cats and newborn...can they coexist?

bnlamy5 · July 2014

I'm almost 30 weeks and am starting to get concerned about how my two cats are going to be with the baby? Worrying about scratching, hissing, etc. Also worrying about the massive amounts of cat hair that they can leave, and how it'll effect the baby. Anyone have any tips on peacefully coexisting with cats and a new baby!? Getting rid of the cats isn't an option...thanks!!

portentosa · July 2014

As a newborn it isn't really difficult.... unless perhaps you have a serious lap cat. Just like with a dog, give something of the baby's to your cat to sniff. Typically if the cat doesn't want anything to do with baby they will stay away from baby. I have two cats. One wouldn't even come within 3 feet of DS. The other would sniff him and back off at first. But in a month's time she was sharing lap time with him.

The trouble really starts when the kid becomes more mobile. DH and I teach DS "gentle pets" but since he's been walking we've had to rescue our felines a couple times when DS pounces on them. Keep those claws trimmed at all times just in case and never leave pets and babies unattended.

As far as the hair goes. Don't sweat it. I cited this study when a FB friend voiced her concern for my son when she saw pictures of him with my pets. In addition to my two cats I also have a Siberian Husky and German Shepherd, so lots of hair. We vacuum 3x a week.

Liss1481 · July 2014

With DS we had 4 cats (and a dog) ,and it was honestly never an issue. They were mildly curious and that was about it. Even now they cuddle or run depending on their moods. As far as cat fur, just run the vacuum. Exposure to animals actually helps decrease the chances of allergies in kids.
If you have very high strung or aggressive cats, then talk to your vet.

[Deleted User] · July 2014

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LucilleAustero · July 2014

We have two cats and they were great with DD from day one. Our male kind of hid out for the first few weeks and our female became protective of DD. Almost three years later, they love her and she loves them.

YogaSandy · July 2014

We thought my youngest cat was terrified of LO when we first brought him home. She would hide and refused to come upstairs. She's a really scared cat to begin with. Shes scared of people who aren't DH or I. On the second or third day we discovered she was only terrified of the helium baby boy balloons someone brought us.

I don't know if it made a difference, but I did read it as a suggestion somewhere. When we came home from the hospital, DH carried LO in and I walked in first. I went right to the cats and petted them. We didn't force them to interact.

My older cat (who has been my personal body guard - always positioning herself between me and the door) was very curious and protective - she had to go see when he was crying. The younger one kind of stayed away, but would sniff every now and then. Now that he's mobile, they pretty much stay away. He grabs hair. I am teaching him to pet nice. He did grab the older cat's fur once before I could stop him. She didn't bite him or anything.

The younger one has sat across my shoulders while I was breastfeeding.

I think if you let them know they're still loved and don't change their routine too much (mine are very routine oriented), it can be fine. But both my cats are really gentle cats. I also think not taking over their space is important. As much as possible leave some areas that are just for the cats. Oh, and lots of treats help my girls.

allonsyalonso · July 2014

Both of our cats stayed pretty far away when we brought DS home. They sniffed at him, but then he'd move or cry and they wanted nothing to do with it. 15 months later, the younger cat will let DS pet and play with him. The older one is coming around to him and will let DS pet him once or twice before running off.

Long story short: try not to worry too much about it.

portentosa · July 2014

MrsMuq said:

@tromboner - I seriously do not understand what sort of danger people think animal hair presents to a baby/child. What could possibly be so dangerous in cat or dog fur?! Oi. This is a major point of irritation to me, lol.

Seriously. It was right after I posted that picture of DS at 5 weeks old sharing my lap with one of my cats. I got a PM from a chick I knew in HS. She was concerned that DS would develop allergies being that close to my cat. Uh, no. Being near my pets will not hurt my kid. Irritates the crap out of me too.

PrimRoseMama · July 2014

My cats are two disabled, rescue cats. They wanted nothing to do with either at the newborn stage.

Pumpkin loved to give "his kitten" (DS) baths with his tongue during tummy time. He was still recovering from his brush with death when Abby was young. He let's her dress him up & lay on him like a Pillow. The cat is a huge fluffy AW.

DS will get rough with him but I redirect DS to do soft touches & remove him if Kitty looks displeased.

Penny doesn't like being messed with. So she hides in the cat tower & in her hidey places. We gave her plenty of "kid free" zones to veg.

The best things we did were:

• add an extra cat box. One for each cat & one for the house (3 total). Covered (mobile babies can't mess with it) & cleaned daily.

• fresh toys, catnip & at least 5-10 mins of pets a day

• Kid free hide places, towers or even a gated off portion the pet can retreat to when it needs a break. Our laundry room is Kitty haven. If they've had enough they have a fresh box, comfy bed & food/water there. The babies can't bother them there because it's gated off.

portentosa · July 2014

Damasked said:

@tromboner‌ I'm totally bookmarking that article for the nosy nellies in my life. Adding on to the suggestions about cats having their own space, we are getting a gate for the room our cats' food dishes and litter box are in (oh, and also a rabbit, because our house is a small zoo). It's a pet gate that has a tiny door on it that cats can fit through but a crawling baby can't. That way A) the cats can get away when baby is annoying them, and the baby won't eat cat food or cat litter (or hay, for that matter).

I'm glad to help.

And yes. I forgot to add kitty safety zones in my first post. My kitchen is gated off to give the cats a kid (and dog) free zone to escape to.... and to keep DS out of the litter box. They also have two high cat towers in the house to escape if they need.

RedBaramid · July 2014

Bah my FIL is convinced that the cats are going to kill our baby... considering that one of our cats LOVES my littlest SIL (7y/o) and has always handled rough pets/strokes well, and the other just is anti social with anyone but DH and I, I feel like there will be no problems to be had. I guess the most helpful advice I have read though is make sure DH brings home something that smells like baby before baby gets home. Make sure your cats have a safe place to retreat to, and make sure your cats still get the one on one attention they are use to when you get home with baby. Most family animals (in my experience) recognize what "babies" are, no matter the species, and tend to cut the babies some slack until they get stuff figured out.

caballablanca · July 2014

My cat is very anti social, doesn't even like DH, so he hides in the box spring or on his kitty treehouse. I've blocked off our bathroom where the litterbox is so lil hands can't go fishing for tootsie rolls. The first couple nights DD came home, the cat was actually pretty protective of her. If she would get fussy he would run over to me to make sure I knew. The cat doesn't want anything to do with her so he runs away if she is coming in his direction. I think dogs are more of a concern than cats. They sometimes do not know when to be gentle.

mrsH1112 · July 2014

Awesome thread you guys. Weve been wondering how its going to go for us too when our son is born in Sept.

We have 2 cats one is a senior and is 17 yo. We are pretty sure he will steer clear completly and not want anything to do with the baby as he isnt even all that social with us.

The other is 5 and is super cuddly and friendly but can have attitude when he doesnt get his way. We were concerened that he will try and jump into the crib with the baby and get too close. Weve tried to start directing him away from that room a bit and plan on just keeping an eye on him and showering him with affection once the baby gets here.

bnlamy5 · July 2014

Thanks everyone! I obviously know that our baby isn't the first to cone into a home with pets, I think as a first time mom, I just needed to be told that it'll be fine. My cats are pretty chill (one us kind if a diva) butreading everyone's posts put me at ease. Thanks again everyone!!!

KittyMisha · July 2014

With DD I was paranoid that my cats might jump into her crib and sleep on her for the warmth and accidentally smother her. I bought a netting cover thing to put over the crib just in case. It ended up being completely unnecessary, as the cats were freaked out by the baby and avoided her like the plague. This time around I'm not going to bother.

lbonga1 · July 2014

My cat unfortunately got very jealous when DD was born. He started marking his territory on everything, including het bouncy seat, clothes, etc., and he started getting recurring UTI's. We didn't want to just take him to the animal shelter or give him to someone we didn't know, but his vet bills were becoming very costly. Luckily our 16 year old neighbor was very happy to take him, and she adores him.

Our situation seems to be a rare case, but there are options if it happens. We found out later about pheromone things that you can plug in by their litter box, and I'm sure our vet could have given us some sort of anxiety medication, but he never mentioned it.

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cats and newborn...can they coexist?

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