Cats & babies - good idea or bad?

[mum2daisy]

Hi, I'm not sure if this is the best forum to put this on but I wanted to get peoples opinions and experiences on having a cat in the house with a new baby? I'm asking as my brother and sister in law have been feeding a stray cat since January and it's doing its best to get in the house lol, it's even being 'kind' and bringing 'presents' of dead mice and birds lol, they have a baby on the way and due to this aren't taking her in even though really they both want to as my mum has filled their heads with the idea that the cat will suffocate the baby as they're attracted to the smell of milk, now I know that this must be a on extremely rare occurrence or there would be a lot less pet cats in the world but I have no idea how to help them feel confident on making the decision to take her in.

 

[GemsGem]

This is the biggest myth ever.

There has never, ever been a recorded case of a cat ever suffocating a baby any where in the world.

Try googling it - you will find none !

Most cats actually don't like the smell or sound of newborn babies and keep their distance well away from them.

 

[maple syrup]

This rather far fetched idea that a cat would suffocate a baby on purpose is an old wives tale that has no real basis.  Of course it is best that kitty isn't permitted to sleep with the baby in it's crib for the same reason that you don't fill a crib with pillows, stuffed animals and blankets.  A cat would be interested in sleeping in a crib because it is up high and warm. 

I think the bigger question is once a baby reaches a more mobile stage and is interested in holding kitty or pulling on its tail, and whether kitty would take a swipe at the baby in defense mode.  Though unlike dogs, a cat won't generally go into attack mode on an unsuspecting baby and seriously hurt them.  Usually they would defend  with a swipe to communicate their displeasure, and run away.

But whether the cat will like the baby at all is going to be determined by the personality of the cat as well as the age that the cat is introduced to children.  Is the stray feral or do they think that it was a domesticated cat that has for some reason lost it's family?  I really have no experience with feral cats and couldn't comment on any other issues other than possible health concerns.

We had a stray ginger that quickly adopted us some years back, that we had for a couple of weeks before we located the owner. Our toddler at the time would toddle behind kitty holding onto his tail and 'Pickles' thought nothing of the practice, and was happy to walk through the house with the attached toddler following behind.

Most kitties that are wary of babies will usually just stay out of reach.

I remember when I was 3 we had a stray blue Persian.  I was totally in love with this cantankerous kitty and loved petting her when she was asleep in her chair.  I had many scratches on my face as a result - she did not like being disturbed when sleeping, but I loved her terribly just the same.  

Our current kitty LOVES our kids, and they can pretty much do anything to him and it takes a LOT for him to become displeased with them.  Male cats generally have a better tolerance of children and can be more laid back than females.

If the only reservation they have is this old wives tale then I don't think that they have anything to worry about.

 

[fhicat]

If you do take the cat in, just remember never to leave baby and cat unsupervised. This goes true for any animals and any small children. 

 

[mum2daisy]

Yeah I've said obviously to never leave baby and cat alone, it seems to be a previously owned cat as it's very tame and always coming for strokes and is well behaved when it succeeds in getting in through the open back door, having only a couple of months ago took in a stray who was pregnant I'm all for them doing it as I now wouldn't be without Daisy and the one of her kittens we've decided to keep, I however have older children with my youngest being almost 6. They've said they think it's a female yet it doesn't seem to be pregnant and I said an un spayed female would likely be pregnant by now would that be about right (I'm in the UK if that makes a difference) if it's been spayed chances are high it was previously owned I think

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I had M&N for 5 years before my first child was born.  M&N generally keep their distance from my kiddos.  Especially now that they are mobile.  I have seen cat's sleeping in cribs; but my 2 never went into my kid's cribs.  They did get in the portable crib; but never with a kid in it!  We also sleep with our bedroom doors shut.  DH is allergic so they aren't allowed in our room because of that.  With my kids I didn't want them in their bed for a variety of reasons; like Maple Syrup said about it being the same as having fluffy pillows and stuffed animals, to litter tracking and just to be sure they didn't wake them up! 

  Actually; my DD has had a twin-size bed for a year now and my 2 still won't go sleep on it.  They will get up on our bed if they sneak in our room; but not DD's.  They still want distance from her. 

My 2 are indoor only so I didn't worry about presents and all.  I would think with just normal good home hygiene habits it wouldn't be such a worry.  When kids are small they tend to be with you pretty much constantly so that should help too.  Mooch went through a little bout with constipation that had her leaving "droppings" here and there.  I suppose that is the same thing in a sense; I got used to keeping an eye out for those things.