Moms with cats

selenawrites · June 2011

Just wondering if any 2nd time moms can share any advice about having both a newborn and a cat. I've been reading up on it and I think we'll be fine, but if anyone has any experiences to share I would appreciate it. My cat is 7 years old (human years) and acts like a little prince, so I almost feel like there will be some "sibling" rivalry to deal with.

DEBBIE33CASEY · June 2011

We had no problems at all. Our cats hid the first week that we had DD home. And they stayed away from her other than a little curiosity and sniffing. They still stay away from her, now 2 years later!

We never had any problems with our cat jumping into the crib or smothering (like you hear possible horror stories). We had zero problems. The DOG however, we kept outside (it was summer/spring when we had DD) just so she wouldn't be rough, but she was actually very gentle and protective of her.

lebpage · June 2011

We have two cats, and they were both fine when DD was born. I was actually very surprised to find that they were very aware that someone new was here, and that they were something special. They always approached her carefully and seemed to enjoy her. Now that she's almost 2, she LOVES them, and they actually put up with her doing a lot of annoying things, including giant bear hugs that pin them to the floor. Only once has one of them tried to bite her (and that was her learning lesson on how to treat animals! lol)

Cats are different, so I feel like I'd expect them to be more... antisocial, more than anything. Like hiding or keeping to themselves. Thats how my cats show that they are pissed off usually. I wouldn't expect them to attack or anything. But, that's just my experience. Good luck!

Indiechixor · June 2011

My cat was about a year 1/2 old when the baby came around, so she's still pretty "young" - If N is crawling around and she's laying on the floor, once he gets close to her she'll move across the room.

She does have her "safe spot" where we don't allow him near her, but if we aren't paying attention and he goes over to her, she has scratched him to let him know he isn't wanted in that area.

He's learned now to leave her alone in that "safe spot", but otherwise she's very good about just moving when he comes over to her.

MrsLeanna · June 2011

I currently have 2 cats, just got a kitten a couple weeks ago, but when DD was born I only had one. He's declawed so I didn't worry about that. He sniffed DD when we first brought her home and we let him come up to her when we were holding her. But that was where his interest ended. He stayed away when she cried, he never jumped into her bassinet or crib or acted aggressively at all. There was really nothing at al to worry about and he is great with her now. She loves to play with him.

samakasrc · June 2011

We had no trouble (even our vicious cat was great). The mean cat had to be put down because she started going after me (which was unheard of), but when the baby came, they both were mostly just curious. Hid for the first couple weeks but now our remaining cat LOVES our DD. She's always around her, lets her pull her tail and everything. We never blocked them out of the nursery before she was born. We let the explore and get used to everything (of course we blocked them out when she was born and started sleeping in there). We never had an issue with either cat in regards to our LO.

Tracilaroo · June 2011

When I was a kid and my sister was born our cat slept in the crib with her all the time, there's even pictures of her and the cat in the crib together. Recently, our friends brought over their 4 month old and put him on our bed (surrounded by pillows, of course) to sleep and our cat jumped right up there and curled up next to him and slept with him for several hours and she's never been around babies that I'm aware of. It was the cutest thing. I kept checking on her to make sure she wasn't laying directly on him but she just stayed right next to him like a little protective mama. I'm sure it was just because he's still and warm but I like the idea that she was watching out for him. Obviously, I'm a little smitten with my cat. Smile

Mama Jan · June 2011

We had two cats before having kids and it has never been an issue. The cats adjusted really well, they were never jealous or scared. Our biggest issue has been teaching the kids not to chase the cats. My older son is convinced they are running because it's a game. *sigh*

MrsLeanna · June 2011

Mama Jan:
We had two cats before having kids and it has never been an issue. The cats adjusted really well, they were never jealous or scared. Our biggest issue has been teaching the kids not to chase the cats. My older son is convinced they are running because it's a game. *sigh*

My daughter does the same thing!! She runs after him and yells "gotcha" at the top of her lungs!

rebelina1 · June 2011

We have two cats (littermates) who were 8 years old when my DD was born. We had no issues with our male cat. He was very protective over our DD and would constantly watch her. It was really sweet. Our female cat had some issues. She is a very jealous cat to begin with so she was not happy about the baby. She is just now starting to tolerate her and my DD is going to be 5 on Monday. Our female cat would hiss at her and try to scratch and bite her. We learned pretty quick to just keep the baby away from her and once my DD hit the toddler years she learned pretty quick to stay away from that cat. We basically worked it out.

eilatan&nhoj88 · June 2011

We were very careful to close the cats out of the room at night after one night we woke up to find the cat laying on our son's face. My MIL had a cousin who's baby was suffocated in the crib by a cat.

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