cats and babies - Page 2

[Forthwith]

My cat had to be banned from the bed about a week after DS was born. I woke up one night and found the cat curled up with his body covering half of DS's head. DS was fine, but if he had been lying on his back instead of his side, things could have ended very differently.

I had thought te cat would avoid DS because of the noises and squirming, but I guess he liked the body heat.

[~Adorkable~]

im glad to hear that for the most part cats and babies seem to cohabitant pretty well. im guess my fuzzy old man will either turn in to a nurse maid or totally avoid them. since he has never been a face sleeper im guessing it will turn out ok

[pumpkinhead]

Originally Posted by kristinas8

We co-sleep and close the door.

This. We had two cats before our first was born. They were never an issue in any way.

[penstamon]

Our cat and our DS have been best of friends since day 1. Our cat is by far more tolerant and careful around DS in every stage of his development than any of our dogs (who are very sweet too). The best part is the cat will often willingly entertain DS when he is fussy and they love to play with the same toys.

We have always co-slept and never worried about the cat. He does get thrown out of bed now and again but only because he purrs so loud and DS is a very light sleeper.

[JordanKX]

I agree that it depends on the cat. I have one wonderful high-maintenance dog, I mean Cat. She thinks she's a dog. Or another human. Certainly not a Cat - that'd offend her. We had the crib side-carred for the first few months, which we didn't use for more than.... Cat Bed.
She also really likes the stroller, and the boppy, any pillows. Our world is covered in cat-hair, I figured DS would have to get used to it. 9 months now and they've never had an issue.

I will say that she's never tried to sleep WITH him. She sleeps on me or on my legs or near ME, not near the baby. She gets "annoyed" when the baby cries - you can almost see her pout, get off the bed, and go in the other room. But has never slept near him, on him, anything that would be of worry.

[colsxjack]

We worried about our cat, but took the "wait and see how she reacts to baby" approach. All has been pretty good. She steers clear of baby for the most part.

We did find her curled up in the co-sleeper a couple of times (when baby was not in it) We lined the co-sleeper with tin-foil for a few days and the cat will not go near it now. One or two times of a cat jumping up on tin-foil is enough to kick the habit.

[turangaleela]

Our two kitties wanted nothing to do with DD when she first came home. Only one of them would sleep with us, and she moved down to the foot of the bed on her own. Then after about two weeks she just stopped sleeping with us. I think they got annoyed that DD would wake up unhappy.

The only problem we have is that DD has decided that cat tail is the perfect toy/snack and the cats for some reason, no matter how much she bothers them, have not learned that flopping over on their backs right next to her is just asking for it.

[AndtheStars]

We have two big boys who slept with DH and I until DS came along. Once the baby came, they didn't even try to get up on the bed. They seem totally disinterested in DS except when he's trying to pet them or eat them. I think that cats and babies work a lot better together than the old wives' tales would suggest.

[*Jade*]

Thanks everyone for sharing! I'm glad to hear all the kitties coped well with the new additions. I'm leaning towards the "wait and see" approach for us as well, just more worried that our boy-cat will be getting pretty grumpy when my lap is continually taken by someone else!

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by geekgolightly

We had two cats when DS was born and never even considered that this might be a problem. Our kitties stayed away from the baby when he was little. Sniffed his head when he was sleeping but as soon as he was awake, kitties would scatter!

As he has gotten older our kitty (one of our kitties passed away) has really warmed up to DS and they are good friends now, as DS treats him with respect and love.

Although we're still working on the respect and love part.

[Pepper44]

We have four cats and co-sleep. We've never had any problem at all. All of our cats accepted our kids with no problem. The only issue we've had is one of my cats grooming the baby and waking her up.

[VroomieMama]

I had 3 cats and the twins were baby last year. No problem at all. Now I have 2 cats (one died last Jan) and I'm expecting another baby in December and I don't expect any problem.

Just that pregnant women are not supposed to clean cat litter.

[Lisa85]

The biggest issue we've had is with my long haired cat. He would try to curl up in between me and baby and his tail would be near the baby's face and mouth. I worried about the fur suffocating them. Thankfully he's not a terribly stubborn cat so I just moved him and didn't allow him in between us. He got the drift and started snuggling up on the other side of me after a day or so.

The only other things we've had is that the same furry cat likes to hog the baby equipment. The bouncy chair was the favorite, every time I'd go to lay the baby in it, I'd have to physically pick him up and move him out. A foot nudge wasn't enough motivation.

[VroomieMama]

Originally Posted by Lisa85

The biggest issue we've had is with my long haired cat. He would try to curl up in between me and baby and his tail would be near the baby's face and mouth. I worried about the fur suffocating them. Thankfully he's not a terribly stubborn cat so I just moved him and didn't allow him in between us. He got the drift and started snuggling up on the other side of me after a day or so.

The only other things we've had is that the same furry cat likes to hog the baby equipment. The bouncy chair was the favorite, every time I'd go to lay the baby in it, I'd have to physically pick him up and move him out. A foot nudge wasn't enough motivation.

The same thing happened with one of our cat. He LOVED the bouncing chair too.

[Knitting Mama]

Originally Posted by VroomieMama

I had 3 cats and the twins were baby last year. No problem at all. Now I have 2 cats (one died last Jan) and I'm expecting another baby in December and I don't expect any problem.

Just that pregnant women are not supposed to clean cat litter.

There are a couple of things you can do to really limit the issues with scooping the litter box while pregnant.

First of all, if you scoop daily, you've basically eliminated any concerns. The bacteria that causes toxoplasmosis needs more than 24 hours to become active. So daily elimination of poop means the bacteria doesn't have a chance to grow. Just be sure to clean the box thoroughly once a week (bleach is best).

To lower your risk even more, have indoor only cats. They have virtually no access to the bacteria.

And finally, you might have already had it, if you've had cats for a while and have been the one routinely scooping.



ETA: The cats love the bouncy seat here too. I just lay a towel in it when we're not using it, so that the hair is easily contained.

[VroomieMama]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

There are a couple of things you can do to really limit the issues with scooping the litter box while pregnant.

First of all, if you scoop daily, you've basically eliminated any concerns. The bacteria that causes toxoplasmosis needs more than 24 hours to become active. So daily elimination of poop means the bacteria doesn't have a chance to grow. Just be sure to clean the box thoroughly once a week (bleach is best).

To lower your risk even more, have indoor only cats. They have virtually no access to the bacteria.

And finally, you might have already had it, if you've had cats for a while and have been the one routinely scooping.

ETA: The cats love the bouncy seat here too. I just lay a towel in it when we're not using it, so that the hair is easily contained.

Cecillia's Mama,
I have had cats since 1998 and I'm normally the one who cleans the cat litter. I just prefer to avoid cleaning it just to be safe. If I was a single mom then I'd do it while covering my nose & mouth with a mask then shower immediately afterward. This is good to know and thanks for the info.

By the way, your daughter is so BEAUTIFUL!

[Knitting Mama]

Awww, thank you!! She is the light of my life and my dream come true.

I made my husband scoop while I was pregnant sheerly because bending down to do it was uncomfortable!!

[VroomieMama]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

Awww, thank you!! She is the light of my life and my dream come true.

I made my husband scoop while I was pregnant sheerly because bending down to do it was uncomfortable!!

That's also one of my excuse.

I better go to bed.. jeez MDC is so dangerous b/c its so addictive! :yawning

Nighty nite!

[~Adorkable~]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

There are a couple of things you can do to really limit the issues with scooping the litter box while pregnant.

First of all, if you scoop daily, you've basically eliminated any concerns. The bacteria that causes toxoplasmosis needs more than 24 hours to become active. So daily elimination of poop means the bacteria doesn't have a chance to grow. Just be sure to clean the box thoroughly once a week (bleach is best).

except that the feces touched littler that you dont end up scooping and you need to assume that the entire box is always contaminated.

To lower your risk even more, have indoor only cats. They have virtually no access to the bacteria.

though this is not really something that you can change now, most cats get it while they are pretty young. and mouses are a source as well.

And finally, you might have already had it, if you've had cats for a while and have been the one routinely scooping.

this is very true, there is a easy blood test you can get to see if you ever had it. now i have had it, but i still clean the box with gloves and a mask on, it is still poop after all, there is other yuck things in poop than toxio, its just the worst

[Ninetales]

My little cat likes to sleep on the changing table. I have to pick him up to move him, too. He used to sleep in the pack n play but since I took the infant insert out it doesn't seem to be as appealing.