New baby and pet?

I have a friend that is having a baby and wants to get a new pet cat/kitten at the same time or just before she has the baby, is that a good idea to be looking after a new kitten or cat and new baby what do you lot think, or should she wait until the baby is older before getting a pet.

Is this the friends first baby? If so I would wait. Newborns are awfully draining without having a new kitten added to the mix. If this isn't her first child it would depend on the ages of her kids and how much help they would be.

I would wait as well. The mom is going to be busy with the infant, she may not be able to give the kitten the full attention a kitten needs as well. If anything, she should adopt an older cat, not a kitten.

Yes itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s her first baby, but Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m sure that she is aware and realize how mach attention a baby needs. But I donâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t think that she has really realize how mach time a new pet will take up as she has not had any pets before,

I agree with everyone. She should wait a little bit till her kid become a few months old then she can get kitten. BUT if she knows much about cat such as taking care of kitten, etc. Like she never had kittne or cat in her life time then she should wait a little longer. JMO.

My parents got a puppy just a couple of months before my brother was born. That pup thought my brother was another member of the litter, and helped look after him. As in, mom would put baby outside in the carriage to sleep, and the dog would stand guard and let her know if anyone came near. She watched him as he learned to crawl, and would grab his sleepers to stop him from getting into trouble. They had a wonderful bond growing up. So that worked out really well, although it was not the first baby in the family.

But cats are not dogs. And dogs don't scratch, crawl up drapes, get into trouble at 3:00 a.m. and make owners crazy....usually...

Originally posted by hissy
But cats are not dogs.

And dogs don't scratch, crawl up drapes, get into trouble at 3:00 a.m. and make owners crazy....usually...

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Oh yeah cats love to stay up so late and be mischieves! My god! Every morning I get up and see what's up with them in our living room or other rooms. I always put rug back where it was and other things that need to be in order.

In otherwise, dogs requires to take extra pay attention and take them outside because dogs aren't independence as cats do, not kittens.

In my opinion, if this is her first child, then I would wait because the baby and the kitten deserve and demand a lot of attention and love. If this is her 2, 3 or 4 child, then getting a kitten may help the sibling of older age feel more loved if they have something to take their mind of the baby.

I would suggest waiting or getting an older cat, and even then, the older cat would feel a bit left out (depending on how his previous owner treated it). A kitten is just like a baby and requires as much attention, and they are very rowdy at night, pouncing on ya while you sleep, pulling stuff late at night to get attention, very naughty at night when you try to sleep LOL! So it will be quite disturbing for a mother just having a baby.... my itty bitty opinion. She would also have to have someone else clean the litter box if she gets while she's pregnant, also keep in mind of the monthly vaccines for the kitty as well as for the baby, so it's like juggling two babies

Here's an idea. Recommend she wait until after the baby is born at least. I just about guarantee that she will figure out for herself that a kitten is just plain a bad idea for a bit.

From my perspective on this, I may have to differ with some opinions - but heck - its a free country.
I think having a cat - not ness a kitten is a good thing in the house very early when the child arrives. We had Brandy about three years before Christopher announced his arrival into the world. He hit it off with the cat and vice versa instantly.
He was instantly drawn to Vicki and vicki was instantly drawn to spilling my blood although she never touched him once.
I heard that having an animal cat / dog in the house very early is good. Does it not help build up an immunity or stop kids being allergic to cat / dog hair???
Christopher shows no fear to any cat or dog - he has been taught by my wife and I the way to handle a cat and has been from day one. He helps feed him / them when Vicki was alive, groom etc.
Personally - I am for the idea and in a world where kids have little respect for our four legged friends - maybe it teaches them some respect and love and may be, in later life, they will pass this on to their kids? More neuterings, more loved cats, less unwanted kittens.

Thats my 10 cents worth.

Having a 4 week old baby I know that my 3 cats are missing out on their usual love and fuss. A baby is a seriously full-time occupation. Think about how busy you might be and then double it - at least.

I feel very guilty not giving my cats their usual quota of cuddles, and I know that if I was to take another cat OR kitten on board now, I wouldn't be able to give it anywhere near enough the attention it would need.

My personal advice would be to wait a while until the family has settled into a routine with the baby and some extra time becomes available to give to a new pet.

Originally posted by kev
From my perspective on this, I may have to differ with some opinions - but heck - its a free country.
I think having a cat - not ness a kitten is a good thing in the house very early when the child arrives. We had Brandy about three years before Christopher announced his arrival into the world. He hit it off with the cat and vice versa instantly.
He was instantly drawn to Vicki and vicki was instantly drawn to spilling my blood although she never touched him once.
I heard that having an animal cat / dog in the house very early is good. Does it not help build up an immunity or stop kids being allergic to cat / dog hair???
Christopher shows no fear to any cat or dog - he has been taught by my wife and I the way to handle a cat and has been from day one. He helps feed him / them when Vicki was alive, groom etc.
Personally - I am for the idea and in a world where kids have little respect for our four legged friends - maybe it teaches them some respect and love and may be, in later life, they will pass this on to their kids? More neuterings, more loved cats, less unwanted kittens.

Thats my 10 cents worth.

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Very good point

I am finding it hard to discourage her form getting a pet, and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m starting to feel guilty about it, I do not think that I can show her this thread as it will upset her to much, she has about one months to go so I think that Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ll try not to upset her she is always at my house playing with my pets so, I think that I will get her to stay at my house for the weekend and see what I have to go through look after my pets and the time it takes and have a good talk with her about it all.