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Question:

>as far as babies go, perhaps the risk of the tox… thing is bad, but i have >noticed that cats will tolerate amazing abuse from an infant until they can >esacpe,(without retribution) and will be concerned if the infant is sick.

the >abuse from an adult ie tail pulling etc is not tolerated, but the cats seem >to sense the infant’s innocence. not so with dogs like the one who bit Alex’s >cheek.

We have seen this many times.  Both our cats put up with alot from our daughter and then run away when it gets to be too much.  They also are very concerned whenever she cries or is upset.  Amazing!  But we also have found the dogs to do the same thing … maybe it’s just an animal/child connection. Kerrie (ma to Kory) Way down deep, we’re all motivated by the same urges.  Cats have the courage to live by them.  –  Jim Davis, American Cartoonist

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as far as babies go, perhaps the risk of the tox… thing is bad, but i have noticed that cats will tolerate amazing abuse from an infant until they can esacpe,(without retribution) and will be concerned if the infant is sick. the abuse from an adult ie tail pulling etc is not tolerated, but the cats seem to sense the infant’s innocence. not so with dogs like the one who bit Alex’s cheek. brian

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>  There is a bacteria > with a really long name that comes only from cat feces. It apparently > doesn’t affect healthy adults (like many of the germs we come in > contact with) but is dangerous to fetuses.  

Toxoplasmosis.  If your cats have always been indoor cats they probably are less likely to have it.  In any case, you should probably keep your wife away from the cat while she is pregnant and keep the cat away from the baby as much as possible while it is an infant.  And definitely keep them both away from the litterbox.  I envy her.  What I wouldn’t give for an excuse to not have to clean the litter box

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I have 3 cats Rocky, Cleo & Max, when was pregnant neighbors would ask If I was going to put the cats outside, of course I said no they are family not just pets. When we brought Kristofer home from the hospital Max was very protective of him, she would chase the other cats out of the room and sleep near him. Now Kristofer is 10 months old and Max sleeps in his Crib ubtil he wakes up then she gets up too. Cleo has been great with Kristofer she lets him pet her, even though she has a preferred way to be petted, if you pet her wrong she bites, bu she has never bitten Kristofer. Rocky he is our special kitty he is off balance we aren’t sure what is wrong with him, but he could care less about Kristofer. hope the info helps Gayl

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We also have 2 cats and a baby on the way.  We shut one in the basement at night; our other cat is so afraid of children that we don’t believe it will go near the baby.  We plan to monitor closely the situation at first, but we won’t get rid of the cats (they are probably the closest thing to a sibling our baby will have).

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We have a 16lb male cat.  He’s more like a small dog, but we were a bit concerned introducing a baby into "his" environment.  We made sure he sniffed her out, while the cat was in my arms and the baby in my wife’s. He’s been great since day one.  He has all his claws and has never been aggressive towards our little girl.  She sits on him, pulls his hair, pokes his face and he just sits there (like a big dummy) and takes all of it.  He HATES having his back paws touched, and she grabs them all the time.  He just sits there and looks at us like "please, stop her …".   He’s never sat on her face or anything like that.  You hear horror stories all the time about cats and babies.  We do, however, make sure he’s not in her room when she goes down though … Jeff

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We have two cats, and shut one in the basement at night.  The other is afraid of children so we doubt it will bother a baby.   We will keep a close watch at first, but we won’t get rid of the cats – they are probably the closest thing to a sibling our baby will have! (Sorry I can’t send e-mail directly – a quirk in my on – line service)

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Congrats! We’ve got a new baby (our 2nd) and three cats. They really couldn’t have cared less about either child. They’ll sniff him/her the first day, and leave him/her alone after that. Brian

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>Within minutes of coming home from the hospital with our youngest, she was >asleep on the sofa, and a cat had curled up beside her.  It’s one of my >earliest memories (and photos) of my daughter.   >We’ve never had any problems, despite having three kids and at times five cats. > It doesn’t mean you won’t ever have a problem, but don’t be too worried.   Take >it one day at a time.

I agree.  We had at one time…four cats.  When I became pregnant with my first…the one main thing I didn’t do is change the cat litter.  There is a parasite which can be found in cat feces…which will infect the fetus and damage the child.  Even if you think your cat is "clean" don’t let your partner take that risk. As for baby-napping…we only had one cat that did that.  He found a home elsewhere quite quickly.  The two remaining cats (one other one found a home as well) avoid my son on general principals.  My dog protected my son from any "attacks" by the cats.  I still close the door to his room anyway. As the above author stated…take it one day at a time.  If you feel uncomfortable leaving the door open…then when you put him/her to bed, check under the crib for cats, and do a "cat count" after you close the door to the room. Susan

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Our cat was our "spoiled child" until we brought our son home.  She was very protective of him, whenever he would cry she would come running.  I would not let her in his crib, that was a no-no, until he turned a year, and now they sleep together, he would not have it any other way. Don’t worry about your cats, there is more important things to worry about. Kari In Him we are All Related And let us consider how we may Spur one another on toward Love and Good Deeds. Love Conquers All

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> Hi. We have just discovered that my partner is pregnant (seven weeks). The > baby is due on or around Dec 16. We have two cats (in fact they’re mine – my > partner is not a cat lover). Both are females, aged 13 and 9 respectively, > and we are both worried that the cats may harm the baby, however > unintentionally, perhaps by sleeping on him/her. Both cats are past masters > at sneaking throught doors that are about to be closed. > I’d be grateful for any advice/experience that others may have. I’ll try > and monitor this group but direct responses by e-mail would also be appreciated. > Nigel

Hi!         We also have a moved loved, "ancient" family cat.  When we brought Jess home from the hospital Tabitha was 16.  If anything, Tabs was completely uninterested in this squalling little bundle, except that it cut into our time with her.  Do make sure that once you bring baby home that you make an effort to spend time with your cats (if your cats are like that — ours is a real cuddler, so we made an effort to pay attention to her whenever we had a chance).  If you are worried about them jumping into a crib and smothering your baby, you can buy netting that is specially sized to cover the top of a crib (I think it’s designed to keep an older baby in, but can also be used to keep cats out!!!)  You can hardly blame a cat for wanting to snuggle with a sleeping baby….they’re so nice and warm and usually in a comfy place!!! Best of Luck! Jennifer Newton Mother to Jessica, 16 months

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>Hi. We have just discovered that my partner is pregnant (seven weeks). The >baby is due on or around Dec 16. We have two cats (in fact they’re mine – my >partner is not a cat lover). Both are females, aged 13 and 9 respectively, >and we are both worried that the cats may harm the baby, however >unintentionally, perhaps by sleeping on him/her. Both cats are past masters >at sneaking throught doors that are about to be closed. >I’d be grateful for any advice/experience that others may have. I’ll try >and monitor this group but direct responses by e-mail would also be appreciated. >Nigel

Within minutes of coming home from the hospital with our youngest, she was asleep on the sofa, and a cat had curled up beside her.  It’s one of my earliest memories (and photos) of my daughter.   We’ve never had any problems, despite having three kids and at times five cats.  It doesn’t mean you won’t ever have a problem, but don’t be too worried.  Take it one day at a time.

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>Hi. We have just discovered that my partner is pregnant (seven weeks). The >baby is due on or around Dec 16. We have two cats (in fact they’re mine – my >partner is not a cat lover). Both are females, aged 13 and 9 respectively, >and we are both worried that the cats may harm the baby, however >unintentionally, perhaps by sleeping on him/her. Both cats are past masters >at sneaking throught doors that are about to be closed. >I’d be grateful for any advice/experience that others may have. I’ll try >and monitor this group but direct responses by e-mail would also be appreciated. >Nigel

I tried to email a response, but it bounced, so I’ll repeat it here. Hi Nigel, I would say it depends on the personalities of the cats.  We got two cats shortly after we got married, and since then we’ve had two kids and no problems from the cats.  –But, these two happen to be very docile cats.  They’ve both been fixed, (one’s a female and one’s a male) and they stay in the house except for the occa- sional romp throught the back yard on leashes.  They tended to have more fear of the babies than the babies did of them, so they never laid down on top of the babies, and if the babies would reach for a cat, it would walk away.  They are both declawed, but even so, they have never even tried to take a swipe at, or bite the kids. You do have to work with kids to teach them to be gentle with the cats, though, starting when they are old enough to reach out and grab fur.  I remember one time when our son was about 9 months old, he had one of the cats cornered in the toe space under the kitchen cabinets and was pinching its skin as hard as he could. The cat never swiped, bit, or even hissed, but he did look up at me and give me the most pitiful meow you’ve ever heard. On the other hand, we have some friends whose cat had a very different person- ality.  The cat would jump up on their bed and bite the wife’s eyelid to wake her up, and was always hissing at anyone new who entered their home.  They gave that cat away before bringing their new baby into the house, and have since gotten another cat with a much more docile personality.  I think I would have done the same with a cat like that one. In short, if your cats have gentle, friendly personalities, they will be great to have around with kids, and a great opportunity to teach your kids to be kind to animals.  If your cats seem to be more aggressive, you might want to consider whether or not they would be able to behave well with your new little baby. Oh, by the way, age doesn’t seem to be an issue with a docile cat.  Our cats are 14 and 13 years old, and our kids are 12 and 2.  The cats were just as gentle with the second child as they were with the first. Hope this helps, Sue Garcia —     Sue Garcia               *.*             Since how I feel is entirely

Response:

Hi. We have just discovered that my partner is pregnant (seven weeks). The baby is due on or around Dec 16. We have two cats (in fact they’re mine – my partner is not a cat lover). Both are females, aged 13 and 9 respectively, and we are both worried that the cats may harm the baby, however unintentionally, perhaps by sleeping on him/her. Both cats are past masters at sneaking throught doors that are about to be closed. I’d be grateful for any advice/experience that others may have. I’ll try and monitor this group but direct responses by e-mail would also be appreciated. Nigel

Response:

>Hi. We have just discovered that my partner is pregnant (seven weeks). The >baby is due on or around Dec 16. We have two cats (in fact they’re mine – my >partner is not a cat lover). Both are females, aged 13 and 9 respectively, >and we are both worried that the cats may harm the baby, however >unintentionally, perhaps by sleeping on him/her. Both cats are past masters >at sneaking throught doors that are about to be closed. >I’d be grateful for any advice/experience that others may have. I’ll try >and monitor this group but direct responses by e-mail would also be appreciated. >Nigel

Nigel – the old wives tale that cats will "suck the breath" out of a baby are just that.  No truth to them at all.  We had a cat when we had all three of our babies and no problem at all.  Our cat softly "investigated" the new addition to the household and went on her merry way.  One thing does need mentioning however.  Pregnant women should not change cat boxes.  (Since these cats are yours – she may not anyway).  There is a bacteria with a really long name that comes only from cat feces. It apparently doesn’t affect healthy adults (like many of the germs we come in contact with) but is dangerous to fetuses.   Congratulations, by the way!  and Good Luck! Nancy

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