Cats and babies

I always had dogs when I was young, never been a caught owner. About 5
months ago a ~6month old stray cat wandered into our lives and firmly
entrenched herself in our hearts and our house.

She's a great cat, occassionally indepdent as cats are wont to be, but
amazingly cuddly and always likes to be close to us. She's
indoor-outdoor, and where ever we are, she'll be 10 steps away. She's
not super needy but she does get a jealous streak - eg, sometimes when
DH will be holding my hand as we're lying down or on the couch, she'll
push her head between our hands so she gets petted.... She also plays
like a cat - hiding behind a curtain to jump out as you walk by, etc.

So of course now I'm worried about how she'll be with a baby in the
house. Obviously we'll keep a close watch on the baby, but are there
any tricks we can do? Any sort of training we might try with the cat?
Any sort of precautions other than the obvious (not leave baby alone
when cat is in the house)?

I'd be more concerned about toxoplasmosis during pregnancy than a cat after
the birth. You can't really train a cat and in the main they deal with
things in there own way. You may find a cat net useful, to prevent the cat
from climibing in to sleep with the baby.

Cheers

Anne

On 20 Jan 2006 13:01:11 -0800, "cjra" wrote:

So of course now I'm worried about how she'll be with a baby in the
house. Obviously we'll keep a close watch on the baby, but are there
any tricks we can do? Any sort of training we might try with the cat?
Any sort of precautions other than the obvious (not leave baby alone
when cat is in the house)?

IME, most cats are very adaptable when a new baby arrives. My cats
always just regarded my babies as uninteresting lumps.
Once the child is able to annoy the cat, kitty will usually learn
where to hide :-)

Nan

"cjra" wrote in message
oups.com...
I always had dogs when I was young, never been a caught owner. About 5
months ago a ~6month old stray cat wandered into our lives and firmly
entrenched herself in our hearts and our house.

She's a great cat, occassionally indepdent as cats are wont to be, but
amazingly cuddly and always likes to be close to us. She's
indoor-outdoor, and where ever we are, she'll be 10 steps away. She's
not super needy but she does get a jealous streak - eg, sometimes when
DH will be holding my hand as we're lying down or on the couch, she'll
push her head between our hands so she gets petted.... She also plays
like a cat - hiding behind a curtain to jump out as you walk by, etc.

So of course now I'm worried about how she'll be with a baby in the
house. Obviously we'll keep a close watch on the baby, but are there
any tricks we can do? Any sort of training we might try with the cat?
Any sort of precautions other than the obvious (not leave baby alone
when cat is in the house)?

First, DH is the one that should be cleaning out the kitty box, if you have
one. You should, for obvious reasons, stay away from the box if possible.
Toxoplasmosis is not something that you'd want to consider contracting while
pregnant.
We have a cat... She's about a year and a half old (our cat had a litter of
9 kittens Sept 15, 2004 and we kept just the lone female kitten that DS got
attached to) and our cat sounds kind of similar to yours - with the kitten
play, jealousy thing and puppy-dogging us around. Every cat is different,
but I would recommend trying to condition your cat as soon as possible, if
you haven't already. We had planned for DD to be in a bassinet beside our
bed, mainly because we just didn't have the extra bedroom for a baby. We
set up the baby bed in our room where it would be as soon as we got it. We
also put little things out, like the stroller and car seat, so the cat would
get used to it being around. We'd allow her to snif the baby's stuff, but
she was not ever allowed to go on it or in it. We found her in the baby's
bed once, and we kicked her out of it by spraying her with the water bottle.
We then put her bed and blankets beside the baby's bed, and she seemed to
like that idea, even though she had always slept on our bed. We eventually
weaned her away from under the bed, over about a week or so, and she was
fine. The obvious one of never leaving her alone with the baby was what we
did, and when baby was born and sleeping, kitty wasn't allowed in the room
unless we were there. She then moved back to our bed at night, and didn't
go in the bassinet again.
We moved when DD was 3 weeks old, and we set up her crib in her own room and
to this day, the cat will not go on the baby's bed, but I often find her
sleeping on the rocking chair in DD's room. We can't seem to break her of
sleeping on the baby's bouncy chair, but she doesn't ever go near it when
the baby's in it. Nor does she use the car seat or stroller or anything
like that as a bed. She seems to be very good with the baby, even though
she was almost a year old when DD was born, and she's very patient, even
when the baby is in her jolly jumper or something and the cat walks by to
have her tail pulled. We're usually faster than the baby, but the odd time
we aren't, the cat doesn't seem to even think about scratching or biting.
It all depends on the cat. Male cats are often a lot better with babies
than females. It seems that female cats can sometimes pee on baby things,
or just start messing under a bed, behind a couch, wherever. Introduce baby
as soon as you possibly can after baby is born. Let the cat sniff and smell
baby's scent and allow the cat to follow you to do baby things - like change
diapers, bath time, nap time, feeding time, bed time, whatever. As your cat
sees it, that is their house, you are theirs and all your attention is
theirs as well, not this strange, new thing that you'll have around taking
up all your time and energy! Cats are silly creatures, but I've never had a
problem with my cats - this one we have now, or the old pair of old cats
that were spoiled rotten that I had when DS was born 5 years ago.
I really don't know what will work. Maybe a public library would have a
book or two on cat behaviour and introducing a baby into the cat's life and
home?

oops, 'caught' should say "cat" - I swear that's what I typed!

(DH cleans the litter box daily, I'm religious about cleaning stuff -
surfaces, etc- I'm not too worried about toxo)

I was just writing a reply to this post and then it disappeared, I
wonder if it will show up unfinished?
Anyway, get a spray bottle. Our cat (who was very interested in
ANYONE, be it infant or adult) learned very quickly not to bite after
being sprayed with water and told "NO!" after every offense. Of
course, your cat probably won't bite a newborn, our cat was dealing
with a 1.5 year old.
Remember to have your husband clean the litterbox while your pregnant
especially if your cat goes outside.

Sarah

xkatx wrote:
A lot of good info -

Thanks for all the tips, all very good ideas.

. As your cat
sees it, that is their house, you are theirs and all your attention is
theirs as well, not this strange, new thing that you'll have around taking
up all your time and energy!

This cracked me up.I think this is it exactly. I often say "she lived
on the streets for at least 5 months, she should be grateful to us and
treating us like her saviours, not her slaves!" But we're suckers ;-)

"cjra" wrote in message
ups.com...

xkatx wrote:
A lot of good info -

Thanks for all the tips, all very good ideas.

. As your cat
sees it, that is their house, you are theirs and all your attention is
theirs as well, not this strange, new thing that you'll have around
taking
up all your time and energy!

This cracked me up.I think this is it exactly. I often say "she lived
on the streets for at least 5 months, she should be grateful to us and
treating us like her saviours, not her slaves!" But we're suckers ;-)

Haha well, cats are just like children! Cats seem to push your buttons...
So do kids. Cats just seem to eat, sleep and make a mess of toilet paper,
so do kids. Cats don't like to listen, and it's funny that neither do kids.
Cats come and go as they please... I remember doing that as a child, well,
an older child, anyways. Cats and children are constantly under your feet
when you cook, clean and do the dishes, and when you trip over something
while putting something in the oven, you have to turn around and prepare
yourself to either yell at the cat or the kid. Did I forget to say that
cats can want more time than there are hours of the day? The offspring seem
to do that as well

xkatx wrote:

Haha well, cats are just like children! Cats seem to push your buttons...
So do kids. Cats just seem to eat, sleep and make a mess of toilet paper,
so do kids. Cats don't like to listen, and it's funny that neither do kids.
Cats come and go as they please... I remember doing that as a child, well,
an older child, anyways. Cats and children are constantly under your feet
when you cook, clean and do the dishes, and when you trip over something
while putting something in the oven, you have to turn around and prepare
yourself to either yell at the cat or the kid. Did I forget to say that
cats can want more time than there are hours of the day? The offspring seem
to do that as well

hehe, yeah, I realised a month or so ago when I was complaining about
the cat keeping us up all night (crawling on our heads, laying across
us....generally reminding us she was there and wanting attention, even
if it was 3am) that she was good practice for a kid
Fortunately, she doesn't cry often.

She's so damned cute though, you can't get too frustrated.

I've always been a cat person, and we had one cat when we brought Taylor
home, who was 18 years old and died a month later. In the last 6 months of
Digit's life, a semi-feral cat lived in our side yard, and allowed me to
feed her, and eventually pet her. The day that we took Digit to the vet and
had her put down, the feral cat was at the back door, asking to come in.
After determining that this new cat was a keeper and was okay being a mostly
indoor cat, we had her declawed. We were going to have her fixed as well,
but that had already been done. We assumed she was owned at one point then
dumped. She only goes outdoor while we are out, and stays in the
backyard -- like your cat, within 10 feet of us.

Cut to 3 years later, and Cricket is one of the sweetest cats I've known,
and incredibly good with the kids, but seems especially fond of Taylor. Any
time Taylor is on the couch, Cricket will jump up and ask to be scritched.
And Taylor complies. It's sort of amazing to me, as although Digit was the
love of my life, she was soooo not going to be a good cat for kids. But,
she was instrumental in Taylor's birthmother choosing us, and then she hung
on just long enough to make sure that Taylor arrived, safe and sound.
Awwww.

Anyway, long story short, we didn't do anything to prepare either cat for
the arrival of babies into the house. In general, cats don't want much to
do with babies. In the beginning, most babies sleep a lot, so the cat may
not even notice. Then after a while, the babies cry and wail and make
terrible noises, so the cat will likely stay far away. When the child is
mobile, via rolling or crawling, the cat is likely going to keep it's
distance.

For me, the real 'training' for both child and cat came when the child is
walking and can chase the kitty. As long as the cat can get away (from a
rolling or crawling baby), they feel safe and in control, and you'll notice
that her new favorite spot is somewhere high, that the baby can't get to.
But when Baby is walking, you have to teach baby to be gentle and not to
chase kitty, and you have to acclimate the cat to the baby.

Cricket would always come to me, if I sat on the ground or down low, and
held out my hand towards her, and made kissy noises. Taylor immediately
started to mimic that, even at 18 months old. Then, because Cricket loves
and trusts me, she'd let me pet her while Taylor pawed her. Rough pats,
attempts at petting, a few hair pulls. The first few times Taylor would
squeal with excitement as soon as she made contact, and Cricket would bolt,
so I had to teach her not to do that, that it scared the cat. As long as I
was petting Cricket, she endured the petting with nary a downturned ear or
growl. I always made sure to let her leave when she wanted without being
followed, so she feels safe and in control.

And as I said, now Cricket and Taylor are best buds. Addie is still in the
squealing stage, but we're working on it! I've been amazed at how gentle
and sweet Cricket has been with the kids, and although I'll always miss
Digit, she was the perfect cat for the stage of my life that she was in, and
Miss Cricket (AKA Fatty) is the perfect cat for this stage. Funny the way
that life works, isn't it?

Your description of your cat sounds like Cricket. I would hesitate to
describe her actions on the sofa with you and dh as "jealous" though. It
just sounds like typical, "Hey, pet me too!" stuff. Jealousy would be if
she bit you or dh, or swatted the hand of the person that she felt was the
intruder. It sounds more like the sofa is what she considers her designated
"Pet Me Place" and as long as you are there, you better be petting her! As
long as she doesn't get mad when you don't pet her, you'll be okay.

Now, my mom used to have a cat named Mulligan, who was a large black cat,
and he'd come over and rub on your legs to get petted. If you didn't do it
fast enough, or correctly, he'd nip at you, either on the leg, or on the
hand that was mid-pet. Nice. We called him Land Shark. Like the Mafia.
Dang. As long as your cat isn't biting, nipping, or clawing, you should be
fine.

--

Jamie
Earth Angels:
Taylor Marlys, 1/3/03 -- Who's got the Christmas spirit, singing all day
long, "You put one foot in front of the other, and soon you'll be walking
out the doooo-oooo-ooor!
Addison Grace, 9/30/04 -- My Little Ham, who smiles so big her eyes
disappear and she says, "Cheese" on command. Although it sounds more like
"eeeeeesssshhh"!

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