer he's very boisterous i think he'll love the LO when he's here and they'll grow up as the best of friends any tips just to make sure it runs smoothly.

I have moved him out of my room to down stairs where he has his own little room to sleep in with a stair gate to stop him coming upstairs he's taken to all this really well considering he loves being around me and my OH

 

[jills10uk]

i think if you just establish the rules you want to be in place now while still preg, eg not sleeping in the bedroom or going into the nursery then your cats will not associate change in their routine with the baby and become resentful. while i was still pg i let the cats into Josh's moses basket and cot to have a sniff around as it was new, same with the pram before i then washed all the bedding and closed it away so it is not new to them anymore so they're not gagging to get into his room. we then introduced them to the sound of a crying baby so they would be used to that also. to be honest they have sort of ignored him and accepted him as part of the household and i always make sure they can sit on my knee or i give them a cuddle when DH is playing with Joshua

 

[AliCat]

We have a cat who is a house cat and has been with us for 2 years. When I was preg I was really worried about how she'd react when we brought Isla home from the hospital. When it came to it, the cat was absolutely fine! OK she was a bit bewildered at the new addition to the family and wondered what the funny crying noise was, but she soon got used to it all very quickly. I try to give the cat attention when Isla's sleeping so she won't get jealous and give her treats like we used to before Isla was born. She's very protective of Isla when friends come into the flat and will make a point of sitting near her. She sleeps in the bedroom with us as we are in a one bed flat and she chews wires (so we have to shut her out of our living and kitchen area as we have TV and computer in there, and the wires would suffer as well as me being scared she'll chew thru and electrocute herself!) She has always chewed the wires, and I don;t know why.
She's only once got in the Moses basket and I've shouted at her, so she knows that she is not allowed to go in it, and since then I have never seen her in it. I would know if she had been in it as she moults like mad!!
All in all, she's been fantastic around Isla.

 

[Squiglet]

Well Smegol was very much DH's baby...We got them when they were just 2 weeks after their mum died and we hand reared them, both are house cats. Smegol got very attached to him. He gets carried like a baby, he'd groom DH's beard... So naturally I was a bit worried how he would react to the new baby... At first she was a bit jealous, but DH always hissed at him, or moved him out of where he shouldn't be. Tbh they were more freaked out and wary of this strange squeaking creature. As time went on lil miss has gotten quite attached to cat (smegol) and bad cat (loki). Loki teases lil miss and she runs after him. He's not so tolerant of her, will run off if she gets too close, but he always goes back to her But Smegol well.... this is smegol
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=21o-7nSFeC4

He's a very loved pussy cat As Smegol's daddy loves this strange creature so much, he will put up with her he supposes...

As the others have said...As long as you lay down the law...make sure that the cat knows that he is now under the baby in the order of things (and he will dispute this ) then eventually they tend to be OK...and with cats, they really are so fast that if they aren't happy they dart off...

 

[firstangel]

Well Smegol was very much DH's baby...We got them when they were just 2 weeks after their mum died and we hand reared them, both are house cats. Smegol got very attached to him. He gets carried like a baby, he'd groom DH's beard... So naturally I was a bit worried how he would react to the new baby... At first she was a bit jealous, but DH always hissed at him, or moved him out of where he shouldn't be. Tbh they were more freaked out and wary of this strange squeaking creature. As time went on lil miss has gotten quite attached to cat (smegol) and bad cat (loki). Loki teases lil miss and she runs after him. He's not so tolerant of her, will run off if she gets too close, but he always goes back to her But Smegol well.... this is smegol
http://es.youtube.com/watch?v=21o-7nSFeC4

He's a very loved pussy cat As Smegol's daddy loves this strange creature so much, he will put up with her he supposes...

As the others have said...As long as you lay down the law...make sure that the cat knows that he is now under the baby in the order of things (and he will dispute this ) then eventually they tend to be OK...and with cats, they really are so fast that if they aren't happy they dart off...

Aww how cute is that !!!!

Thanks for all the advice ! thats great everyone !

 

[MrsBrightside]

i was gonna start the same thread up.

I have a boxer who's 18 months and he's really friendly loves attention i was just worried he'd get jealous he's never show any signs of being nasty ever. he loves everyone. i think the main problem i'm gonna have with him is that fact that he's an 18 month old male boxer he's very boisterous i think he'll love the LO when he's here and they'll grow up as the best of friends any tips just to make sure it runs smoothly.

I have moved him out of my room to down stairs where he has his own little room to sleep in with a stair gate to stop him coming upstairs he's taken to all this really well considering he loves being around me and my OH

we also have a male boxer hes nearly 7 and is still as mad as a hatter (its just the way they are!) Hes very boisterous as well and loves people.... never once has he shown a nasty side. I just dont know how to introduce them to each other on the first day home?

I was chatting to someone online one day whos also go a boxer and she told me the first day home she mad a fuss of the dog first and then brought the dog in while the baby was still in its car seat and brought baby to dogs level so they could have a sniff etc and say hi.... think this is something im thinking of doing... i dont wanna bob (the dog) to feel pushed out from the start

 

[Bagpuss17]

We had four cats when our first child was born, we had to have our eldest put to sleep just 2 weeks after our daughter was born in Sept. Very upsetting to say the least.

But we had the same worries as you. We made sure that we let the cats into the nursery before baby was born. Everytime a new piece of furniture came into the room, they had a good sniff.

When baby was born, we brought a sleepsuit home from the hospital and they had a good sniff of that.

Our worries were unfounded, the very first night we brought our son home from hospital. He was asleep in my husbands arms and our most nervous cat was asleep on his lap right next to baby. We were amazed.

We've recently had our second child and they're definitely feeling a bit left out but they know that come 7.30 pm ish, it's their time for cuddles etc.

Our youngest cat is fantastic with our baby and toddler. We make sure our toddler is gentle with them and doesn't frighten them etc..

I think the more you isolate them from the nursery, bedrooms etc from what they're used to the more probs you might have getting them to accept a new arrival.

Our cats still sleep in our room with baby in it with us. I won't let them sleep in the nursery once our daughter moves in there but whilst she's in with us, the cats are also around. They don't go near her, they have their fave spots in the room.

Everything will be fine I'm sure

 

[Sandie]

When i found out i was pregnant we had 2 6month old Rottweiler puppies. We made the very difficult decision to rehome them (together), it broke my heart but more so my DH, he was in pieces but we knew it was the right decision to make. They went away to a fantastic lady and they are getting on fab and we still see them.

It's just one of those difficult decisions..

 

[trixipaws]

we had 2 cats, both housecats, one normal cat and one special needs cat (she was beaten as a kitten and very clearly mentally ******ed we got her from a rescue centre)

they were both wary of millie when she was born, the normal cat hid from her for the first few days, and the special needs cat was never very tactile anyway so didnt notice much of a difference.

after a few weeks tho, it was clear that the special cat couldnt be trusted, on a few occasions she went to attack millie when she was crying

this, coupled with poor hygiene (she left trails of poo everywhere, not good for newly mobile baby) was why she had to be rehomed

the normal cat, however, is fantastic with with millie its quite impressive actually how he seems to even make allowances for her- she's obviously a typical inquisitive toddler and pokes and prods him and pulls his tail- we would get scratched for that- but she doesnt! he has amazing patience with her!

 

[Noor~ul~Usman]

We have 2 house cats that are just over a year old
They have always been used to our full attention and now they arent getting nearly as much, they are running riot and i just cant have them like this around my baby

Ditto!
The eldest is about 18months and the younger one is approx 10months.
The 10month old isn't so bad but he hated the baby crying and wouldn't go near him at all until he was about 1.5months old.

The older one is completely jealous and can't be trusted alone with him He's always trying to sit on his clothes, toys and bedding. He also attempts to deliberately walk on top of him!!! (they are currently about the same length) and will always try and force a space by my side or feet when I'm feeding him and flick his tail in his face or try to push him away with his paws (claws unsheathed!)

The younger cat has picked up on how uncertain he is and is now challanging him regularly for domination of the house

We've start letting them go out a few times a week which I'm warey of as we're seriously not far from a main road...so it's normally the wee hours of the morning etc when there is next to no traffic around but it's a short lived solution because once they're back in it's the same problem again.

We're going to buy one of those plug in's that are meant to relax cats and see if that helps at all.

I feel so sorry for them (especially the elder one who's used to being babied and is a proper lap cat) and I feel like I spend all day screaming at them and chasing them around but I can't have my baby at risk of harm from them.
I just hope we can find a happy medium....at least until he's around 1yr old and can play with himself more and have his bottlr by himself so the cats don't feel as shut out.

 

[Hazel]

My 2 cats (both eight) have been fine with baby. It took about 2 weeks for the male moggy to even notice there was a baby in the house, he walked past the cot one day and she made a noise and he looked terrified (men eh ). The female cat is fine with her and brushes up against her head while I'm trying to give baby a bottle. Think she will probably stop doing this now baby is grabbing things like tails . The only problem we've had is that the cats love the baby gym and I have to keep an eye out that they don't start playing with it when she's on it as they attack all the hanging toys!!