Cats and babies???

[Tonya]

I'm hearing all this stuff about how I have to get rid of my cats because they accidently kill babies and what not. Of course I am not getting rid of them, but I guess I may keep them out of the baby's room. Is it mainly wives tales, or do cats suffocate babies? Did you allow your cats around your baby? Was there any problems? I can't imagine my cats being stupid enough to suffocate my baby. They don't lie on my face, so why would they do that to a baby?

[catnapper]

I slept in my crib with tiny every night from pretty much day one. I wasn't ever hurt.

Studies also show that babies that are raised with cats are less likely to have severe allergies ans asthma. Sounds like a benefit to me.

If Ron or Raven like to sleep on your head (some cats do) then I'd be careful to make sure they don't get into the crib. But if they sleep at the foot of the bed, whats the problem if they crawl into the crib? Mom says Tony watched over me like a hawk. I was his baby too. We had a bond so strong that I still miss him today.

[jenluckenbach]

I have no personal experience to tell of, but common sense is all you need.

Cat's don't purposely hurt babies, but that doesn't mean you should take unecessary chances. Just like when you introduce one new pet to another, you wouldn't leave them unsupervised at first.

I too have read that babies are actually better off growing up with pets. It lesses the chances of allergies.

[prechrswife]

There is another thread about this on here somewhere. I think it is a poll. The title is something like "Myth or Fact." Let me see if I can find it.

Here it is:
http://petoftheday.com/talk/showthre...threadid=61359

Personally, my thoughts are that when we have a baby, we will try to keep the cats out of the baby's room as much as possible, simply because they shed so much and cats tend to love baby beds. I have every intention of keeping our cats when the time comes, and have no problem with cats being around babies when they are supervised.

[catmandu]

I am suprised,that that Old Wives tale,is still around,spred by Cat Haters! A Plaque,on thier houses!

[catcrazylady]

I can only tell you about a personal experience I had with my neice. My sister stayed with me for awhile after her baby was born. I had a cat that was very loving and adored the baby. The only problem we had was that my kitty would crawl up onto the babies chest and sleep on top of her. She was is no way trying to hurt the baby but we were afraid that all that extra weight on the tiny babies chest was a very bad idea. We just made sure to close the babies door when she was sleeping and we couldn't keep an eye on her. When the baby was in her infant seat or anywhere else we let the kitty snuggle with her and they really loved each other. I think it depends on the how the cat reacts and just some common sense things that you would watch out for with any animal. Each situation is different but I would certainly never get rid of an animal because of a new baby. I would think you could easily make adjustments according to the situation.

[Jods]

I think you should just keep the babies door closed when it's sleeping time... Other that that someone will always be supervising the baby so you'll know if the cats try and snuggle the lil baby.

[kuhio98]

It's an old wives tale. The way I heard it was that cats, smelling sweet baby breath (milk flavored) would climb into the crib and lick the baby's lips. I guess some very worrisome people extrapolated that into - What if the cat covered the mouth and nose long enough to smother the baby?

[sirrahbed]

We have been discussing this quite a bit around our house because we have a new grandbaby. My babies were all raised with cats. My oldest son had one of our cats who loved him so much and even slept in his crib. We kept watch but Harvey never even touched him except for a sniff - just always stayed nearby. The other cats showed little interest. My grandbaby has three cats and they are all allowed to share mommy's lap, etc and sniff her with no fanfare and all is well. When grandbaby Misha is at my house - my kitties have all sniffed her and Dylan likes to watch her from the tree (he is always supervising everything ) but none of them are particularly interested - just life as usual. So, I would just be as natural about cats and kids as anything else. Cats can be their best buddies as they grow up. My daughter Missy had her own special Ernie who she grew up with and who died just days before her wedding (Sirrahsim - Missy) I know that Missy has no memory that does not include her Ernie.

I believe that acting overly protective towards the baby is exactly what promotes bad behavior in the cats- in those isolated cases you may read about. I have never heard about a cat intentionally harming a baby. Still, I would observe and until I knew that there were no problems and just act normally.

[Christiansmommy]

I didn't have Dandy and Guinness, when Christian was first born...but i did have RB cat, Gabe. I always closed the door when he was napping, or sleeping for the night. I didn't want any chances of Gabe jumping in the crib...not that i thought he would smother him, b/c i didn't want the baby disturbed, when sleeping. After Christian got older, and could move his head on his own, a few months old, or whatever, then i didnt monitor it as much. And when he was much older, i had gotten Dandy and Guinness, and he was fine with them, infact, there favorite place to sleep was, in the drawer under his crib They never even tried to get in the top part of the crib Just watch and see where they like to sleep. I was a nervous first time mom, and didnt even like him sleeping with stuffed animals or too many blankets, b/c I was afraid of them smothering his face...it is always better to be safe when it comes to newborns

[Tonya]

Thanks everyone! I agree with you all. I figured some people are just crazy. Heck, they *cough* inlaws *cough* find every excuse they can to suggest that I get rid of my pets.