Cats and Babies Myths Going Strong?
Thursday, January 22nd, 2009I just couldn’t believe this column by baby expert Dr. Brazelton. I had to double check the date, to make sure such things were still being written in 2009.
Dr. Brazelton had been asked by a Grandma-to-be about the three cats that her expecting daughter has. After giving her the scary Toxoplasmosis lecture (forgetting to mention that there are no documented cases where any pregnant woman has ever contracted the disease from a cat), the good doctor then takes on the role of a cat expert and adds:
You are right to be concerned about your daughter’s cats and her new baby for other reasons.
Cats attach themselves to human caregivers, and felines have been known to be jealous of babies as if the new arrivals were siblings! Some cats will seek out the infants’ mouths and noses and lie on them to smother them.
It would be better for the baby if your daughter would rid herself of the cats. If not, the cats must be kept away from the child for the infant’s protection.
I couldn’t believe that in the year 2009, an educated man would still be spreading that old wives tale about cats suffocating babies! Not only that, he goes as far as attributing fairly complex motivations to felines, and actually claims that they will seek out the airways with an aim to suffocate the baby because of “sibling rivalry”.
Sigh. Where do you begin with such a stupid claim?
Oh, and if all of this were not enough, the good doctor adds a final cause for the daughter “rid herself of the cats”:
Finally, if there is a history of allergies or asthma in the family, or if the child develops signs of either of these, your daughter may once again need to consider finding a new home for her cats.
Note he is not even talking about a diagnosis. Any symptom of any type of allergy or asthma are reason enough for this Doc… I guess he needs to do some reading on the health benefits of cats, and pay more attention to recent studies.
My heart goes out to the poor pregnant Mom. Last thing she needs right now is an anxious Grandma-to-be armed with a letter from a “baby expert” that tells her to “rid herself of the cats”.
Such a reckless and irresponsible column could actually cost many cats their lives. Check out the column here and drop an email to Doctor Brazelton, won’t you? Oh, and do comment here with your stories about cats and babies – I am sure some mothers-to-be would find those useful.
