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2nd Trimester
Anybody getting rid of their pet?
For when baby comes..
We have an 8 month old cat, had her since she was 5 weeks.
Ever since I got pregnant, this thing went crazy..
She's peeing everywhere, its like she forgot where her litter box is. She's thrown up all over my living room a few times. (Vet says she's fine) She started biting like crazy and scratching. My apartment smells horrible thanks to her.
She has just been getting on my nerves and DH and I have decided to get rid of her.
We are moving in February and she is not coming with us.
So, I was wondering if I was the only one getting rid of my pet. Anyone else?
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Anybody getting rid of their pet?
Zoey, our cat, is family! I would never 'get rid' of her. Sorry yours is acting out and you are having to make that decision.
I do have a friend who had to give away their dog after their first son was born. The dog became so territorial with the baby that they could not even go near him. He tried to attack/bite them! The dog would sit under the baby's crib and growl.
Good topic..
We have two cats and I'm not sure what to do. They shed horribly and then the other day someone reminded me about dander!! Also, I love my cats but I don't want them jumping in the babies crib or getting on anything because of the fur, and not to mention the fact that their feet are in the litterbox etc.
I would hate to give them away but the baby trumps them! I'm going to have to really pray about what to do.
our pets are family. if we have to bring in behavorist for all of the living beings to cohabitate in this house we will. i highly doubt it will come to that- but i will not abandon an animal once i have taken responsibility as their owner.
aggression is one thing, but not having time or not taking time to house train is another story.
This. Animals and pets are not inanimate objects that you just get rid if it doesn't work out. I understand this is just my opinion and I'm not judging your decision. Please try to find a good home or a no kill shelter.
This!
Tyler is going to be a big brother!
When my cat acts out I take the time to figure out what the issue is.
I can't believe you only adopted this cat 7 months ago and you're already getting rid of it.
Never. Well, I would say never, but there was a nestie on here a few weeks ago who had to put down an aggressive dog that they had sunk a lot of time, effort and vet bills into making sure there was no stone left unturned in getting them to live peacefully.
That said, DS and our pit mix are best friends. I grew up around dogs and can't imagine my kids not growing up around dogs. Plus, as PP said, we rescued our dog from a shelter, and when we did that, we promised that we would take care of her for as long as she lived. I've never had a cat, but I would hope there are training alternative. I think it's pretty crappy to get rid of her just because you're annoyed.
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I would never consider getting rid of my 2 cats, or any animal for that matter, just because I'm having a baby. I was always around animals as a baby. My cats are my family also and they deserve to stay in the one place that they have known as home longer than anything else. My child will come first but I will do everything in my power to train my cats and keep them.
My IL's actually suggested that we get rid of them and I flat out told them not a chance. If you can't keep an animal after only a couple months maybe you should rethink being a pet owner.
EW. and I can judge because you decided to air it on a message board. I'm glad to see other people here take responsibility for their pets. I have two cats - one of which is starting to stroll down dementia lane - NOT easy to deal with. He's can be a hassle, however I think I'll keep him.
My opinion is different if your pet has turned violent. Otherwise, this thread makes me sad.
"This thing" didn't choose to have you as its owner. You took her into your family and it is your responsibility to treat her as such. Quite frankly, I find your attitude deplorable. Perhaps the reason she is acting this way is because she is picking up on your feelings towards her?
Unbelievable.
I have no intention of getting rid of our dogs ever! They are just as much a part of this family as our son will be. That being said, we are having issues with our 2 year old shih-tzu. Ever since I got pregnant, he has regressed horribly! He now acts like he was horribly beaten (if you ever move your hand in his direction he cowers to the ground), is tearing things apart, cannot be left alone at all, and messing in the house. It seems he has suddenly developed some sort of intense separation anxiety. He is only alone one hour of the day in his crate and he has started messing in his crate as well. He has never done this before the pregnancy. We really aren't sure why he is doing this, but we have scheduled an appointment with the vet to try to find a solution.
The only way I would ever rehome a pet would be if he became physically aggressive towards our child or us, even then it would be as the very last resort. If it ever came to that, we have plenty of family that would take him in, so we could still see him that way. I pray it never comes to that because we love that dog so much! Our 6 year old pug seems completely unaffected by the pregnancy though, thank goodness! He is my furbaby!
I couldn't imagine getting rid of my boy, unless he was violent.As it is despite he's size (he's a sib husky), I can't forsee any problems with the baby, since I would never leave a baby alone with any animal, and my boy follows me from room to room and since becoming pregnant never seems to leave my side.
He knows when he's done wrong and will actively take himself to his crate (den) or to his chair and we've already declared the bedrooms a no-go because of his moulting - so no problem with baby's room.
But I do feel for those who have no option but to rehome their furbabies, it isn't an easy decision - when the female who developed colitus (sic), which was making her very poorly, and was not getting better despite diet changes - it turned out she was a mouser! So she had to be rehomed away from the countryside.
Animals do pick up on the hormonal changes and this could be why your cat is acting out - pheramone therapy might help?
what a great lesson to teach your child. when you get a pet "forever" is until something better comes along and the animal stops being conveinient.
My cat Zoey is a member of our family. We love her so much and will do anything to help her adjust to the birth of our daughter.
I feel horrible for your cat and I hope you never make a "lifetime" commitment to another animal again. Wonder how she will feel when she is dumped from the only home she knows and the people she loves? Shame.
This exactly.
Well said Pandi.
Yea, I don't buy that you took her to the vet. At all. Shame on you. Are you going to get rid of your kid when its tearing up the house, peeing on you, acting crazy biting and scratching??
Don't ever get another pet. Ever.
If your kid gets on your nerves, then what are you going to "get rid" of him/her too?
Why did you bother getting a pet if you no intention of keeping it when you got pregnant? My dd is almost 2 and loves her 4 dogs and I am sure ds will too. Yes we have 4 and while the shed a lot, have some minor issues, they are a huge part of our family. I love to see the joy on my daughter's face as she plays with them. It also has made her love all kinds of other animals and I can already tell she will be a huge animal lover. We would never give up any of our dogs just because we had a kid. There were plenty of people that told me we wouldn't love our dogs as much after we had a baby, well I am happy to say that never happened. There is enough love in our hearts for all our "babies" 2 and 4 legged. Animals are very perceptive and start acting out when they are not getting the attention they crave.
Ditto this at the core, but you said it way nicer than I could even muster.
I am so glad that nurturing patient instinct is kicking in just in the nick of time.
This thread makes me sad. I grew up around a ton of animals. We always had a dog or two plus four or five cats. When I developed a cat and dog allergy my parents STILL kept all the animals and I just had to deal with it. Which is why I will NOT be adopting any animal as much as I want one. I have been taking allergy shots and have had great success with cats and I *might* be able to adopt a poodle or cat one day, but what if my child is allergic? I never want to have to give back an animal or have my child suffer with the allergies I had. What a sad way to start my morning.. knowing there are people on this board so easily willing to give up an animal the moment they stop acting like the perfect cute puppy/kitten you wanted.
I feel like people should have to volunteer in a shelter just for an hour before they make this decision. It would absolutely break your heart.
OP- Please, please think about it before you get rid of her. I know litter box issues can be beyond frustrating, but there are things to try before just abandoning her. Make sure her box is cleaned often. Make sure she doesn't have a uti. Make sure there's nothing near the box scaring her away. Talk to your vet. They always have ideas. Is she fixed yet? That could cause all of those problems, too. Just please make sure you've tried everything you possibly can before you give up on her. She deserves better than that.
We have two large dogs and two little cats, who are very much a part of our family. I would never ever think about getting rid of them (unless (and only if) there would be an aggression issue that makes our living situation unsafe.for our family and unborn child). Which thanks to alot of training, I don't anticipate being a problem.
Im not going to lie, there are times where I think oh this is going to be a tough one, or going to take some time to get a handle on. But I never think about an easy way out (getting "rid" of anyone), because we took on a responsibility to take care of those pets for a lifetime as well as choosing to have this baby. Our decisions make a path for our future and we will stick with it because that's what we promised our fur babies, and our furture baby we will do.
Guess what? My son is acting out. He refuses to use the toilet. He leaves his toys everywhere. When this new baby comes, I'm not going to have time for him. He is just too needy and wants to much attention. I'm worried he's going to hit and bite the new baby. I think I need to find him a new home. He's a cute kid. I'm sure someone will take him. (I'm kidding of course!...it's hard for sarcasm to come across a computer screen)
To anyone who is giving up their pet because they have a baby on the way...SHAME ON YOU! If your dog or cat is having behavior problems, you need to take them to the vet to make sure there are no medical problems. Then work with your pet. Get a trainer. Get a behaviorist. And you think that if you bring them to a shelter they are going to get adopted? Most of them will wind up being put down. There are already too many animals in the shelter system.
Before we even THOUGHT about TTC, we made sure that our dog was well socialized and well trained. When I got PG with DS, we worked with Murphy to prepare him for the baby. My son loves his dog and Murphy loves him back. They both seek each other out. I had to work hard to make sure Murphy knew how to behave. Then I worked hard with DS to make sure he knew how to act around dogs. And all my work paid off. Was it easy? No! But it was worth it in the end. My son and my dog have a beautiful bond and are great friends. I can't imagine it any other way.
Thank you to all the wonderful ladies who realize that their pets are members of the their family and would never dream of giving them up just because baby is on the way.
WOW. That a disturbing post. You should probably find your pet a new home, but not because she is acting out, because YOU should not own a pet. I have 4 dogs that I rescued and I could not imagine looking at them as disposable objects just because they aren't perfect. One of my dogs has severe epilepsy...you want to talk about making am mess??? Come to my house when he has a bad day.
My DH and I are the only things these dogs have, I couldn't imagine turning them over to a shelter because they were annoying. Do you have any idea what kind of life your cat is going to have in a shelter?? Trust you me, she's not going to like it and she's not going to be well cared for. But if the thought of that doesn't affect you then its really upsetting to me that you got her in the first place.
Please, the least you can do for this poor cat is make sure that you find her a good loving home... not a cold concrete shelter.
It seems like you made up your mind already....but I figured I might have some suggestions that may help, to maybe give it a shot before giving up completely. In regards to her peeing everywhere has she been spayed yet? Or sometimes cat's will prefer two litter boxes because they will not pee an poop in the same one (We had to do that)? In regards to throwing up have you tried changing her diet, because sometimes that's all it takes. Also a water bottle does wonders, for behavior for cats (scratching, biting).
We have a dog and cat, and we never had problems with the hair and the baby. At the beginning, they had zero interest in my DS. My cat never went near the baby's stuff and hid until he was about 6 months old and warmed up to him. Now that DS is older and mobile, the pets love him and he loves them. His face lights up every morning when he sees his kitty or doggy and calls them by name. It's pretty sad when people decide to get rid of animals because they don't want to put in the work. I know there's some circumstances where the child is allergic or the pet gets aggressive, but you don't know if that's going to happen yet.
If you have issues, you work through them. One of my cats went through a phase where he peed on everything. We took him to the vet to be checked out, worked on giving him more attention, got some products which made his litter box more appealing and our couch less appealing to pee on and everything is perfectly fine now. One of my dogs did end up growling at DS. We worked with a trainer and he is wonderful with him now. It was an adjustment for pets just like it is for everyone but we had a responsibility to care for him.
If your animal is having issues, there are solutions. Of course there are special circumstances where you've explored every option and it just doesn't work out, but at least put some effort in first. You owe that to your pets.
Also, if you put your animal into a situation with a new baby without preparing them for the new addition then get rid of them because you didn't properly train them or don't want to do the work, you're setting a pretty awful example for your children IMO.
This.
No. I made a commitment to my dogs when we decided to get them. We knew they would still be here when we decided to have children. If I wasn't up to the responsibility of training them properly and dealing with certain behavior issues that come up along the way I would have never gotten them in the first place.