January 2014 Moms
peanutmuse
member
Convince me that your pets know...
peanutmuse
member
I have had a lot of people asking me if my 3 cats know that I am pregnant. I haven't noticed any change in their behavior whatsoever. My husband and I were talking about it, and we are both not convinced that pets can actually "know" something ahead of time. But I'm interested in others' thoughts and experiences.
I'm kind of a crazy cat lady, so it's weird. I expected my cats to start behaving differently, but I'd be lying if I said I noticed a change.
This will be a temporary post and run because I have an ultrasound this morning. But I will check it (probably while in the waiting room) and when I get back. 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Convince me that your pets know...
I'm not entirely sure she "knows," but my dog has been sick for the last month for no reason at all. She hasn't gotten into anything, the vet says she's totally fine, everything (bloodwork, stook samples) checks out ok, and she has never been sick once before. I've had her since she was born, and in the 4 years I've had her, she has vomited exactly twice until now. I'm not saying it's related, but I'm not totally convinced it's not related. Maybe she knows and is having these symptoms for attention?
Like you, I'm not 100% convinced they really know. I always thought they could tell, but now I'm just guessing since there is no rational explanation for her being sick. I'm a crazy dog lady, so I was definitely expecting a big change. Other than this, there has been no difference. I'm still up in the air on the whole thing.
I'd like to see what others have to say!
No convincing here. My cat is my shadow, but he's always been that way. Same behavior as with LO #1 - no noticeable difference from his regular clinginess.
I think people tend to project their excitement onto others, and that includes pets. But I suppose I could be proven wrong by posts on this thread...
__________________________________________________________
DS1 born 08.02.11
DS2 born 12.05.13
Have fun see your baby!!!
if this isn't proof enough, i don't know what is....
_________________________________________________________________
Due Date 11/10/16
Aw, that's exactly what my dog does. She's little too, not as little as your dog but about 12 lbs
Our older dog doesn't have a clue. I guess because he is a beagle, all of his smarts went to his nose and not his instincts.
Just yesterday, our younger dog made me think she knows. My husband was rough playing with them and I was laying on the couch. She came and jumped on the couch (which she isn't allowed to do) and stood over my upper legs covering my belly, in a very protective stance. She stayed there until my husband and the other dog left the room. Who knows though, maybe she just wanted to scam her way to the couch.
My dog has to know. He has recently started "protecting" me from DH. If he walks into the same room as me, the dog jumps up and runs across the room to stand in front of me. He's even gone so far as to growl at him. No worries, we have an appointment with a trainer to straighten that out. The dog has also started following me everywhere and just sitting in the same room as me. The other day he laid next to the treadmill for 20 mins and watched me walk. He's got to know...
Married July 14, 2012
Hudson - January 7, 2014
My cats have been a bit different. They are more cautious walking about me... My dog on the other TOTALLY knows something is up. I'm currently on bed rest due to a SCH and my 80lbs Alaskan Malamute follows me around the house and has turned into a cuddly, sleepy, shadow dog. She won't let me out of her site and licks me every chance she can. And she is super cautious if she sits on the couch/bed next to me.
Its very cute.
I suspect my dog (Molly) knows and is not happy about it at all. She normally is very clingy and likes to cuddle, and she is MY dog, so I'm her go-to person. She has been avoiding me since May. She won't sit with me on the couch, avoids my hands when I try to pet her, and just in general wants nothing to do with me. My DH and I were in the living room one night watching TV. He was sitting in a chair and I was on the couch. Molly was on the couch too, but on the opposite end from where I was sitting. DH suggested that we switch places, just to see what Molly would do, so we did and as soon as DH sat on the couch Molly got up and climbed into his lap.
She avoided me when I was pregnant with DS too.
My cat has always been my little guy, always favouring me over DH. Since getting pregnant he seems more protective now, and follows me around A LOT more than he used to. Even if he's sleeping, I'll get up to go lie down in the bedroom and he'll follow me and lie down in the doorway. Or if I leave the bedroom to go play Xbox or watch tv, or make dinner... He's right there with me.
I've always thought that most pets know when something is up. Our smell changes because of the hormones (though we don't really notice a difference, they're more sensitive to it) and even minor differences in our behavior can change the way a pet acts. Not saying all pets are that way though.
I've heard of this and thought it was just hooey but I think it might actually be true. Our dog is a softie and she always comes into the bedroom and lies beside my bed when I go to sleep (usually at least 30 minutes before DH). About 5 minutes later she races off to wherever "Papa" is and when he goes to bed, she'll get into her crate in the living room and stay there all night. Every once in a while I'll wake up and hear her walking around, sometimes she'll come to our door but then she'll go back to her crate when she realizes nobody is awake.
The past month or so she sleep beside my bed all night long. I feel really bad for her as we have hardwood floors and her crate has this lovely comfy bed. If I go to the bathroom, she follows me and sits outside the bathroom, then she'll follow me to wherever else I go.
She's also in the habit of getting on the couch between DH and I but she loves to put her head on my belly.
Those are all things she does "more" than before I was pg so who knows if she's just getting sappier or if she knows. She hasn't stopped pulling on her leash though, I'm still waiting for that.
P.s. hope the scan goes well!
My dog and male cat haven't been acting any differently. But my female cat, she's 7, has been up my butt since 7 weeks. She was the same with DD. She has always been really affectionate but now she's affectionate and clingy lol And only wants to lay on or against my belly.
Maybe my behavior has changed thus changing hers? Who knows. But last pregnancy both boys got super clingy around 15-17 weeks, once kicks started. I have a picture of all three of them vying for position on my belly lol Darwin's huge head is on the side and the cats were curled together on top. It was right before I went into labor, so 22-23 weeks. So we shall see.
Dog is oblivious. Dog is always oblivious.
PCOS diagnosed secondary infertility
BFP #1 (letrozole 2.5mg + ovidrel) February 2016, MMC April 2016 @ 7 weeks
BFP #2 (letrozole 5mg + ovidrel) July 2016, Beta #1 359, Beta #2 745, Beta #3 11484
EDD April 9th, 2017
With DS ... my dog knew ... she used to sleep on the baby bump ALL the time ...
*Hope this image works*
This time from the moment I got back from Jamaica ...she was acting funny ... she was actually one of the first suspicions I had to being pregnant!!!
This is an interesting way to look at it. Perhaps my cats just don't give a crap, haha.
BFP 11.8.12 * EDD 7.17.13 * MC 12.20.12
Peanut I am also a crazy cat lady and we have 3 of our own cat babies:-) and I volunteer at a cat shelter. So cool!! Cats are awesome:)
To answer your question, I didn't think they knew at all or gave a crap at all...until this past week, when I noticed they have started to all try to cozy up to me a bit more and rest their heads on my blump/bump. However, I've also been feeling less sick and paying more attention to them, so maybe it's just a "thanks for remembering we're here" cuddle. So yeah, in the end I don't think they know/give a crap. Haha.
Yay for cats!
At first I thought my bengal cat knew - but now I don't think he does - at least I hope not based on the lack of consideration he shows for my belly.
However I have had TWO dogs come up to me in public ... one came up and was not jumping on me, or licking me - but just nuzzling his head into my stomach. The owner was like Hey! you must be with child! He only does that to pregnant women! Next I walked into work and there were dogs visiting our buildings lobby and this HUGE dog (weighed more than me lol) was just sitting on the ground (there are sooo many people in this lobby yet he sees me come through the door, stands up, walks calmly to me, licks my lower belly and then just sits right next to me. Everyone was like "does that dog know you???" DOGS KNOW!!!!
Yeah, if my dogs know, they certainly don't seem to care! Although, the beagle will sometimes lay his head across my stomach, but I'm not convinced that's because he knows something is different. The other one adores me and won't leave my side if someone else is home with us, so even if he got *more* lovey toward me, I probably wouldn't notice.
BFP #5: 3/25/2015: EDD: 12/8/2015.
I recently read that your body odor changes when you're pregnant, and pets can notice the difference, although I'm not convinced they have any clue why you smell differently. According to the book, this can cause female cats and dogs to become more affectionate.
I will say that my cats (1 male, 1 female) have always been affectionate, but the female less so. In the last couple weeks, she has started following me around constantly, always wanting to sit on my lap, crying for me to pet her - there's definitely been a change in her behavior! Again, not sure she really "knows" anything, but I wouldn't be surprised if it has something to do with my new pregnant body odor.
My 20lb male dog usually snuggles up behind my knees when I lay down, but for the last few months he HAS to lay next to my stomach. He's always been my little guard dog, but he's been super sensitive lately and freaks out when DH leaves for work in the mornings, then stands guard in our bay window pretty much all day, even barking at the neighbors, which he never did before.
My female hasn't shown any change, but she's always been a little off.
My youngest/biggest dog is almost a year old. He's a big goofball, but won't leave my side. He was always a little attached to me because we've had him since he was 2 weeks old, but it's insane now. This whole week he opened the bathroom door and came in and waited on the bathmat while I showered. Normally he'll sleep in the office (across the hall) while I'm in there.