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.