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[11C11]

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Edited by 11C11 - 8/29/11 at 8:20am

[Caitlin0919]

We had 3 cats when DD was born, all weighing well over 10 lbs. who are all very affectionate boys and we never had any issues with them trying to sleep on the baby. At worst, my cat would try to get in my lap while I was nursing so I would just shove him off and he got the hint pretty soon that he wasn't supposed to lay on the baby. However, our cats weren't allowed to sleep in bed with us(DH doesn't like it when they sleep with us. I don't really mind.) so I never had experience with them trying to sleep on her while we slept too. That being said, I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. I think the "no cats with a new baby" thing is a kind of an old wives' tale. Sure there are some cases where a cat did try to cuddle up to a baby and ended up suffocating it, but I think most animals kind of understand what a baby is and they know they have to be careful and gentle around the baby. My cats have never been anything but gentle to DD and at worst they just stay away from her.

As a sidenote, the fresh water thing is pretty normal for cats. It's kind a little trait left over from when cats were strictly wild animals and had to rely on streams and rivers for water. Standing water can grow bacteria, which can make them sick, so they go for running water instead.

[laohaire]

Yup, 2 cats here, they stayed well away from DD until she was older. No problems there.

[Ldavis24]

2 cats here. We only had 1 when DD was born. He had ZERO interest in her and would run like hell when she shrieked loud. We have never had an issue with him. We got kitty number 2 when DD was about 6 months. She is a love bug and loves to snuggle. She has never tried to sleep on DD at all although she will lay next to her for the warmth I think. This cat also will come and lay next to DD when she is crying loudly and will rub all over her to try to get her to stop I think. DD adores this cat and  I am pretty sure the cat likes her too..

The old myth was that the cat would smell milk on the babies breath and suffocate them by sitting on their chest. IMO total BS, very few people have had issues with their cats IRL... 

[weliveintheforest]

When dd was born we had a cat who liked to sleep in the bed, but once the baby was there she stopped.  The cat mostly ignored her until she was old enough to crawl after her and grab her.

[katelove]

My very affectionate, slept in bed between us every night cat has been fine. He mostly ignored her when she was tiny and then her unpredictable movements kept him away as she got older.

As far as drinking out of the toilet, have you tried a ceramic water bowl? My cat wouldn't drink from any vessel but the toilet until he had to spend a few days in a cattery. He wouldn't drink from the metal bowl so she gave him a ceramic one. Now we keep the bowl next to the toilet (with the lid down) and he drinks happily.

[babygirlie]

I have 9 cats in the house. None outdoor. My 2 year old autistic child is still alive.

-close the door to your room at night so cat can't sleep with you. Or get a heated bed the cat can't resist. Your head is hot which is why he sleeps on it.

- put a baby gate up to it's litterbox area (or put the litterbox in a baby fence) so no one can wander in. Of course my child is delayed and at 2 no way will i let her near a litter box. Sounds like your kids don't have this problem.

- let your cat be an indoor cat because it's safer for him and it's safer for YOU. The cat won't get toxoplasmosis if it can't stick it's nose in dirty dirt and dead mice and birds.

out of all of my cats none give a hoot about my dd but 1 who knows there is something wrong with her and spent a lot of time with her as a child. He would heel to her like a seeing eye dog and refuse to leave her for any reason. He desperately wants her to love him but she doesn't acknowledge pets.. or on a rare occasion abnormally she will. He allows her to bite him until he has literal marks in his body and cries out. He lets her sit on him pull his ears. He so very much wants to be her best friend and I do have a problem with keeping him out of her crib even now. I very much appreciate his desire to interact with her but it isn't going to happen sadly. So anyway.. I DO watch him at night and he gets locked up now.

[NannyMcPhee]

You will be fine. I think its mostly a myth about the cat sleeping on the baby's face.  We had a cat before our child was born, she sometimes ever slept in the crib we had set up for the baby before he was born. That did worry me so I followed some advice and put some tin foil in the crib one day. Cat jumped in and never did it again.

Or course when the baby was born, she wanted nothing to do with it, had nothing to do with it and if she was in the room slept at our feet. 

If your are worried just close the door when you have the noob.

Good luck!

[Ldavis24]

Ohh I forgot to mention, when we had 6 ferrets and our cat we got a waterer for about 20 bucks that was a fountain type deal..Always running water you just had to plug it in...The ferrets LOVED it, they would practically swim in it but the cat did as well and if your cat only likes running water that might very well work...

Also, don't forget your LO will become more dangerous to your cat the older he/she gets...Teach those animal manners early. DD knows NEVER pull kitty's tale or anything like that but we still have "incidences" periodically and have to remind her...

[11C11]

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Edited by 11C11 - 8/29/11 at 8:21am

[Ldavis24]

I think you are overreacting to the fear of the cat smothering the baby....it is just so much hype about that, just be patient and wait and see...my money is on disinterest, cats don't like shrieking babies.

try checking out freecycle for a fountain, if you can find the extra 20 bucks at some it might be worth it and if you just don't allow the cat to drink from anything but it's water dish it will do it eventually, the cat isn't going to let itself die of dehydration.

[babygirlie]

There are also special nettings your can buy to put over the crib.

[onlyzombiecat]

The cat I had when dd was born was very affectionate and laid on our bed and stuff. She avoided baby dd. She didn't come near me if I was holding the baby.

I don't think it will be an issue.You could get a spray bottle with water and spritz the cat if it goes where you don't want her to be.

[RabbitMomma]

We have a free roaming rabbit who we have similar concerns about when our little one gets here in the summer, he's very in your face, loving, and never hesitates to jump up on you to say hello. Our solution- we're shutting the door to our room at night so he can't get in, and never leaving him alone with the baby. I think this is a really good idea and proper safety measure for whatever pet you have- be it dog, cat, or rabbit. Babies are strange and unusual creatures to animals and you never know what they will do with them. All animals react differently and you cannot be 100% sure that they will never investigate or unintentionally harm the babe.

My suggestion would be to make a "cat room", put a bunch of cat toys, scratching posts, and the food/water bowls in there, so that you can easily put the cat in and shut the door when you feel that you cannot supervise the cat and baby interactions. Your cat will definitely appreciate this too when the baby gets there, as cats usually don't take to screaming and crying too well! I don't think the netting is a good idea, clever animals can and will get through it, and if a cat jumps on top of that there is the risk of the cat and the netting falling through and landing on baby. Babies and animals should never be left unattended anyway, there are way too many health risks to both baby and animal. We love our bunny to pieces and getting rid of him wouldn't be an option, but we are fully prepared to make the house safe for both baby and rabbit. Our rabbit probably won't be too happy about getting locked out of our room at night, but he'll live with it and will still be a member of our family like always, and meanwhile we can be sure that our baby is safe.

[11C11]

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Edited by 11C11 - 8/29/11 at 8:21am

[RabbitMomma]

Yeah sounds like a territory thing Maverick, my girl bun did the same when we first moved but stopped a few weeks later. Do you have a hay rack hanging over his litter box? This works wonders for us as they love to eat and poop! Ours is a ten pound English Lop. He's very affectionate and wouldn't intentionally hurt anyone, but gosh is he a curious thing who loves to jump. He jumped up right on my tummy when our midwife was trying to listen to the baby's heartbeat. Got the jelly all over his feet too! 

[CJsMama]

I wouldn't worry to much. We have 2 cats (and had them before dd) and one of them is very affectionate with me and my husband but has no interest in dd and hasn't since the day she was born. Both cats sleep on my feet and always have...the affectionate one will occasionally try to snuggle up with me when I'm holding dd but never tries to snuggle with her.