What to Do About Cats

I know animals are hard work, but they are not disposable. When you make that choice to welcome a cat or dog into your home, it is a commitment you take on for the animals life span. So now you have a newborn and suddenly the cats are inconvenient? I have two dogs and two cats. I didn't get rid of them when my daughter was born. Is it more work? Of course! Have you tried brushing your cats to keep the shedding at a minimum? Have you tried switching their diets so they don't vomit?

It sounds like you are being way too overprotective about your baby and keeping the cats away from her. My daughter was around all of our animals since the day she was brought home from the hospital. She crawled on the floor, played with them, and now, she holds them and loves them. Having animals in the house teaches your child valuable lessons, one of them being compassion. Keep your cats. Your baby will love them when she gets a little older.

I didn't get a chance to read all of your responses, but wanted to add that some of the protective feelings you're having toward your daughter are probably hormone related and will most likely go away as your hormones level out. Your feelings sound so extreme (keeping yourself and your daughter confined to 2 particular rooms) that I would suggest talking to your doctor to make sure you don't have any kind of postpartum anxiety that needs to be addressed. I just finished treatment for postpartum depression and part of my worst symptoms were having really extreme anxiety that I couldn't keep my house clean enough or wasn't doing a good enough job of taking care of my kids because I had laundry sitting out or my older son's toys were all over the place. This might be the case with you and your cats.

If you don't believe that is the case, then you might try telling your husband that if he wants to keep the cats he has to take on the care and cleaning up after them. If he doesn't want to take care of them, then he can help you find a good home for them. Don't feel guilty giving them up. I know pets are supposed to be a lifelong commitment, but sometimes things change and you have to put your kids first.

We have 2 VERY long haired cats and a 16 month old. I did have some trouble when he was little and his hands were always covered in cat hair. That drove me crazy. There is no problem with them touching him and they never jump in his crib or anything like that. He loves them more than almost anything now! Of course they don't want anything to do with him :) His second word was kitty and he will stop having a fit or crying almost any time if he suddenly sees them walk by. It just takes more vacuuming and grooming time but it is worth it to see how much my son loves them!

It is possible to have a baby and cats. When I had my first we had 3 of them. First of all, the amount of hair you are referring to and the vomiting makes me think that your cats may need a trip to the vet. I know from experience that some pet foods deter shedding. We had been feeding our pets one kind of food for months. My husband found another one on sale and within 3 days I noticed hair all over the place. We switched back to the original food and in about 3 or 4 days...things were back to normal.Another thing to try, since your husband loves cats so much, he should start a routine of brushing them.....as often as he can but no less than once per week. It is alot simplier to remove the loose hairs off the cats, than vacuuming the entire house. Another thing...my cats never jumped on the baby...I actually have 2 kids. That is an old wives tale about them suffocating babies.Just something to think about....might you just be focusing on the cats as a problem...making more than it really is...being a new mom and facing the fact that you will be returning to work is tough enough......this too shall pass as you are faced with another new challenge of being a new mom. Later you will look back on this and laugh...really.....you will. Once you have a second child or have your kids playmates over,you will realize that the cats arent that dirty at all!!!!

I am in the same situation with my cat. She is not a very friendly thing, and gets very moody if not fed canned food when she wants it, even though her dry food is always sitting out for her.

I, too, have to clean cat puke off the carpet far too often, and cat hair does get everywhere. I understand about the disgusting litter on the floor.

I sleep with my bedroom door closed, and my daughter's (who is 2 1/2 years old), because I don't want the cat in our rooms! (our bedrooms are connected by a walk-through closet) I am also pregnant, and am worried about the germs, etc., all over again like I was with the last pregnancy.

It is a difficult situation. I am not as paranoid as I was when my daughter was a newborn, because the cat really doesn't go near her, and sometimes my daughter even tells the cat to go away...

So I know the new baby will be ok once she's older, too, but in the meantime, I have grown to truly dislike my cat, and have asked people if they'd take her.

But animals are a commitment, too. And as much as that stinks when you just don't want them around anymore, they are a part of your family. Ugh! Like an annoying relative who just won't leave. My husband has suggested just leaving the back door open...

Of course, that's crossed my mind as well, but I would feel too guilty!
If you can find someone to take your cats, then it might be the best thing you can do for your sanity and peace of mind.
Otherwise, just know that they won't seem as disgusting once your baby is older.

The messes never get any less disgusting, though. ;(

Hi Mary,

I totally completely 100% understand your desire to ensure a clean space for your son. I would LOVE to have a dog, but the idea of shedding and possible accidents in the house makes me cringe and say 'no thanks'. I will never have a cat again though - besides my husbands allergies, my daughter is developing them as well.

I did have a cat though when my oldest girls were babies. So here is my advice based on that experience.

1. feed your cats a high quality food. I cannot stress this enough. It does make a huge difference with the shedding. Though you cannot stop it entirely, it will help cut down on the hair.

2. put a litter catch tray around the cat box. it will help grab the litter off their feet as they walk out. also, switch to a sand type clumping litter... it won't track nearly as far... maybe you could get a carpet remnant or something from a carpet store. sometimes they take small pieces and bind the edges for people to buy as door mats, etc.

3. brush your cats more. i know things are busy with the baby, but honestly... cats are tempermental... mine was incredibly jealous when the babies were born... i had to make sure to spend a little time with him every day. i would feed him a piece of turkey lunch meat while i brushed him at night. plus, with it being spring time, and the cats likely blowing their coats, you'll want to catch that hair before it gets on your couches and stuff.

4. accept the things you cannot change... if the cats are there to stay, keep the nursery door closed and blankets and stuff picked up. I would let the cats hang around the baby though... you keeping them apart is only going to make them more curious.

Good luck to you... that's all I have, but perhaps you'll find these few things work. I stress the food issue though... it really can make a difference. the good food is a tad bit more expensive (though sometimes not always the case when you do a pound cost analysis). think of it as 'concentrated' - less fillers mean, less needs to go in, and less will come out!

have a great day,

J.

Put the cats in an adoption home and take care of your baby. Then maybe in a few years, you can take on the responsiblity of a new pet. Take this time to do all you can for and with your child these years go by so swiftly, don't miss a moment.

I definitley agree with Patricia. The cats are a part of your family. We have three cats and I too felt horrible about getting cat hair on my daughter when she was little. Crawling around she would always get hair all over her hands. But this is no big deal...a simple wash afterwards, before meals etc. It is a good habit to wash her hands anyway. Just wait it out. I'm sure you are also just stressing about going back to work. Really, once she gets older and puts leaves and dirt in her mouth you will think "why did I worry so much about the cats!?" Babies are resilient and a little bit of a messy house isn't going to hurt her or make you a bad mother. Maybe just keep them out of her room so she has one cat free area and she will grow up loving her kitties! They will be one of her first little fuzzy "friends". So, just relax and everything will fall into place!

I think that if the cats are stressing you out that much then you should explain that to your husband and find a friend or family member to at least take them temporarily. I have 2 cats myself and I understand how frustrating it can be to find their fur everywhere, and I'm tired of the cat-yak every where too. I love my cats, so I try not to let it get to me too much. I highly doubt that your cats will hurt your baby at all Although they will be curious about her. Maybe put your daughter in a swing or bouncy-seat and then pick up your cats to bring to her and let them sniff her and see that she's not a threat and they will leave her alone. Let your husband know that if he wants the cats to stay that he needs to be responsible to clean up after them everyday. Maybe try using a spray bottle of water to keep them off the couch - that worked with my cats. Are your cats long-hair or short-hair? I have one that is longer-hair and we chop his fur super short every year in the spring so that we don't have to deal with the 'shedding' of the winter coat. The other cat we brush A LOT in the spring to help prevent some of the mess. I hope some of this helps. Good Luck!

The cats sound like they are really stressed out. The only vet who would listen to me and take me seriously when our cat was acting out was the vet at Capricorn Clinic for Cats in Lockport. I strongly suggest you talk to the doc...the cats shouldn't be throwing up that much (maybe they need a different food) and the shedding might also be a food problem. Our cat is on Prozac--people laugh and think it's funny that our cat is on anti-anxiety pills but it has made a world of difference.
Also, try not to get so crazy about your baby getting cat hair in her mouth, etc. Staudies have actually shown that children raised with pets are LESS likely to have allergies as adults. Plus having pets around really helps children develope empathy for other people and creatures.......Good Luck!

GET THEM SHAVED. We do it once a year to our cats because they are long-haired but you can do it to any type of cat. They look a little funny at first but the hair grows in and they start looking normal. It has made my house practically cat hair-free! Also you MUST invest in a Dyson or similar vacuum. But be realistic. Just like you can't keep your hair from getting everywhere nor can you expect cat hair to not get everywhere. It's not going to hurt anyone and cats keep pretty clean. If you don't think they are get them bathed or buy cat coat wipes.
As for the litter the best solution is to find a place in your home you can keep the litter box out of the way (like the utility room). Unfortunately, we don't have a place like that so we have to put up boards around the litterbox to contain the litter. It's helped a bit but I still have to keep up with pieces of scattered litter. I usually whip out the Swiffer vac or dust buster daily and it takes about all of 5 minutes to complete. It's a good practice anyway to find other choke hazards you may not realize are lurking about your floors.
Good luck!

I too have a baby - born one month before your daughter - and two adult cats. I also am a recently single mom with two other kids, ages 3 and 4, and one of the cats requires insulin injections twice a day because he is diabetic, so believe me: I understand the stress and lack of time that you are constantly feeling and how the "cat issues" are enough to push you over the edge at times, it seems. Just a few words of encouragement though - the cats have never shown any aggression toward any of my 3 kids, nor have I ever heard of a cat attacking a baby. I don't know if that's what you meant about your concern that your cats would "jump on" your daughter, or if you simply meant that they might inadvertently land on her while jumping. In either case, our cats have never done either of those things, but they have become best friends with my older two kids (they couldn't care less about the kids when they are babies), which has made all the aggravation of dealing with the "cat issues" around the house well worthwhile.

Four things that I have done to help alleviate the cat hair and litter-tracking problems are:

(1) Get your cats shaved by the groomer at your vet or an independent groomer. I have owned cats all my life and had always thought that shaving a cat sounded cruel until I finally tried it last year out of desperation because of the cat hair everywhere in the house. It was one of the best things I have ever done since it virtually eliminates cat hair around the house. I was also pleasantly surprised to discover that one of my two cats LOVES being shaved - he purrs the entire time and acts like he is clearly enjoying it. The downside of shaving the cats is the expense - it's usually around $40-$45 per cat (but includes their nails being trimmed) and, of course, like a haircut, it doesn't last forever since the fur grows back, so you have to keep taking the cats back every so often if you really want to keep your house fur-free. BTW, unless you're planning on entering your cats in a photo contest, don't opt for the "lion cut" - while cute-looking, it leaves full-length fur on them in areas where you could eliminate it, like the tip of the tail, the "ankles", and around the neck. Tell the groomer to shave off as much fur as they can wherever they can.

(2) Put sheets or towels over your furniture. It won't win you any interior design awards, but it is an easy way to collect all the cat hair (and dust - LOL!) on a piece of furniture. Just shake out the sheet or towel, and/or wash/replace it, whenever it accumulates cat hair. I end up doing a lot more laundry because of the "cat sheets/towels", but I'd rather spend a few extra minutes a day doing an extra load of laundry than spend 1/2 hour a day with an Oreck hand vac just to get the cat hair off the sofa alone!

(3) Switch to clumping litter if you don't already use it.

(4) Try putting your litter box(es) in a bathtub. I have found that this (in combination with #3 above) substantially reduces the tracking of litter into the rest of the house since the litter falls off the cats' paws into the tub when they jump up on the edge of the tub to then jump out of it. (I put the litter box in the bathtub that I use to shower everyday and make cleaning the box and tub part of my daily shower routine.) If you're worried about the litter going down the tub drain, keep the litter box(es) at the far end of the tub and put a stopper in the drain or use one of those strainer-like drain covers.

Good luck with your new little one and the cats, and please let us know how things go!