Anyone else worried...

bakermommy10

About how your pet will be after the baby arrives?  We have a kitty, Rascal, he is the sweetest thing and I can't imagine him harming the baby, but I've heard horror stories.  We've had him since he was just a little kitten and he's become part of the family.  He's only peed out of the litter box once, but I had locked him in the bathroom without his box.  He still has his claws but only uses them on his cat tree that we built.  I'm just hoping he adjusts to the baby like he has everything else!

A picture from the night he came home with us 

rapst1

I'm a little worried about my yellow lab.  She is so sweet, and I don't think she would ever hurt the baby, in fact I think she will be very good with the baby as she is very good with any kids she is around.

However, I am more concerned with her shedding.  I honestly should be sweeping my house once a day to avoid all the dog hair, but I usually do it once a week.  I am worried this will cause a problem, I am sure I will have to sweep more often, but how much extra time will I have with baby.  It's a silly concern, but hey, it's one thing I've thought a lot about.

irishdancer

My cats avoided the baby like the plague.  They still do.  I wouldn't worry about it too much.  Most cats don't like loud, unpredictable little things. 

cateye

He is SO cute.  I love cats, but am allergic. . .

We have two dogs and was also worried about how they'd react, but they've done great with DD and I expect it will be similar with LO#2.  There are lots of ways you can acclimate your pet to the idea of a baby before baby arrives.  Make any changes, such as moving the litter box, bed, etc. now.  If you have friends with LOs ask them to bring them over and see how your pet reacts.  Experts also suggest bringing home a blanket or something that has baby's scent on it before bringing home baby.  And make sure you introduce the pet to the baby when you do arrive home; just like you would another pet or guest. 

Personally, I think that if your pet knows they are a member of the family and feel secure, they will do fine.  Good luck. 

BethD76

People keep asking me if we are getting rid of the cats because of the baby. Whatever happens we'll deal. I can't just let go of my fur babies because I made a real one. One of my cats wouldn't hurt a fly, both of them are trained not to sratch. I'm more worried about the fur than them hurting my baby.

AmandaToo

So worried.  TMI ~ We had a huge problem 3 years ago with inappropriate peeing.  They had UTI's and some territorial issues with strays outside our windows.  One is a very nervous cat who was on an anti-anxiety medicine for a while!   We had to re-train them and it took over a year and a half to make it so we were comfortable having them in the front part of our house with any upholstered furniture at all (we had to replace our first couch!) and now they still only get to be there when we are.  All our little routines work really well for them (no accidents in over a year!) and we don't know if we'll be able to keep them up with a baby in the house, too.  The nervous cat is my main concern.  It's very stressful, and that situation a few years ago made my life a living hell. 

ashleyb0604

rapst1:

I'm a little worried about my yellow lab.  She is so sweet, and I don't think she would ever hurt the baby, in fact I think she will be very good with the baby as she is very good with any kids she is around.

However, I am more concerned with her shedding.  I honestly should be sweeping my house once a day to avoid all the dog hair, but I usually do it once a week.  I am worried this will cause a problem, I am sure I will have to sweep more often, but how much extra time will I have with baby.  It's a silly concern, but hey, it's one thing I've thought a lot about.

ME TOO!!! We have two Jack Russell Terriers and the amount of dog hair they produce is astounding. We have hard wood floors and leather furniture, which helps it not "stick" to everything, but all I can think about is laying the baby down and picking it up covered in dog hair! It's driving me insane just thinking about it, but honestly, how am I going to find time to sweep every day with a new baby?

As far as behavior goes, I am not worried about our older JRT (male). He will either ignore the baby or be super protective...he is pretty calm for a JRT. Now, our little girl on the other hand is a PIECE OF WORK! She is crazy hyper, always needs to be sitting ON you and getting lots of attention, she also like to run at full speed and jump onto the bed/furniture/table/etc. and it really hurts when she lands on you. She also will walk right over you , she has not concept of boundary issues. We are trying to teach them to stay off beds, starting with our guest room right now, and then will graduate to our room. We are going to get them big fluffy beds of their own to sleep and lay in (we already have one, but she peed in hers) and hopefully that will help some.

 

NeverKnew

We have two cats and a dog.  I'm not really worried about any of the three of them, but I will need to do more work to prepare the dog.  We'll be turning on the things that make sound, making sure we let everybody sniff and explore around prior to baby's arrival.  I actually heard a great tip to smear a dab of the baby's bath products/lotion/diaper cream (maybe not all at once!), etc on yourself to get them used to the scent. 

Like I was saying though - with the dog, we're going to have some more work ahead of us.  He's an 80-lb lab, so he's going to need to brush up on the "Leave It" and "Gentle" commands, to name a few.

Barneso

We have two cats that I'm not concerned about - we'll just close the door to wherever baby is if they are a problem.  We had a puppy, though, and we ended up givign her away last week.  She was a great dane/black lab mix... six months and already weighed 90 lbs. and she was very much a puppy.  Didn't think she'd be out of the puppy stage by the time baby came and our major concern was that we wouldn't give her any attention and she'd be relegated to the back yard.

 

 

neonstarfish

I'm terribly worried about my cat, not so much the puppy, because we live near a park and the only reason he barks is because he is curious(he is only 3 months right now) and he has met a 5 month baby and the most he did was lick her fingers, which I was relieved. But kitty however.... I got my cat eons ago, and he is a 12 year old kitten right now. I am just worried about how he will react when baby is born because when we moved in with my mom's now fiancee, he had a 6/7 year old kid and would run around and just be a little boy, he wouldn't bother the cat, but my cat still would stalk him if he went running past or something and I think he clawed him once. My cat's brother never cared much unless he was touched(but he passed away last year) So I am a little worried about how my old cat with react with a new baby.

mtkelley

well its kinda different with a pitbull, but we had to get rid of ours when we found out i was pregnant. he was the BEST dog! was really gentle around people and kids, but unfortunately i felt i couldnt risk my baby getting hurt. so the best decision was to find him a new home. i was so sad forever.

goldenleaves

We're a little worried about Chloe, our cat. She is so totally spoiled! DH and I are planning to make sure we try really hard to give her a little extra attention before AND after the baby arrives.