[Ansteorra] OT-Babies and cats

[Susan McMahill]

I had two cats that were very close to me when I had my son. One of them stayed fairly aloof, and the other was fascinated with the baby. When I nursed Adam, Buster shared what little lap I had. Actually he sprawled across my legs because my son was 9.5 lbs when born and Buster was about 15. There simply wasn't room for both of them in my lap.
 
Buster frequently slept on the changing table. I found him in the crib once. Neither child or cat were the worse for wear. When Adam began crawling around, Buster and he played. I have pictures of them both under the dining room table having a wonderful time, and another time when Buster was playing with Adam's toys. Adam got a couple of scratches but they were very, very rare. Despite his grabbing, pulling, yanking, etc, Buster was very patient and well-mannered. The scratches that were gotten were accidental, not intentional. Most animals are very tolerant of small children and infants and can be extremely protective of them. I would never worry about a cat with an infant. Not any of the cats I have ever owned (and that has been a dozen or so of them.)
 
There are some issues that do need to be addressed when having infants and cats in the same house. Litter boxes must be kept inaccessible for toddlers and cats must be kept up to date on vaccinations, particularly if they are allowed to go outdoors. We had some issues with fleas while our cats were going outside and Adam would get flea bites so we ended up making our cats indoor only after we lost Buster. (coyotes) Ringworm can be an issue if your cat goes outdoors and gets exposed to it someplace. Of course, if your child gets it first, the cat can get it from him/her, too.
 
Hope this helps.
 
LyneyaWell-behaved women, rarely make history.



> From: baby_sis_83 at hotmail.com> To: ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> Date: Sat, 6 Oct 2007 21:31:34 -0500> Subject: [Ansteorra] OT-Babies and cats> > > Are there any good gentles out there that have had newborns and cats? What were your experiences? Did you have problems with cats that were exceptionally attached to you? -Lady Grainne Kathleen NicPadraig MacDaniel None is deceived but he who trusts too much.> _________________________________________________________________> Help yourself to FREE treats served up daily at the Messenger Café. Stop by today.> http://www.cafemessenger.com/info/info_sweetstuff2.html?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_OctWLtagline> _______________________________________________> Ansteorra mailing list> Ansteorra at lists.ansteorra.org> http://lists.ansteorra.org/listinfo.cgi/ansteorra-ansteorra.org