I'm pregnant - will my cats be ok?

duggie

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Hi,

I'm new to the boards - my name is Duggie and I have three cats.


I am seven weeks pregnant and am worried about my cats will be once the baby is born.

Does anyone have any advice on how I can make the change easier for them to cope with?

Thanks
x
 

goldenkitty45

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Let the cats smell baby things (poweder, lotion, etc.). You can use a screen door on the baby's room where they can see/smell/hear the baby but don't have too much physical contact.

Use plastic throw away gloves when cleaning their litter pans (unless your husband will do the job for you).

ALWAYS greet and pet your cats before you give attention to the baby - this will lessen any jealousy.

My son was born in a house of cats - they were allowed in the room almost all the time - the cats sometimes stayed but most times didn't like the baby crying
I have pictures of my son at a few months old with a 2-3 month old rex kitten being curious with him


As your baby starts to crawl, teach him/her the proper way of being nice to kitty - NO ear, tail pulling, poking, etc. My son was taught that from the time he was crawling and was never mean to any of them - and they all had claws but never hurt my son
 

4catz

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Congratulations on your pregnancy.

When I was pregnant with my children, like Goldenkitty45, I brought in baby smells before I had my children. I also put my childrens crib up early, so they got used to that being there. When I brought my children home i introduced them to the cats and my dog at the time. Not that they were impressed.


Children who are brought up in a home that respects as animals, as you obviously do, learn to respect animals. My children are now 8 and 4 and know when you approach my cats and when to leave them alone. They often have one of my cats choosing to sit on their laps. I also foster cats and they have been great with that too.
 

zissou'smom

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This depends entirely on your cats' temperaments. My sister just had my nephew, and she has two cats. One is a freakout, shy, brain damaged (literally, I'm not just saying that) fat orange cat who hid in the basement for days and now acts like nothing is different. The other one was a stray for years and he has always acted like a child, attached to my BIL, a bit of a troublemaker, super friendly, brown tabby boy. He acts plain old jealous. When my BIL is holding my nephew, Percival will get up on his lap too. He never acts out towards the baby, but he really does act like a sibling.

Zissou sniffed his head, shrugged, and kept walking. Though her tail did puff a little the first time he cried.

So what kind of cats are yours?

I am 99.9% sure your cats will be just fine, and will require only a little bit of adjusting.
 

whosamyhercules

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I never had a problem with my cats, didnt introduce them to baby smells or anything and it ended up where my oldest daughter would sleep in bed with me and the cat pickles would be right there with us. He actually got very protective of her and would like to sleep in her crib with her. Pickles would lay down and Maddi would lay her head right on his belly and fall asleep. **This only happened about twice before I made it known that it was acceptable.** I was a little concerned with her putting her face down into his fur and possibly suffocating. When you start to get bigger the the cats feel the baby kicking in your belly I think they get a sense of what is actually going on. I dont believe that they are completly oblivious to the fact that you are pregnant.
 

keisha

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my cat mouse slept on my moms pregnant belly. and my sister would just kick her all around. then when my sister was home, the cat slept with her untill she was 10. when she first got home my grandma came to see my sis. and my mom was passin my sis over ot my grandma, and the cat went after my grandma. because she was so protective of her. which was a really bad thing. we had to put mouse iin the bathroom. she even got mad when my dad wanted to hold the baby. she was a wonderful cat for the most part though. she was a siamese. very pretty. she jus died in january, of kidney failure.
 

saturdaysmom

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Same here..when my mom was pregnant with me her cat laid upon her belly, and when I moved my mom said "she made the same sounds as when she was pregnant". When I came home, Susie the cat was there with me. My mom said she never left my side, and when I cried she got to grooming me. I apparently had a bad case of cradle cap, but Susie took care of that. I was so aware of Susie, and so in tune with her that my parents nicknamed me pussycat. They joked that I was Susie's latest kitten. And as I grew up I was told the story of how i was "hatched by a cat."
 

catmomof2

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I have had cats through all 3 of my pregnancy's and have NEVER had a problem. We brought home a blanket from the hospital ( my hubby did) that the baby was wrapped in this way the cats could get the new babies sent.When we came home from the hospital the cats sniffed and that was it.I'm sure you'll have no troubles
Congrats on the pregnancy
 

EnzoLeya

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I'm not sure if anyone told you, you have to be carefull around the cat's litter pan area. Something with their poop or urine is very harmful for your baby. Make sure your partner is the one cleaning the litter not you!!!!


Kitties are usually pretty interested in the babies and from three mothers I've know their cats bonded with their baby more than the mother. My aunt's cats were supper protective of her kids and always was around watching them. He was an older cat so I think he was more than happy to have a baby to look after. Just be carefull that your cat doesn't lay on your baby!!!


Other than that I don't know much about the kitties and how they feel. I'm sure you will get lots of advise on that!!
 

zissou'smom

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Originally Posted by EnzoLeya

I'm not sure if anyone told you, you have to be carefull around the cat's litter pan area. Something with their poop or urine is very harmful for your baby. Make sure your partner is the one cleaning the litter not you!!!!

Other than that I don't know much about the kitties and how they feel. I'm sure you will get lots of advise on that!!
The danger is in toxoplasmosis, which you're just as likely to get from handling raw meat and walking around barefoot... it's not the cats poop that is dangerous but rather a parasite in it. IF you have never been infected by toxoplasmosis and get it for the first time while you are pregnant it can be very very bad.
 

saturdaysmom

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Most obgyn's will ask if you have a cat and will test for toxiplasmosis, it is a simple blood screen. I found out with my first pregnancy that I had already been exposed to and showed the antibodies for... because according to my obgyn I "grew up with cats". He still suggested I not clean the litter box if able to avoid the chore. Thing is both kids turned out fine
 

jen

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I just wanted to say welcome to TCS and also that it is nice to see someone concerned about how the cats will react to a new baby. Most people are just worried about themselves and don't even take into consideration that the cats lives will be drastically affected by this. Then they get rid of the cats when they are too much of a bother. Nice to see you looking out for them!
 

muttigreemom

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I don't have any kids... but....

One of my closest friends has three cats and she too was trying to figure out how the cats would deal with it when she brought her baby home. Turns out her female cat was so in love with the baby she treated the baby as if he were her own. She slept in his crib. If he cried, she'd be the first to run over to him and snuggle.

Her two boy cats are pretty much indifferent.

I don't think you should have any problems.
 

kittycorner

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First of all congratulations on your pregnancy. I am due any day now with our first baby and all 8 of my kitties have been fine during the whole pregnancy. I have made all attempts to make sure that they know what is going on. I set up the nursery early so they would have a chance to sniff it out, they have slept in the crib, played with her toys and have been exposed to all sorts of baby stuff. We also have friends who have a 6 month old and we have had them bring him over so they get to see and hear what babies do. I am anxiously awaiting our baby, but I am sure that they will get along just fine. I will let you know how mine do after she arrives, but in the meantime don't spend too much time worrying about your kitties, they will do fine I am sure. Once again cingrats and I hope you have a wonderful and uncomplicated pregnancy! You are going to love it!
 

mcat

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If you can get your husband to do litter box detail, good; if not, wear plastic gloves. You'll be fine.

My sil brought home a receiving blanket from the hospital for the cats to sniff before my daughter brought home my granddaughter. The cats were thrilled with the baby. My other daughter's cats didn't care at all about my grandson.

I'm sure everyone will be fine. Keep us posted. And congrats to you.
 
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