[Rebekkah E]

A friend of mine is saying that she'll have to get rid of her cat for a month once the baby gets here. I thnk it's an old wives tale, but am I right?

[[♥]Gems[♥]]

I dont know... i dont think there are any health problems with it, but they say that cats may lie down on the baby and smother it...but my parents had a cat when i was a baby and I'm still here!!

[chickey_soup]

Yes it is. There used to be a fear that cats would get in the crib and suffocate the baby.I personally had cats when my daughter was born and there were no problems.The only minor concern is that pregnant women shouldn't really change litter boxes. But I did, just washed my hands well after.

[Kymr]

No I don't think it's the cat itself, I think it's the kitty litter and the feces. A pregnant woman shouldn't be around that. The thing with cat I've heard is that they will smell the milk on the baby and lick it or try to eat(gross) around the babies mouth. And I've also heard things about cat's laying on babies and suffocating them but I don't know if those are true or not. Ask your doctor.

[vsrom]

The reason is because a cat likes to cuddle. They will sit on the babies face to cuddle and smother the baby. That is the risk with a cat. It's safer to wait til the child is a year old when they can move the animal or get away from it easier. I had a friend who almost lost her baby from this. She just happened to go in to check on her infant and found the dumb cat laying on her face which smothers. She had to get rid of her cat for awhile.

[Rachel C]

I don't think so, not for indoor cats anyways. I've got a cat, and my baby is fine. My friend has several cats and her kids were fine.

[momof2girls]

I had cats with my my daughter who is now two, the only precautions i took was i never put her down with a bottle and at night I would kick the cats out of our room where she was sleeping and they did fine, they are going to be curious as to what the baby is but that is normal, if in doubt call your vet and ask the questions

[Gregory K]

I have not heard that but I do know that a pregnant woman should not be changing the litterbox. But once the baby is born everything should be alright.































cats.about.com

[glistwolven]

I don't think it's a horrible idea, as long as she's not just giving the cat away. Usually cats won't hurt babies. However, there is the danger that the infant might pull or grab at the cat, and the cat might respond violently. You shouldn't leave the cat and baby alone in the same room, for that reason. On the positive side, having a cat around the house will help the child adept to domestic animals and not be frightened of them. It also decreases their chances of being allergic in later years.Hope this helps!

[Betsy]

No more so than with other pets. I have ALWAYS had cats. They actually were better watch animals and more protective of my children than dogs!!I would recommend keeping them out of where baby sleeps just in case they are really lovey on them, but there is no need to get rid of them.