ladies with cats- r u keeping them?

[Klaire79]

I have 2 cats and they wont be going anywhere. Def get the cot/cat nets but the cats wont be able to get where baby'll be as they're not allowed in any of the bedrooms x

 

[Ashlee B x]

I had a kitten when i was preg with my son (who unfortuantely run away when she turned 2 ) and ive got a 4 month old kitten now too, not once did the first kitten try and get in the moses cot or crib. I showed her the baby in the bouncer, she had a look n walked off lol, ill do the same with this one lol, altho this kitten likes to curl up on my sons pillow next to him which is so adorable and hes old enuff to kick her out if he dont like it now lol

 

[Bumblebee117]

I am definitely keeping my cat, he has good manners and we will introduce him to the babies once they are here and try to buy the lotion that we will use on the little ones before they arrive so he knows how they will smell.

no need to kick cats out, just a bit more discipline. xx

 

[Celesse]

Ours will be going. Its not so much a cat and baby issue as they have maanged fine with DD#1. But a more people = less space issue.

We have 3 cats, dad-cat (3.5), mum-cat (3.5, no relation to dad-cat), baby-cat (2.5). They are indoor only cats as we are in a flat with no outdoor access. At the point at which we decided to keep baby-cat both me and OH where working and saving to buy a house, flat seemed pretty large and the cats had the run of the house, including thier own bedroom. OH lost his job and a couple of months later we realised it could be a long time before he got a new on and it made sense to have children now with low income and low outgoings. We got pregnan straight away.

As the family gets bigger the space available for the cats gets smaller. LO is now in "thier bedroom", doors have to be closed to keep the cats out of certain rooms at certain times of the day. In the evening we have to close the living room door so we don't wake up LO. We have had to move thier bowls so LO can't eat catfood. The litter tray is very interesting to an 18month old and she is constantly being told to come away (it has a roof on it, so not that bad). The cats like to spend a lot of time in the bathrom, but now even that has to be closed off as LO will go and try and play in it.

So baby stage was fine with cats, but toddler stage with limited room is not working out for us. And since I can't exactly re-home the babies, and we won't be able to afford to buy our own home for a long long time its got to be the cats that go.

 

[Tracybabydust]

Melvin my cat is like a baby to me, i wouldnt even consider getting rid of him. Just be sensible and ignore the idots who say such things! Those who do obviously dont have cats or even a pet. X

 

[fairy3853]

My furry babies are my first babies and I now have 4 of them and I would rather loose and arm then loose my tribe.

I understand what you mean about people scare mongering, but it is only that, I dont know if its the same with you as with me, but the people telling me I must get shut of my fury babies, or that my furry babies will harm my skin baby are the ones who dont have pets of there own. Iv even had so called friends telling me that the midwife will tell me off becouse of all the pets I have???? Personaly I think this is nonsence and so long as my pets and home are clean I cant see the problem.

Weve already got the nursery up and ready to allow the cats chance to get used to the new stuff and to learn that going in the cot is a no no. we initaly found Husky in there, but with the help of a very loud voice and a water squirty gun she soon lernt that she wasnt allowed in. THis is there home as well so through the day while babys with me, cats will be allowed in the nursery, but at night when babys asleep cats will be locked out. If baby co sleeps with me then i will be sat up in bed and im a very light sleeper (comes with having cats) and im not worried that the cats will try to climb on top of me like the do when babies hear, I only have one that does but as I get more pregnant I wont be able to tolorate this so shel learn that its not allowed as well. In general my oldest 2 are out most of the time and the 2 kittens (5mth) sleep with me.

Iv jsut bought a squeeky dog toy to get them used to shocking noises and plan on playing screaaming baby sounds in the house more and more on as the pregnancy progresses

 

[happygal]

we have 5 cats and theres no way they will be going anywhere. Olivia is 16 months old now and has only ever been scratched once by one of our cats and it was her own fault for being rough. the cats have never caused any problems. i think its a bit unfair that people get rid of their once loved pets just because they are having a baby x

 

[lalitas charm]

I have 3 cats and had them when I had DD. Before I was pregnant they used to sleep on my bed so that had to stop when baby was going to be in my bedroom. So at about 20weeks along I barred them from my bedroom (supplying them with other comfy spots) and from then on they weren't allowed into the bedrooms so when baby came home it wasn't a shock to them that they suddenly weren't welcome because of this new addition.

I never had a problem with them wanting to sleep on her head (the myth about them smothering babies because they smell of milk) though one night my ginger cat snuck into our bedroom as the door wasn't tightly closed and I found him sleeping on DD's feet (she was about 4 months) I had a complete heart attack but she was in no danger. He always wanted to be close to her (though not always wanting to touch her just guarding her I think). My other 2 cats weren't fussed and tended to stay clear, now they only come near her when she is going to feed them something tasty.

I didn't use cat nets or anything like that and have no plans to change how I did things with this baby.

There is no reason that you can't have both I believe that you cannot trust 100% any animal no matter what they are so all you need to do is have sensible precautions and make sure that the animal has an understanding of where they are allowed to be or not to be before baby arrives to avoid any jealousy. This time around we have a dog and we'll be doing something similar with her so she isn't jealous of baby though she's met a few babies and is completely fine.

 

[sarahdilan]

My cat is going no where. I got him just a week before I found out I woz pregnant ... Timing on that! :-D he'll be 10months wen lo arrives and hopefully slightly calmer. He sleeps downstairs at night and will be vigilant in Day.

I've always had cats and dogs and thats not going to change. Cats have a bad reputation but i've never had problems with them or heard of any from people I know with cats and babies.

You make the best decision for you. I have had to rehome a dog wen my daughter was a toddler as it bit her but even I admit that was my fault.

 

[sarahdilan]

My cat is going no where. I got him just a week before I found out I woz pregnant ... Timing on that! :-D he'll be 10months wen lo arrives and hopefully slightly calmer. He sleeps downstairs at night and will be vigilant in Day.

I've always had cats and dogs and thats not going to change. Cats have a bad reputation but i've never had problems with them or heard of any from people I know with cats and babies.

You make the best decision for you. I have had to rehome a dog wen my daughter was a toddler as it bit her but even I admit that was my fault.

 

[Siuan]

I couldn't possibly imagine getting rid of my two. Though they are both in disgrace at the moment due to the sheer number of live mice they keep bringing home. I think that's my only real concern to be honest. Not the cats so much as the potential for live mice getting lost in the house!

But otherwise, my cats are my babies and there is NO way I can get rid. They'll be shut out of whatever room baby is in at the time or if I'm there they'll be closely watched and we will most likely get the cot nets too I should imagine.

 

[MajellaG]

THE CATS STAY!!! I have four & I love them all. They were my first babys especially Fred. His mum neglected him at about two weeks so I had to feed him with a bottle & bathe him cos he didnt know how to (couldn't figure out how to clean his bum!!) His great now he's about 2 years old. Apart from a bit of a car accident one day causing him to need a hip replacement!!! My thoughts are the cats will adapt to baby & vise versa. I thinks its good for children to have pets.
People who dont have pets dont understand. Dont listen to them.

 

[Missy21386]

I've got 3 cats, but they are always outside because my OH hates them. I can't bare to get rid of them though! They have a house of their own in the garden lol.

I'd love to have them in this house again BUT...even if they were in the house, i wouldn't leave them alone with LO in a moses basket or allow them into the nursery etc as they do love to cuddle up to something/someone warm, and i'd be scared of them getting comfy and suffocating the baby (although lots of people have warned me about it, i've never actually read a news story of this happening before)

 

[SummerRocks]

Count me in the "why would a newborn not be ok with a cat around" group.

We have a beautiful 1 year old energetic cat and there is just no way he is leaving because we chose to bring a baby in our family. A year ago we chose to have the cat and we do not consider cats (or any animal for that matter) to be "throw away material" when not convenient anymore.

 

[shanti01]

If you are concerned that the cat will jump into babies cot then just get a mosquito net to put over. I learned my cat to stay out of the cot so far and now he sleeps next to it. lol I also stated using baby cream so that he can get use to smell around me. He still sleeps on our bed and will proceed doing that.

 

[Lulu1982]

Our cat is definately staying ... Along with the 3 dogs, 2 ferrets, 3 horses, 9 goats, 4 chickens and 3 pigs ... What's the earliest I can set the LO to work on the stables do you think?!

 

[Locksley27]

I have 4 cats( 2mine and 2 OH brought into the relationship) and the only time like anything of our kids is when they are not around. Most cats I have found avoid babies because they cry and cat dont like that sound. My cats wouldnt even consider cuddleing with a baby. The only thing that we did have a problem with was our dog. He is rather large and we were worried that he would try to get on his hind legs to see baby in the bassenet. But nope after introducing him to baby he didnt care.

 

[Nathyrra]

My cat is a huuuge royal pain in the bum, he opens doors and gets into all types of mischief. But that wee ball of fluff isn't going anywhere. He's family, and imo you don't just 'get rid' of family. He has absolutely no intention at all of going into my sons cot, he's never once tried. I tell you what though, my son absolutely adores that cat! Pets are good for babies/children.

Dun listen to these naysayers chickie, keep your fur babies and let those people jog on.