Can cats and baby co-exist ?!

Beansjjo

Myself and and my bf love cats and see nothing wrong with having cats and a baby in the same house. They are 2yrs old, up to date on all shots and over all good litte fellows. If anything i feel they would want nothing to do with the baby. My parents hate cats and therefore do not beleive cats and babies should live together and are insisting we give them away( im not). Bf is cleaning litter and so on so no worries there. My mother is concerned our cats will sit on the babies face and smuther it. Baby will be in our room for night time no cats allowed, naps and such i can see being anywhere in the house, and that is what they are worried about if i go to do dishes or go to the bathroom and such that they will jump up and kill. My one male cat chews my clothes for whatever reason i do not know, never my bfs which also is a problem she has, and doesnt want him to eat nice baby clothes and blankets. The hair and such is all over and she says it will be all up in the babies face and in the diaper... idk what to do/say. Any tips on baby and cats ?! Prevention of a terrible accident ??

soulcupcake

I've had cats for many years, and never had an issue when my kids were babies. They expressed curiosity, and would even nap near them, but that's about it.

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Serunatu

Tell her if she has another baby, she doesn't have to have cats in the house. It is your house, your cats, your baby... I don't really thinks he has a say! Just don't leave them all alone in a room together if they have the tendency to want to snuggle with the baby.

BdblZ

Being a dog person myself I cannot attest to anything feline specifically, but I will say this: I firmly believe that as a pet parent, we are pet parents for the duration of said pets life. I do not believe in premptively getting rid of a pet just because a baby is coming along.

That being said, yes there may be precautions to take, such as keeping cats away from BB during sleep time, etc. but until your cat(s) give you concrete evidence that they cannot co-exist with the little one, they should remain in the home.

I know of plenty of people who have both cats and dogs that got along just fine with their babies.

jayellekay

We never had a problem with our two cats when DD was a baby. They were curious at first, and then quickly kept their distance from this crying, grunting little being! They are just now (3.5 years later) starting to tolerate her.

haleyusf

I've had cats my entire life (no problems) and had cats when my son was born (so problems whatsoever). It's a complete old wives tale that the cat will smother the baby. If anything, I'd be more worried about the baby smothering the cat

abcmom12

cats smothering, sucking the breathe out of, or drinking milk out of babies mouths are all old-wives tales.  we have 3 cats and simply trained them not to enter the nursery which is where DD would sleep or jump into the crib.  neither had a problem with them.

no biting scratching or anything.  they ignored her until she started crawling after them to which they simply retreat to their tall cat tree.  DD was taught that the cat tree is for kitties only and where they feel safe so she leaves them alone.  at 2.5yrs old, the cats now come to her for pets once in awhile and will sit next to her but still find her loud and handsy lol

train your cats and kids and you'll be fine

nopegoat

We have a cat and she stays clear of my boys for the most part.

My advice would be if you are going to setup a nursery, go ahead and do it and let your cats explore and check out everything early.

xc1148

sounds like they just hate cats and are using the baby as an excuse to finally make you get rid of your cat.

Meanwhile, my mom wants us to get a stroller for twins so our dog has somewhere to sit with the baby :P

hellopartyof5

If the shedding is getting out of control get this thing called a furminator.  It's amazing! It's a brush that gets the whole under layer of fur making the amount of shedding go down drastically.  Everything else I don't think you need to worry about, again just need to train your cat (and they can be trained.  My cat isn't allowed upstairs, he knows this and was only trained when he was 3 years old.)

ColeyCannoli

Ugh, the cat smoothering the baby is just as likely as the dog eating them or the older sibling selling them on eBay. Cats tend not to like to sleep on screaming, wriggly creatures. I hate old wives tales like this. I've had people ask me what I'll be doing with my cat as well - pretty sure I'll keep to the commitment I made when I brought her into my home to start with, which was to care for her for life. Cats are living creatures with feelings (just like other pets) and it's so wrong to throw them away just because your life changed. Plus kids raised with pets are often healthier with LESS allergies than those raised without.

If you are worried, talk to your vet. They have lots of advice and can recommend some products to keep kitty calm when baby comes home. And don't listen to anyone else - cats can be trained. It's not even that hard. Just ignore all the "advice" from people who have never been in your shoes.
Good luck!

Traci09

We have 2 cats, and had them before DS was born.  We started off using a crib tent to keep them out of the crib, but that was recalled and we just switched to keeping the door closed whenever DS is in there sleeping and using the monitor. 

At first, our cats were terrified of DS.  We didn't see them for the first 3-4 days that he was home from the hospital.  They hid all day and only came out to eat at night.  We did have to relocate a litter box that used to be in the nursery, but that wasn't an issue.  Now, 2.5 years later, DS loves the cats and pets them and plays with them.  For the most part, they love him back and enjoy the attention.  I agree with someone above - you probably have to worry more about the kid suffocating the cat than the cat suffocating the kid.

Stand firm - keep your cat for now.  If there is an issue after baby arrives, then start looking into other options. 

ColeyCannoli

Study: Why Dogs and Cats Make Babies Healthier

Just in case you need more reason to love your pets. I was brought up around cats and dogs and my neighbors had a hobby farm with more cats and dogs as well as raccoons (rescues), rats, bunnies, birds of all types, pigs, goats and horses when I was really little. Not one of them ever hurt me. In fact, they were my first friends and even though life was hard (I was eventually put into foster care, which is another long ass story), I credit a lot of my gentle nature and sanity to being around animals from an early age. Plus I don't have any allergies and rarely get head colds, just sayin'

ibnagy99

I have had a cat with my little one since she was born (cat passed away when dd was 6 mo) and got a kitten when my dd was just a year old.  My dd loves our new cat and they love each other and are partners in crime.  Keep the cats and you are fine!!!

2bwritten

I was shocked at the number of people who asked me about getting rid of my cat when I said I was pregnant...he's a sweetie pie and I'm pretty sure he knew I was pregnant before I did!! He won't let me out of his sight now (not even to shower; he beats the door open) and likes to put his head on my stomach and purr especially when LO moves and kicks, so I know he knows there's something in there. I imagine the baby will probably scare him at first and then I figure she'll become his!! I'll more than likely have issues keeping him out of the nursery, but I think it will be one of those things that he'll be ok with as long as he can see LO and know she's ok. He has a very protective nature; I attribute that to him being raised by my dog, sometimes he acts just like he IS a dog!!

littleboyermoose

I'm pretty sure this is my cat's future. He sure does love getting kicked around now!

PacoCat33

As you can see by my profile picture and my name, I have a cat and we love him dearly. I can't imagine someone saying that I should be getting rid of him b/c a baby is arriving. I am not worried about him getting to close to the baby, once that baby makes a noise, he'll go right for under the bed. 

I agree with many others that your parents sound like they just really hate your cats. I'd tell them to drop it immediately. 

ColeyCannoli

pooky08 said: No one has been brave (or stupid) to even suggest to me any problems with having cats and a baby. We have three cats (two older and one younger). The only concern we have is where to move the litter boxes since right now they reside in the spare room. Few things make my blood boil as much as people who view pets as disposable. The only legitimate exception: before I was born my dad found a new home for his lion. Normal cats and dogs, though? Unless there is a serious issue AFTER the baby arrives, it's an adjustment period for everyone. Isn't exposing babies to pets supposed to help reduce potential pet allergies later? That might just be a rumor, but still. I'd tell your parents that you have it all under control and will monitor the situation, and thanks for their concern.

-------QuoteBoxFail--------

Okay OP, if by cats, you meant lions then you might want to relocate them. 

Also, omg a lion?! That's so cool and I'll admit a little scary. Did he work for a zoo or something?

Eora3

I have had both cats and dogs with my babies and it is totally fine.

A few tips:

If your animals have not been around babies before, watch them together and make sure they learn some manners (ie not sitting on the baby)

The fur may get into everything. If it bothers you (I couldn't stand it), just make the baby's room an "animal free zone". If you change diapers and clothes in the baby's room they won't be constantly covered in fur.

mhsj425

I have had my cats for over 15 yes and we just recently lost one but when my daughter was born 8 yes ago we had 2. One cat loved her and always tried to jump in her crib and snuggle with her. The other cat HATED her and literally would take every chance he could to pee on her stuff, including blankets, car seats, clothes, whatever. And he didn't pee on anything else, just her stuff. But neither ever tried to hurt her, the occasional scratch when she was a little older but nothing crazy. And the peeing cat eventually stopped and got over it.

byrne15

We have had a cat and a dog since before both kids were born. We have never had an issue with either pet and the kids. The all co-exist nicely together.

allonsyalonso

We have 2 cats and to be honest, they wanted nothing to do with DS when he was born. They sniffed him a little and decided they were all set with the crying pink thing. They never once posed a problem for the baby.

ColoradoBoat

I plan to have baby in a bassinet next to our bed, and the bedroom is the cat's domain (our 2 dogs get the rest of the house).  I asked the NP on our first visit about cat smothering baby and she said it's an OWT.  I can imagine our cat getting jealous but we will see how it goes.  I'm sure all will be fine!

haleyusf

Another plus of cats is that they provide a playmate if you've got the friendly kind.

(sorry for AW'ing DS, but I've gotten so nostalgic with his baby photos lately! He's almost 6yrs old now and he just seems so grown up these days... and kitty + baby pics are so darn cute!)

kellyo0131

We have 2 dogs (boxer & boxer/pit) as well as an indoor/outdoor cat and everything has worked out great.  DS is 17 months and absolutely loves his animals.  I was a little worried about the smothering thing at first but really the cat wanted nothing to do with him when he was a baby.  Like you mentioned I made sure to keep the animals away from the baby while he slept though.  Now that he is older he lays on the animals and uses them as pillows all day everyday...we did have to teach him to "be nice" and pet gentle but that didn't take long.  I def don;t think you should get rid of them.

courtd2

I'm training my cats to stay out of the nursery right now. My mother in law and grandmother in law are both very worried about the same scenario. I've had 1 cat for 5 years, and the others for 3 and 2 years. We're all too attached to each other. AKA a family. 

I've laid out tinfoil in both bassinets I have, and the baby swing and other baby contraption I have. Freaks 'em right out when they jump on it lol! I've also laid it on my nursing chair, dresser, and the entry way to the room itself. So far it's worked like a charm! Had to leave the door open with some scented candles in there to get the smell of paint outta there. 

edit: as you can see in my display picture, I started the tinfoil project afterwards.. 

Cheekers2010

I hesitated to even open this for fear I'd get really mad. I'm firmly in the camp that when you take on the responsibility of a pet they are yours for life. I have one elderly cat, my other elderly cat died two months ago. They are part of my family just as much as anyone else is. I get so ticked off when I hear ridiculous old wives tales like the cat smothering the baby. Sigh. The cats did wonderfully with my son when he was born and he does wonderfully with them. We worked hard to make sure he knew how to treat them well, and so they have always loved him.

Beansjjo

I am not getting rid of them as said before they are my familly. Thank you everyone!