How to Introduce Your Cat to Your Newborn
In the world of house pets, cats have a bad reputation for being prickly, standoffish, and fickle with their affections — not to mention quick to dole out unexpected lashings with their razor sharp claws. Not exactly newborn-friendly, in other words.
But even if your cat is a docile, loving, purring machine, it can be nerve-wracking to bring your sweet, innocent, totally unable-to-defend-themselves newborn baby home from the hospital to meet their older, wiser, feline sibling.
Thankfully, with a little preparation and know-how, your fur baby and your human baby can happily live together (or at least tolerate one another).
Safety concerns when it comes to cats and babies
Unless you’re the proud owner of a hassle-free goldfish, having a pet in the home with small children comes with some responsibility. Just by existing, your cat poses a slight threat to your baby, though it’s nothing you can’t sidestep if you know what to look for.
Suffocation or smothering
There used to be an urban legend about cats stealing babies’ breath right out of their mouth, which didn’t help the “cats and babies cohabitating” PR campaign very much. Obviously, that’s not true, but your cat does pose a suffocation risk to your baby if you let them sleep near one another.
This is easy to fix: Make sure your cat stays away from your baby while they’re sleeping or dozing, whether that’s in the crib, bassinet, swing, or infant seat. That might mean:
Toxoplasmosis
Yes, this one is a real concern — but you’re probably already doing everything you need to prevent toxoplasmosis during pregnancy.
Pregnant women and young children are susceptible to this infection in similar ways. Toxoplasmosis infections in children can cause flu-like symptoms such as fever, body aches, and swollen glands.
To keep your baby healthy:
Ingesting cat hair
Living with shedding animals means you’ll end up with their hair everywhere, including in your mouth sometimes. Yes, it’s gross, but in most cases, it can’t really hurt anyone.
Obviously, if your child is intentionally eating cat hair, they could ingest enough of it to cause a blockage in their GI tract (hello, hairball), but this won’t happen from the occasional cat-hair-on-the-baby-blanket kind of ingestion.
In theory, if your child is highly allergic to cat hair, ingesting it could cause a reaction. Realistically, though, by the time your baby is old enough to be sticking cat hair in their own mouth, you’d probably know if they were allergic to cats. (Plus, some research suggests that infants who grow up with pets in the house may be at lower risk for allergies.)
Feline intestinal illnesses
Technically, any illnesses — viral, bacterial, or parasitic — that your cat is harboring in their bladder or GI system could be spread to the rest of the family if good hygiene isn’t practiced. Again, this is easy to avoid:
Jealousy issues
Cats get jealous just like the rest of us (where do you think the term “catfight” originated, anyway?), and it’s possible that your cat could display some signs of aggression toward your baby because of it.
Signs of jealousy in cats range from excessive meowing to destructive behavior, including urine marking.
To reduce resentment:
Scratches and bites
Cats are less of a physical threat to children than dogs when it comes to baring their teeth or claws. But they can still do enough harm to cause cosmetic damage or introduce a skin infection (like ringworm) if scratches are deep enough.
If you always supervise your cat’s interactions with your baby, it’s unlikely any serious injuries will happen.
So I don’t need to rehome my cat before my baby comes?
Nope! There’s often strong societal pressure for expectant parents to say goodbye to their beloved kitty before a baby joins the family, either to protect the baby or provide a happier home life for the cat. (Let’s be honest: It’s true that the cat might not be thrilled about being demoted from star to supporting player at first.)
But if you take the safety issues into consideration and find ways to respect both your cat’s and your baby’s boundaries, you can all live happily ever after.
What to do before baby comes
In any good “big things are about to change” strategy, preparation is super important. Since you may not know exactly when your baby is arriving, try to check these to-do’s off the list a few months before your due date.
What to do after baby comes
Once your baby’s been born, it’s important to make your house safe and comfortable for your baby and your cat. Here are some things you should do in the first few weeks and months after bringing your baby home from the hospital.
The takeaway
Cats and babies can live together safely, though it may not happen without your help. Like any good mediator, you’ll have to broker some peace between your “kids” and give both your baby and your kitty the tools needed for successful cohabitation.
Remember to always supervise any human-animal play time, never leaving your cat alone with your baby.
Posted : 2024-05-28 14:46
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