Pets and your baby

Mary - posted on 04/17/2010

i have two de-clawed cats (both 3 yrs old).
when we brought the baby home they wanted nothing to do with him. he would start screaming and i'd look over and see 2 very worried looking cats. lol!
they've gotten a little more used to him and will even come up to him to rub their heads on his head but if he moves or makes any noise they're like, "screw dis" and they leave.
the baby sleeps in our room next to the bed and we shut the door so the cats can't get in, but it's gonna be summer soon and we're gonna have to open the door again or it's gonna get way too hot. weather the baby's gonna still be in our room or his own room, i'm gonna get a screen door and put it up so he'll get some cool air without letting the cats in.

Tammy - posted on 04/15/2010

I have a 5yr and a 3yr old cats. The 5 yrs old is very indifferent to LO and the 3 yrs old will come lay next to the babies blanket. He knows he is not allowed on the blanket. And with the babies room i started closing the door as soon as we started bringing baby stuff home. but i do let them come in every once in a while to get their curiosity assuaged . They do great, when we are ready to leave LO room i snap my fingers and they both will leave the room :) I also have a friend who got a kitten about a mth before her baby was due. They kitten did a good job staying away and now that Gabby is crawling she chases the kitten and as soon as my friend was able to she had the kitten declawed. They love each other. and the baby plays more rough with the kitten than the kitten with her! lol

Molly - posted on 04/14/2010

I have two cats now and I recomend not getting a kitten. They really do need alot of your time which you probably dont have right now. Also if you wait until your baby is a little older she can enjoy the kitten too. My daughter Makaela is 4 months right now and she is just noticing the cats.

Daniela - posted on 04/14/2010

I Have a 3 year old cat and dog and we've had then since they were little. My daughter is only 3 months old so my experience is still a bit limited. The cat usually ignores her and just tries to sleep in her bed or cot or car seat because they are cosy. The dog is quite big so I try to avoid contact with the baby as I fear it may hurt her. It usually sniffs her a bit and then it's afraid when she cries. I am very attentive with the pets esp since my daughter is still very young but I still think that one can have pets as long as you train them and you still give them enough attention - otherwise they get jealous.

Nichol - posted on 04/12/2010

I have 2 cats my older one wants nothing to do with my daughter but my 7 month old I can't get to stay away from her, he even jumps in her crib and tries to sleep with her. He has never tried to hurt her in anyway he just likes to lay next to her.

Dani - posted on 04/12/2010

I was told to always get the pets before the baby, it gives them time to get used to each other, my concern would be allergies since cats are really bad for that, i got a beagle cross puppy well i was pregnant, and shes amazing with the babe, she thinks the baby is hers so she guards her and doesnt mind when baby pulls her hair and tail, my biggest problem is baby trying to put the dog in her mouth lol !

Erin - posted on 04/12/2010

I think pets are a great idea... we bought a puppy while i was pregnant to train him before the baby came. If you are worried about the kitten possible hurting your little one.. i suggest getting it's front paws declawed...but our puppy helps me out alot... he will give my little one kisses with his nose and lick the babies feet... its really cute. Good luck

Kirsten - posted on 04/12/2010

Yeah you shouldn't worry. I have three dogs and 2 cats. The dogs we have to watch closer just so they don't jump on him or anything. They also like to try to lick him mouth since it smells like milk, but we tell them no. The cats are not very intrested in him at all. The one shyer cat thinks he is scary while the other finds him kind of anoying. She doesn't like it when he crys and did try to nip his head a few times, but she only did it twice when grandma had him. Now she ignores him for the most part but she will let us put his hand on her which he opens cause she is so soft. We don't do anything to keep the cats away they stay away on thier own, you shouldn't need to worry about that either. Studies show that kids with animals in the house have less allergies. I think it is very rewarding growing up with pets.

Tracie - posted on 04/11/2010

We have three big dogs, and two mature cats....we also have a 16 year old, and a 13 year old. We don't have any problems with either the dogs, cats, or other kids. The dogs like to sniff the baby, and occasionally, lick the top of her head....which is ok since it shows they understand that our 17 week old little girl is alpha to them. The cats pretty much ignore her....my cat likes to lay with us in the bed when I am feeding the baby though. We are also getting a kitten for my oldest daughter soon....again...no worries. Animals are trainable with consistent persuasion. The key is to be consistent with both kids and pets!
;-D

Darlene - posted on 04/11/2010

We had a cat when my first born came home. The first few days the cat seem interested in the baby, but from afar. We did keep the baby's room door closed overnight for a few months, but it was soon obvious the cat wanted nothing to do with the baby. He completely ignored Justin until he was about 6 months old and moving. They are now best friends. He's doing the same thing with new baby so far. Completely ignoring him. I think if you get a kitten and train him from day 1, it should be fine. We did have to train the cat to stay off the baby furniture. We used aluminum foil on the furniture. Apparently, cats don't like the feeling or sound of it. It worked. We also used a spray bottle of water if needed. We didn't have to do it often. Just the sight of it and he understood what it meant!

Lainie - posted on 04/11/2010

Our cat is about 5 and she has never shown any real interest in our baby. When we started bringing home boxes of baby furniture i started closing the nursery door so she wasnt allowed in there anymore and a few weeks before i was due i got a baby safety gate and put that up in the nursery door even though it is only 1m high she doesnt try to jump it. I let her follow me in to the room sometimes to get rid of any curiosity and she is fine.

Kittens can be very curious but as long as you are firm and consistent about not letting it near the baby or the babys things it should learn quickly.

Jennifer - posted on 04/11/2010

We had two 1 yr old cats when my son was born. I am extremely cautious leaving him alone sleeping with the cats nearby. So one thing we did is install a screen door on his bedroom door. That way it is a pet free zone and I don't have to worry about the cats smoothering him! Not too mention it looks so cute too!