# Pets and pregnancy



## ZoMo

Hi all,

I am 6.5 weeks pregnant. I have always been surrounded by pets but now am concerned about which pets may carry things detrimental to the pregnancy and baby. I am acutely aware of litter trays and my cat so avoid going anywhere near it. 

I currently have an elderly kitty, a geriatric rat, 2 african pygmy hedgehogs (they arent like wild ones, they live indoors in vivariums, clean little critters, no fleas etc), 2 bunnies, 2 chinchillas and 2 gerbils. My bf is helping with the cage cleaning so I have little to do with any of it other than restocking it with clean bedding and clean litter. However I am the only one to handle the pets. I dont pick up the bunnies, gerbils or chinchillas, just give them little strokes. 

I pick up the rat with a jumper on so that his little nails dont scratch me as he wanders and my cat is a lap cat so he follows me around and sits on me for attention. Obviously I feed them all daily and open their cage doors and they wander out themselves for playtime although all are trained to take themselves back home so I dont have to pick them up to get them back in. 

I also help to care for a horse. I immediately stopped riding when I found out I was pregnant but I still groom him and tack him up. This is the extent of my involvement with him though.

I was wondering if anyone knows of any issues between pets and pregnancy, particularly with pets such as mine?

Thank you xx


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## Chaos

You will be fine. Just wear gloves when you clean them out and wash your hands with soap and warm water after you've touched them.


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## JohnsPrincess

I agree with the above. I think you'll be fine - just lots of hand washing! Raw meat (like chicken) contains the same toxins as found in cat feces - and you aren't told not to handle that - just to wash well!


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## mumtobe01

All will be fine hun!
I have two house bunnies and I regually clean them out and snuggle up to them and give them kisses and touch wood my little bub is doing well.
We also now live with a cat and I just make sure I do not go near his litter tray and wash my hands after stroking him.


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## ZoMo

Aww thank you ladies, you have really reassured me!!


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## pictureperfec

ive always been surrounded by animals, 
i currently have 4 dogs, 1 cat, 6 rats, 9ferrets +babies, 4 bearded dragons, 2 geckos 

i have always cleaned out my rats, if im laying on the sofa my cat will sit on my shoulder so she can lick my head (noo idea at all!!) i have cleaned out both the geckos and dragons too and handle all of my animals daily!! 

im now 30 weeks and baby is perfectly healthy and all is well.. i get used as a cushion by all my animals  i have also handled ferret babies from day after they where born.. dont worry about it :) x


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## Scarletvixen

You will be fine, i currently have 2 cats, one puppy one dog one hamster one rabbit and two horses xxx


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## DarlingMe

It is new pets that are the concern, if you get a new cat or something. Since you have had them prior to getting pg you have been exposed to anything concerning. As others have said just wash your hands after dealing with any cage/litter box cleaning. Alot of women continue riding through their pregnancy too. Of course that is up to your comfort level and your trust level with the horse. No worries and congrats!


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## SugarFairy

Apart from NOT cleaning the litter tray I've not changed the way I handle or deal with any of my pets. I have 3 cats, 3 bunnies and lots of guinea pigs. I got a new kitten at 26/27 weeks pregnant - I was careful with him til he'd been vaccinated and checked by a vet but that just meant not letting him smush his face into mine and lots more handwashing. Thats about it. My Mum always had lots of pets through her pregnancies - gerbils, rats, hamsters, buns, guinea pigs, dogs, cats.... and was always fine x


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## FM_DJ

I think you'll be fine. We have a small indoor dog, a cat and and outdoor dog. I also have 2 horses that I board elsewhere. I did put one horse up for sale, simply because she's a competition horse and we could use the money. Plus I'm not riding her while pregnant. She's a barrel racing horse, so she's very high strung and very fast. Tough to handle sometimes. 

I am a bit concerned about the cat though. I have been keeping her out of the nursery, but hubby lets her in. I want it to be a no cat room. Anyone else have problems with this??


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## rj84

My cats have been our 'babies' for the last 4 years and I've worried about this - I don;t think I'll be letting them in the nursery - worried they're going to feel pushed out!!
Any ideas how to introduce them once bubba arrives??!!


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## Chaos

rj84 said:


> My cats have been our 'babies' for the last 4 years and I've worried about this - I don;t think I'll be letting them in the nursery - worried they're going to feel pushed out!!
> Any ideas how to introduce them once bubba arrives??!!

Our cats are 4 YO also. They are not allowed in her room. Sometimes I leave the door open once I get her up and I find one of them in her bed lol, but they aren't really bothered.

The day we brought her home and she cried for the first time in the house they evaporated in to thin air. We didn't really see them for about 2 weeks apart to poop and eat, but just left them to get on with it because we figured they'd approach in their own time, and they did. They where curious, walk up and sniff her and if she moved would jump 5 foot in to the air ;)

Now one is her BFF who she treats like a baby doll, trying to feed him bottles and give him dummies, many a time he has been decorated with stickers, he just lays there and takes it all! 
The other one doesn't have much to do with her, he'll come rub up on her sometimes but he always stays a safe 4 foot away from her ;)


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## ZoMo

My cat is 17, he is a mega wimp and terrified of absolutely everything, he gets chased around by my chinchillas, rabbits and my rats. I have seriously seen him run away from ants on the patio too, that sounds made up but it is true! We got an 8 week old kitten once and he hid in the bedroom for 2 weeks until we had to rehome the kitten. He will be terrified when the baby arrives but he will want to investigate any bedding as he loves to snuggle on anything soft so I will be getting cat nets to put over anywhere the baby sleeps to protect the baby. He is a dedicated lap cat too, loves to sleep on people so I would be concerned if he got brave enough to approach the baby as he may well try and sleep on it.


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## Seity

We have 3 cats and they were here first. They have full run of the house and there has never once been a problem with them.


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## babyhopes2010

youll be fine hun,try not to worry so much abut things x


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## araxie

nice topic


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## c1403

I know alot of people re-home their pets when pregnant or with young children and i agree with them if thats what they feel is best...baby comes first although i do feel for the poor animal too.

We have a 5 year old cat and i'd be heartbroken to see him go so i will make sure i phase in an introduction when a baby arrives and never leave baby/cat together....i think its important to have pets around and i love my cat (hes my baby too) xx


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## ZoMo

I do understand if people need or choose to rehome their animals when a baby comes along, all situations are different. However, having said that, my pets are all staying put, they are my original babies, I love them all and could never give any of them up! 

The only one who is care intensive is my rat who is very elderly and losing the use of his back legs. He will be long gone by the time baby arrives. He gets lots of special attention and is even coming on holiday with me in a couple of weeks!


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## FeistyMom

We had 2 cats and a puppy when we discovered I was pregnant with our first. I was more worried about the cats than the dog, because I figured the puppy would grow up with the baby (turns out I was a bit off on that one though!).

We never considered re-homing our cats, but I did keep them out of the nursery for the most part, and had already had to kick them out of the master bedroom because of allergies. Not so allergic that I can't have cats, but apparently having them sleep on me was more than my nose could handle.

But the weirdest thing happened while I was pregnant - I began to feel incredibly hostile towards the cats. At one point I think I told my OH that I hated them! Keep in mind, these were my babies! One of them had been mine from a kitten, and the other rescued a few years later, and I had always babied them and pampered them. And suddenly I couldn't stand even touching them. I talked a bit about temporarily letting them live somewhere else, but that never materialized. Within a few weeks of DD1 being born, the negative feelings were gone, and my kitties got the snuggling and love they deserved from me again.

Same weird hostile feelings happened while pregnant with DD2, and likewise evaporated shortly after she was born. So I was totally prepared for it this time around, and... I didn't feel hostile at all!

Anyone else have inexplicable hostility towards their pets while pregnant?


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## ahcigar1

You will be fine. The only animals you need to worry about cleaning up after are cats and birds. But handling and being around all kinds is perfectly fine. And will continue to be fine after LO arrives.


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## lesleyann

You should be fine hun, My dog has had a litter not even 2weeks ago, so im dealing with 9 pups and a dog.. all the handling, cleaning up poop and pee etc... Just make sure I wash my hands after each time


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## DJJ

I live on a farm so this is a topic Ive looked into. We have sheep, pigs, chickens, horses, cows and a dog. I agree with the hand washing and gloves on some occasions. Sheep at lambing time is a BIG NO NO because it can cause miscarage. Also Im thinking about any possible knocks and bangs I may get from our animals once Im pregnant not just the germ side of things.


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## jennievictora

I love pets i have a bird a bunny n a horse n a dog sadly we are re homing the dog because we do not have the time or space for him as we live in a flat and i cant walk him as he is 2 strong. He is also very boistrous and all though wouldent hurt a fly on purpose he to much with a baby x


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## Lulu1982

I actually wonder how people a few years back would have reacted to all the things we're meant to stay away from now!

I live on a small farm, we have a cat, dogs, horses, ferrets, pigs, sheep and chickens. I had my hand up a pig last week when she had some trouble farrowing. 

I keep all my upstairs door shut to the cat as he inevitably goes outside, gets wet and muddy and then curls up on our white bed!

Nothing has changed for me, I'm still changing poultices and picking up horse poo. I have a friend from the city who is 3 months pregnant and before she came to visit last week, she warned me that she wouldn't be able to go near any mud?!! It's a little hard to promise people that they won;t encounter mud when they come to a farm in Cornwall in the rain!!x


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## Digby

Don't worry about the rats hun - I know some people go into auto-yuck on thinking about them, but they can't hurt you or bubba. I have 6, one of which is also a geriatric, and they're fine. I just make oh clean their cage :)


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## flaxen

We have a farm too, and have sheep and a beef suckler herd and I have 3 horses one of which is a stallion. The only difference this year is that the tups are going in with the ewes a month later so that they wont start to lamb til the begining of february. This is so I can have a month to get back on my feet before I have the lambing to do and need to feel well enough to pull down a ewe that weighs as much as me. I am 20wks gone and still riding and only 2 weeks ago i had 6 cows/ heifers to pd.


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## zolly786

i have 3 cats and a dog...nothing changed around here. the litter box smells, you scoop it. 

when i was pregnant with my first, i also had a rabbit in the mix. dh was living in another part of the country, so i had to do it all myself. no biggie...i'd had the cats for years. i'd bet money on already having been exposed to toxoplasmosis.

when we brought harper home, my bengal started peeing on my carpet. a couple thousand later in vet bills, she was in kidney failure and on death's door.

when i was 7 months pregnant this time around, she started doing it again. on my new carpet. turns out she has feline idiopathic cystitis...so her bladder gets irritated, and in turn, she pees in places she shouldn't. stress can cause it. but so can other things, like not getting enough fluid. so she's on special food and i'm hoping it'll work. i don't want to drug her since they sedated her so much the last time. but i won't rehome her. she's 8 and pees on stuff. she'll be put down for sure, and i can't live with that.

but i know nothing about farms. i'm a city girl. and don't ride horses (every time i've been on one, i've been tossed off. after 4 times, i'm done. i'll walk, thanks)


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## Saphira

When my toxoplasmosis test came back negative my doctor told me I should avoid contact with cats and he mentioned hedgehogs as well. I've never had cats or hedgehogs but I'm not sure about the risks to women who've had them in their lives all along. I just have a couple guinea pigs and rarely handle them these days - when I do clean their cage or handle them I always wear a mouth mask and rubber gloves just to be safe.


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## DukesAngel

I have 2 dogs, a horse, and a bunch of chickens. The only thing I've changed is I now wear a face mask when I clean the coop out only because of the dust it creates. Other than that, I haven't changed my habits at all.


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## eve31

I have two eight year old indoor house cats and I clean their litter out a couple of times a day. I now wear gloves and wash both the gloves and my hands afterwards but that is the only change i have made. They also sleep with me every night - one shares my pillow and ones sleeps on my legs... I have never been sick from being around my boys for eight years so the chances of getting poorly now are low in my opinion. Also, my boys are my babies - had them since they were tiny kittens.


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## Sew_Sweet

I still scoop the litter - hubby doesn't do it often enough for my taste and I just can't handle it - so I gotta. 

I keep some disposable gloves near the box and just use them. Then wash afterwards. Try to keep cats out of your bedroom I'd say - to keep the paws off of the pillows and whatnot. Other than that - just relax and enjoy.


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## Lara+sam+bump

I have 2 budgies and a 13 week old lab puppy. I still clean the birds out, actually never occured to me that I couldn't. Not sure how puppy gonna cpe with baby as he will still only be 11 months when LO arrives, he is good with Noah and generally leaves him alone, but he is also resiliant to being nibbled occasionally or knocked over, baby will not, so fingers crossed he really chills out by then. Also I rode my old mare until 36 weeks pregnant with my son, hips got to painful after that, sadly she was put to sleep last August so wont be riding this pregnancy as dont trust another horse enough xx


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## Rainie

With the litter i would avoid doing that in any sense as it is not just the mess which is the issue but also the litter as it can have chemicals in it and most litters when you put them down smoke a little bit and you do not want to breath in any of that.

Clean your hands after touching any animal or anything which has come in contact with them. Do not allow the cat to lie on your chest or snuggle. My family cat and current cat tried doing that so much as they can sense your with child and they seem to love the feeling and emotions expecially if there pregnant around the same time. 

Other than that as long as they do not have fleas, illnesses and everything else is done correctly you should still be ok with the critters.

In my first pregnancy one of my cats was pregnant when i was 7 months pregnant and she constantly was on my chest and luckily for me concidering i was carrying a girl i was all round so it did not affect me too much, she would snuggle and be everywhere i was, she rarely left my side and it did not seem to be much of a problem but with this pregnancy the daughter of that cat wanted to do the same and i had to stop her right away as i felt dizzy when she was on me and could not breath due to being all front. Apparenty she was stopping circulation and access to my lungs which i did not think was even possible and cats usually is the only pet they warn about or they warned me about O_O


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