A Simple Minded Kat: Pregnancy and Pets

I am pregnant with two cats, a dog, a hamster and a fish.

Wait! I should rephrase that. I am pregnant?(with a human), and have two cats, a dog, a hamster and a fish in my house. Our pets are all gentle, friendly creatures who like children.

I've heard that some people get rid of their cats the second they find out they're pregnant. (I sometimes wonder if they were just looking for an excuse to get rid of said pet.) Other people expound the benefits to having pets around children. They are supposed to help children have stronger immune systems. (I'm pretty sure sharing an ice-cream cone with your dog has got to do something for your immune system anyway!) Having a pet can make a child more compassionate and caring towards others. A pet gives even toddlers a sense of responsibility and being needed when they feed their pet or care for their pet's needs. A pet is also just a good buddy. My nephew and his large doggy pal are the best of buds, it's so cute to watch!

Other people are horrified at the idea of pets around their children. The hair! The germs! The toxoplasmosis from dirty kitty litter! What about biting and clawing and smothering?!

I honestly can see both side of the picture. I see the benefits of my kids having critters around them, and I am acutely aware of the danger. How can we not be aware, when at least a few times?a year there is another story of a small child being attacked by a dog? And toxoplasmosis is a real threat to pregnant women and their unborn babies. I'll admit, I am still the one who changes the kitty litter around here. (Otherwise, it wouldn't get done!) But I am careful not to touch anything gross, and I wash very thoroughly afterwards.

My husband and I have had?pets?for years.?Our cat, Mousetrap, predates our children. We've always had pets around our children, and have no plans to get rid of our?furry family members.?So, in our house, we do one very important thing to have a compatible kid/pet environment:
We train our kids. Training our kids is just as important as training the pets. Kids love to get right into an animal's face. It would annoy most people to have someone walk up, grab your ears and get into your space! Pets are no different. We teach our kids about how to approach an animal, and how to touch an animal in a way that is friendly and not going to result in a bite or scratch. That said, my kids have been scratched by our cats. I have sat by and watched my kids pull the cat's tail. I say in my best "Momma's Warning Voice" (you know the one), "The cat is going to scratch you!" and?at least once the kids?will ignore the warning of the cat's hiss. They get scratched, quickly followed by a kiss, a bandaid and a mom's version of "I told you so!" That scratch is a better teaching tool than any amount of scolding, and learning that an animal can bite or claw to protect themselves helps kids have respect for larger, more dangerous animals.

Being pregnant and knowing that in a few short weeks we will have a newborn in the house has me prepping the house, the pets and my two older children for integrating a helpless newborn into a home with curious pets.

Every household handles pets and newborns differently, this is our general guideline: If there is a pet in the room, there is also a person keeping an eye on the new baby. We keep an especially close eye on the cats. Even now, when I radiate heat like?a I really do have the metaphorical bun baking in my oven, my cats adore me. I stretch out on the couch and I instantly have two best friends. A warm, soft, milk scented newborn is almost irresistible to our feline friends. So we train our cats that getting close to baby is a no-no. We have the bassinet set up in our room already. Our male cat, Boo, was positive that it was put there as his own personal kitty bed. He was picked up by the scruff of his neck, smacked and evicted from the room. He quickly went back to his usual bed, his tail up in the air with an aloof, "Well you don't have to be so crabby about it!" He hasn't tried it again. Cats are trainable enough to be taught to stay away. And we never put that training to a real test. Until babe is strong enough to push off a cat, the cats are under close supervision. If I want to nap with baby in a doorless space, like the living room, the cats get put outside, or in the basement. At night, we shut our door to keep the cats out of the room.

The hamster and fish pose no real threat to our newborn. (No, really??Maybe I'm strange, but?small caged pets are just not a concern for me!)?Our small dog, Charlie, is not much of a concern for me at this stage either. (If I was concerned about him being aggressive, he would be out the door that very day.) He will be watched of course, but dogs are not as much of a worry for smothering, though it would depend on your dog's personality.?It's when baby gets into the curious, crawling stage that we keep a closer eye on the pooch. That's when the dog food is moved where baby can't reach it, so that Charlie will never feel threatened by the baby going after his chow. It's also the time that the kitty litter is kept behind a baby gate. (Oooh, look, mommy put a sandbox in the house! Ugh . . . )

So how about you? If you are a pet owner, will you be finding new homes for them before you have your baby? Do you worry about your pets and your children? Do you think having a pet around your children is good for them? Share your thoughts below!

Source: http://simplemindedkat.blogspot.com/2012/09/pregnancy-and-pets.html

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