Conference misery::feline_v1

    
    My old lady Smoke was six years old when my first was born.  She was
    always very good with children anyway, so she fit right in with an
    infant.  Literally!  She frequently slept in the bassinet and crib with
    the baby during naps, and on the occasional night as well.
    
    At the time, I had four other cats as well.  Their responses varied
    from total disinterest to running away when the baby cried.  None
    seemed jealous in any way, shape or form.  And none ever threatened the
    baby (i.e. hissing, etc).
    
    So, for what it's woth, I had no problems at all with cats & kids
    together.
    
    Bob, Smoke, Sneakers and (new!) Midnight
    

    My friend Katie had a mature cat when her Jimmy was born.  Casey Cat
    must have been ten at least.  They were wonderful friends until
    Casey passed away from kidney failure.
    

    CONGRATULATIONS GREG!!! Let us know what kind of baby you have!!
    
    :*)
    Bonnie

    Thanks Bonnie. We've known for some time now that it'll be a boy.
    And judging by the size of Dotty, he's gonna be a big'n. His 
    name will be Michael James. Our cat has many names but when at the
    she is "Kitty".

    Congrats....when is the big day!
    
    Sandy

    April 9 is the due date. I will try to give Bone-Head/Kitty all the
    attention she's gotten since I got her from the farm when she was 4
    weeks old. I don't want her to feel like she's taken a back seat.
    Hopefully she will adjust quickly.
    
    Greg

    Greg, I am due for our first child in 5 weeks, and I was wondering the
    answer to your question also!  Our cat (Felix, who's a girl btw), is 17
    yrs old, and VERY set in her ways.  She *loves* people except children. 
    She runs the other way when kids come over, she doesn't like to be sat
    on, have tail puller, bitten, or any of the other things
    babies/children can do w/out realizing their hurting kitty!  Anyway, I
    was also concerned about how Felix would react once baby is born.  I am
    basically confiendt that she will just run the other way when baby
    starts to crawl toward her, but one can't help but think about the
    outcome when baby does finally catch up w/the cat and claws start to
    fly!
    
    Mel (due April 20th)
    

    I don't want to put a damper on things, but feel that I must say that I'm
    very concerned regarding permitting cat(s) to sleep with infants.
    From what I understand there is a real danger that kitty may
    unwittingly smother baby.  (The percentage may be small, but
    if it is your baby . . .)  In England they sell cat nets - I don't 
    know about the U.S. 
    /Anna         

    Congratulations!  I had my daughter last June 1 and I have 3 male 
    cats (all neutered) who were a little over 8 years old at the time
    Jackie was born.  I too was concerned, but my worries were put to
    rest.  My boys ignore my daughter except when she cries.  They hate
    it and almost run to where ever she is and then to me to get her to
    stop crying.  They're really funny.  The only  problems I've had
    is when Jackie started to become mobile and would crawl to the
    cats and then try and roll on them.  Ben slapped her, but kept her
    claws in.  She once grabbed onto Barney a little too hard and he
    hissed at her, but again, no claws.  It's a learning process for us
    all but I'm really not that worried.  She is thrilled with them and
    can even say Ditty Dat now.  For the most part, when they see her
    crawling to them, they run away and keep their distance.
    
    Some funny ones though, between the baby and 2 of the cats.  One
    day, Jackie was in her walker eating Cherios.  Benjamin *loves*
    Cherios.  He literally crawled up with her and they shared.  Jackie
    thought it was great.  Then, the other night, she was eating peas.
    This time, it's Barney who craves peas.  She saw me give a pea or
    2 to Barney off of her high chair.  Next thing I know, she grabs
    a handful and drops them on the floor for him!  (What a way to
    make friends with the kitties!).  Moral of this story:  be careful
    of what you do in front of your children because they immitate
    you!  (I really couldn't help but laugh, though.)
    
    Good luck with the birth of your son.  Your life will change forever
    and it's worth every minute.
    
    Mary
    
    
    

re: .8

the fact of a cat smothering a baby has never actually been reported...
urban myths abound, but no reportings are known.  However, if you cat
goes outside, it is imperative that the baby be protected from contact
with the cat - the cat may carry disease causing organisms in from
outdoors, and the cat may carry pollen that can stress an infants
immune system on his coat....grass pollen, in particular, can make
an infant miserable - colds that NEVER go away, for instance.  The
disease factor is even more of a risk - bacteria, worms from contact
with infested cats or their scat, and ringworm come to mind very
quickly.  An indoor-only cat is cleaner by far, and IMO much safer.

It is, IMO, a good idea to prevent any animal from sleeping with 
an infant just to allow the child's immune system deal with some of
the normal allergens of life a little more gradually.  I really do
believe that folks who are never around animals are more prone to
bad allergies by the time they are adults, but I've also suspected 
for a long time that babies exposed too closely to animals can also 
develop allergies by the time they are adults.

	D-who-is-allergic-to-everything-but-dogs-and-cats

    My cats (3 of 'um) ranged in age of 11 yrs, 9 years and 3 years
    when Alex was born 4 years ago.  The older one Mitzu, would come
    and jump up and down on me until I picked up Alex when he was crying.
    
    Tina fell in love with Alex.  She was 9 years old then and has a
    real thing for baby diapers.  To this day, if we are out with the 
    neighbors and they have their newborn outside, Tina will stick to
    that child like glue.  She won't get on the child, but stay as
    close as possible.
    
    The younger one A.J. could have cared less.  As long as he was
    feed on time, the child was just another annoyance.
    
    To this day, Alex now 4, is madly in love with his 'litter' mates, and 
    Tina takes walks with Alex around the yard.  
    
    Something to see...
    
    Good luck on your new arrival.......