Monday 29 November 2010

Ignorant Claudia - weekly question

This is our cat wearing our first baby gift: an organic sweater from Petit Bateau. What? We needed some practice!!! But this is another story!

Our cat is our first baby. We got this huge orange kitty 10 years ago. Even if he is a pain in the butt, he is a part of our little family and we love him very much.

So, can cats and babies live in harmony? Is the cat killing sleeping babies a myth or a reality? What can we do to have a safe baby and a stress free cat (you can also include a stress free dog in the family portrait)?

10 comments:

julia said...

Haha, can't believe you out this shirt on your cat... ;) I have two cats and I was afraid they could think the baby was a mouse or something, but actually they are quite sweet! Everytime Javi cries they get really nervous and anxious and seem like they worry about him...

kimu said...

LOLing over that photo! Your poor cat!

We have two cats and a small dog and I was worried about how they'd all react to the baby. No big deal. None of them like crying but they don't do anything about it. Now that he's 9 months old and more mobile, they've all learned to move away pretty quickly if he heads their way.

Anonymous said...

my step-sister has 4 boys and anywhere from 5-10 cats at any given time (plus at least one dog)--no babies or cats have died or been injured because of the other and all seem to live in harmony. her boys are actually all very gentle with animals thanks to all the kitties.

ingrid said...

Moustie and O lived in harmony for the first six months. Then O started crawling. And Moustie is SO lazy that he wouldn't run away from O. So, O would start yanking on Moustie's fur and Moustie usually lashed out after about two minutes of pestering. O has had a few scratches, but doesn't seem to learn. I think the fun of pulling the cat's fur outweighs the pain of cat scratches.

Now poor Moustie is a basement kitty and he seems okay with that. We have a nice basement. His food and litter box are there, plus there are two couches and two beds for him to laze around on. Life isn't too awful for him. :)

Good luck!

Ali said...

I can't believe your cat let you dress him!! When I was a baby, our then-cat used to wake my mother 5 mins before I awakened. Very protective, some of them are. When they aren't fighting over the best outfit....!

Jennifer said...

We have three cats and they don't seem to mind and/or care about the baby in the least.

Surprisingly, they really aren't all that interested in him. They don't like the crying and will flatten their ears or get up and go into the other room when he cries for too long, but that's about it.

Vanessa said...

Just wanted to drop in quick and say Hi. :) I've been a Google Reader subscriber for awhile now and was thrilled when you announced your pregnancy. I'm about 3 weeks ahead of you with a baby girl and it's funny because I have a lot of the same questions and thoughts you do. I love your "ignorant" questions and mom interviews. Seriously keep 'em coming!

Lin said...

Depends on the cat. My Nan found a cat sleeping on (or next to?) my Mum's head when she was a baby but whether it could've have ended badly or not I'm not sure... stories have a tendency to be embellished over time! Having said that, my sister has a cat and while her daughter was small they installed a screen door on the nursery to keep the cat out. Once the baby is about one year there's probably no need to worry as much as they can move around.
BTW stripes really suit your cat. And if your cat is tolerant enough to let you get a shirt on him then I wouldn't worry about him with your baby!

kt said...

We had two when our girlie was born--they were wonderful with her. One of them (the somewhat crabby female) used to come and find us when baby started fussing--she was our nanny-cat!

And the girlie grew up hearing the request "gentle hands" when dealing with critters--she's still got gentle hands and ADORES all beasties.

Congrats--you look terrific! Sending bwt thought for a health family.

jamie said...

gaaaaah this is the best thing to see!

i have had a baby/cat anxiety post floating in my head. our cat is SO my baby right now!