Cat Lover’s Site

I have three cats and have two healthy boys (5 and 3 years old). The cats were here through it all, from conception through birth and I never had any complications because of them. If you are already not cleaning the litter box then you are doing everything you need. Congrats and good luck with your family!!

ive never been pregnant but i kno people who have been and have cats, nothing happened, u cant really “contract” anything from cats except for the flu, (although in all my years of having cats and i have 3 now i ve never caught anything form them) dont let ur family freak you out, and after u have the baby, try to treat the cats the same (they might get jealous) and just watch them when theyre around the baby cuz they will eventually wanna check out that new screaming thing ur always holding!!!!

I just had a baby and I got kitties, when my OB asked if i had cats they gave me toxomity (or something like that) test to make sure they give me anything, I guess from there scratches, becareful i’ve also heard they can take a babys breath, and also they will get in the babies face to like milk off of them. I hoped this helped

Like any pet, the cats will be curious as to what the new thing in the house is. You should do you best to act as if everything is normal and how it has always been. The cats will probably hide for a while so make sure you take some time out of each day and go find them so you can pet them and tell them everything is alright. It will take a few days and maybe a few weeks, but the cats will get used to the new family member. I would suggest putting the baby in the carseat or sitting on the ground with the baby in your lap, so the cats feel comfortable coming up to him/her and smelling it. Remember cats are very sensitive to any environmental change, but they will quickly get used to the new lifestyle.
As for the cat litter, it can cause a few rare birth defects in unborn children. I would suggest staying away from the litter box and definitely do not change the litter- just to make sure nothing can come from it. It’s the kitty litter dust you have to worry about, not the actual cat itself.
Good luck and congratulations on the baby!

Most people with cats and other pets have already been exposed to toxoplasmosis and haven’t known it. It presents as a slight cold in humans. The only risk is if you haven’t been exposed and catch it while you are pregnant. Just be sensible, wash your hands thoroughly and don’t play with the poop!! AND the cat will not smother the baby either!!!

As to the people freaking, get them to obsess over something else that benefits you. My husband hung all the washing out for months after his mother told him that ‘putting my hands over my head would wrap the cord around the baby’s neck” hee hee!! I only told him it was crap after we finished having kids.

Pregnancy is one of those times that you will hear the most outrageous and ridiculous claims - all true of course Relax, enjoy the pregnancy and look forward to your healthy little baby.

use your common sense, the risk is the litter box, have someone else change it, if that’s not possible wear gloves and wash your hands really good! you don’t have to get rid of your cats, but when the baby comes watch them, they will be curious and jump in the crib with the baby, I’m sure you have heard all those horror stories too. The biggest thing is they may scratch the baby.
Your ob is the one to listen to and he said he wasn’t concerned so no worries! except all the well meaning people who won’t mind their own business bugging you
Congrats

If your cats are indoor cats, you have little to worry about. Toxoplasmosis is passed through cats that eat mice and other critters, assuming they aren’t doing that in your home.
Wear gloves when cleaning the litter box, and clean it frequently, it takes time for the parasite to grow, so don’t give it the time!
Here’s a link with all the info you need, including getting kitty adjusted to life with baby:

Good luck!

Since you don’t change the litter box there is no concern there. That is one thing you don’t want to do.
The concern that your family has is one of those things from way back when, that a cat with smother the baby.
I had a cat when my son was born and there was never any problem–that cat actually taught my son how to crawl sooner than the age he was supposed to–LOL!!!!!!!
To get rid of your cats just because you’re pregnant doesn’t make sense to me. When the baby arrives they’ll know something new is in the house and as long as you let them know their limitations during introduction it’ll be fine.

I had a cat when I was pregnant with my daughter, people over exagerate in my opion about the whole thing. AS long as your not playing in the litter or sniffing it like glue, you will be fine, you can change the litter when ever it has to be changed, I did, and my daughter is very healthy. I also kept my cat after giving birth to my daughter, nothing happened, she didnt get smuthered in her sleep or her breath taken from her as the rumers go. The whole be afraid of cats and babies is a crock of you know what to me, as long as you keep an eye on your pet, cat, dog, whatever you and your baby should be better than fine.

I have no personal experience with that yet but would read this:

toxoplasmosis eggs take 3 days to break open and become infectious, assuming that your cats were shedding the eggs in their feces at that time. (once cats are infected with it themselves, they only shed it during a two-week period, after which it never comes out again.) which means that even if you change the litter box while pregnant, as long as you do it before the eggs break open after day 3, use your standard precautions & you’re safe.

if you have already been exposed to it (as the majority of the population has been), it is already in your system and poses no threat whatsoever to the fetus. like chickenpox, it only causes problems if you’re exposed to it for the first time while pregnant. (there’s a test your OB can do to see if you have it in your system, but unless you have the test before getting pregnant, it doesn’t tell you when you were exposed. so if you’re already pregnant, it’s useless to get it done.) a great reference for most zoonotic diseases is really your vet - they’re up to date more than the average doctr on what the risks are of getting things from your animals.

sure the cats will be curious, but will probably pose very little problems - until the baby is crawling & able to chew on their tails anyway. they’re not likely to bother the baby - they try to stay away from little noisy creatures that make really funky smells. my cats (i had 6 when my daughter was born) were curious when i was holding her, but other than a sniff here & there, they just ignored her. my girl is now 3, and thanks to our kitties, she is great with animals & they all get along very well. i think they’ve helped teach her to be more empathetic to others & to be nice to all of god’s creatures, both 2-legged and 4.

enjoy your baby & rest assured that a loving home with animals is a great thing for a child to be safely born into.

people who tell you these things are ignorant and choose to believe in old wives tales instead of research. Just use common sense. Let someone else change the cat litter. Wash your hands when handling your baby as most people do with a new born. Your cat is not going to harm the baby nor is he going to infect the baby.
Tell your friends that you are prepared for motherhood and you have followed the advice of your doctor who states that having a cat is not a concern.
You might add that children who grow up around animals are more compassionate towards them and it is a wonderful learning experience for a child.

Cats that go outside and hunt wild animals and birds can get a disease called Toxoplasmosis. A nasty blood disease that can caused problems with an unborn child and for any person that contracts it. Cats that are inside cats have little chance of contracting the disease, so that is probably why your OB GYN is not concerned. Just to be safe, have someone else in the family scoop and clean the litter boxes on a daily basis and immediately throw away the waste outside.

As far as the cats and the new baby; they will be curious, but will not cause the new baby any harm. Just make sure that when you lay baby down for a nap, that you keep the kitties out of the room. They will want to snuggle up next to the baby for warmth and may block the babies nose and mouth. Newborns can’t turn their heads (obviously) to breath, so…

I have had cats all my life and during the time that I was pregnant and brought my daughter home. My kitties loved her and used to just sit and watch her. When she as older and moving around in her crib okay, they used to even go and sleep with her.

Because toxoplasmosis can cause birth defects in children, pregnant women sometimes assume that they must get rid of their cat. This is entirely unnecessary, as a few simple measures will thoroughly safeguard against catching the disease, especially from your cat. Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a parasite that can infect your cat if she eats prey already harboring the parasite or comes into contact with contaminated soil. Toxoplasmosis is rare among indoor-only cats.

Note that cats who contract toxoplasmosis do not always show symptoms. To prevent getting infected with the disease, whenever you scoop or clean the litter box, wear disposable gloves and wash your hands immediately afterward. Even better, get a friend or adult member of the family to take over litter box maintenance while Mom is pregnant.

Eating raw or undercooked meat is the most common way that humans contract toxoplasmosis. If you eat meat, wash off all surfaces and utensils that touched raw meat, and don’t prepare meat and raw foods like salads on the same cutting board. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling raw meat.

If you garden, wear gloves when working in the soil. The toxoplasmosis parasite lives in the dirt, so also wash your hands well after gardening. Many people naturally acquire an immunity to toxoplasmosis, and will not pass it on to their unborn child. Your doctor can test to see if you are in this group.

Planning Ahead for the Introduction

Let’s look now at how we can get your cat to accept your new baby with open paws. From your cat’s point of view, a baby who shows up with no advance warning is a loud, threatening, and attention-stealing invader. It doesn’t have to be this way. Babies and cats can be buddies. The key to getting a cat to accept a major jolt to her routine is soften the blow and introduce the change gradually. In the case of a new baby, you want your cat to be as used to baby stuff as she can possibly be beforehand, so that when your baby comes home, kitty is not totally shocked by this very interesting human life form.

Get kitty used to baby sounds and smells. Long before the big day, wear the baby lotions and powders that you will be using. Let kitty sniff you, and help her develop positive assocations with the new scents by praising her and giving her a treat.

Get a recording of a baby crying - possibly from a neighbor or relative who has a baby. You can also tape babies crying in a pediatrician’s waiting room. Play the tape for kitty, starting with low volume and short length, and working up to full volume and duration. Again use positive attention and treat rewards.

If at all possible, invite a friend or family member with a baby to come over, with their baby, for a short visit, followed by a longer visit. Or two or three. During the visits, let kitty walk around, but it’s best to have baby sitting on a lap.

A baby seat or playpen might work well, also. Play with your cat as long as you don’t bother or scare the baby.

If you’re building or preparing a nursery, give kitty a chance to become used to the new setup one step at a time. Let her get her curiosity throughly out of the way. Remember to keep up your daily interactive play sessions. Make kitty feel like she’s a part of all this, not an outsider.

Set up the crib long in advance of baby’s homecoming. Make the crib uninviting (to a cat). Fill several soda cans with pennies and tape the openings of each can. Fill the crib with these soda cans. If this doesn’t deter kitty, you can buy netting that fits over the crib.

You can also block access to baby’s room by installing an interior screen door - this is actually quite effective.

Give kitty plenty of exposure to toys, mobiles, and other baby accoutrements. You want all these things to have lost their novelty for her weeks before baby comes home.

Keep your cat’s routine the same as much as possible. This won’t always be easy between the hubub of visitors and houseguests and preparing for a new baby, but the effort is well worth it. A predictable routine reduces cats’ stress and prevents a host of problems. Ask others to help make sure that your cat gets fed, brushed, and played with in the usual manner.

Don’t go overboard and give your cat extra, compensating attention prior to the baby’s arrival because it will be impossible to keep that up once you have a baby at home to take care of. But do enlist family members to help kitty feel like a valued member of the family. Let all the adults and kids in your household know how they can help keep both kitty and baby safe, happy, and on peaceful terms.

sorry for the long post, i hope this helps.

and congratulations!

Cats like the smell of milk on baby’s breath. They also like snuggling up against warm things, so don’t leave kitty alone with the baby, especially not while baby is sleeping.

As far as the litterbox thing goes. The odds are VERY slim that you will have a problem (a mouse gets infected with a parasite, cat eats the mouse, cat has the parasite, parasite gets into the catbox) but it can cause very serious birth defects (neurological). So get somebody else to change the box (or wear a painters mask if you do it yourself)

Ok, other responders have given you plenty of good info about the dangers of toxoplasmosis, so I won’t go over that. Others have also brought up the old wives’ tale about cats stealing babies’ breath. 90% of that is likely misplaced blame - trying to find a reason for SIDS deaths before modern medicine came along.

There is something I would caution you about - but basically my advice is that no infant or young child should be left with any pet without supervision. There are many reasons for that - for the safety of both the child and the pet, until the child is old enough to understand how to act safely around animals.

Here is something that happens to me once in a while: when it is cold in my bedroom, one or the other of my cats will curl up right next to my nose. I see them do this with each other, too. They bury their nose in the fur of the other. This has two advantages: 1) it keeps the nose warm when inhaling cold air; and 2) the air they exhale helps warm the body as it is breathed out. When I have been lying on my stomach, and a cat has curled up really close to my face, it feels a bit suffocating. That feeling of suffocation has been enough to wake me up a few times. I know the cats do that because they love me and want to share warm with me. But if a cat curled up right next to the nose and mouth of a small infant who could not wake up and move away to get more air, it could be disasterous. I can just imagine a cat wanting to help care for their favorite human’s new baby by sharing warmth with the baby, but however loving the cat was, it might still turn out badly. So it is just best to be there when your pets are around your baby.