A bit of a rant this morning: some friends came over to see my 4-month-old last night. I was holding my son when my kitten (5 months old) hopped onto the sofa and started rubbing against his little hand, purring away. And then – shock horror! My friends started judging: "Are you really letting the cats get near the baby? Why don't you put them outside? They'll smother him in his sleep!"
I already had so many comments like that during my pregnancy. "That kind of myth is dangerous!" I told them. I'm not going to get rid of my cats just because doctors in the past used to blame their own professional failings on our poor little four-legged friends!
I'd love to know if you've had these kinds of remarks too, and if so, what did you say to all these idiots?
Translated from French
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I've got a little cousin who’s always shoving his face right up against Cerise, but Cerise is really unsociable -_-' we keep telling him over and over not to stroke him and not to put his face near him, but he just won't listen, even when he gets scratched. He’s so stubborn lol! And he’s 5 years old! :)
I'm completely with you there @azena, and I think growing up with one or more pets is a great thing; it teaches children responsibility and, most importantly, respect for others.
In our house, we've always had animals. When I was born, my parents had Brutus, a one-year-old Tervueren. I was *his* baby—he wouldn't let anyone get near me (well, strangers anyway). Then there was Cesar, a cat I never actually knew because my parents had to rehome him. He was jealous and nearly caused me some really serious injuries on several occasions.
But pets are brilliant, they're just so full of life!!!
As Candymarie so rightly says, you have to learn not to talk to others about how much we love our pets...
Totally agree with you Nimiss :) I think it’s brilliant sharing your pregnancy with your pets. No one had better make any remarks to me the day I fall pregnant because, knowing what I’m like with the hormones and everything, they’ll be in for a right earful! lol
:) Yeah, it’s the kids you need to tell to be careful! And as for the pets, well, you’ve just got to keep an eye on them!
Plus, like I’ve always said, if people reckon cats are full of germs, then you might as well not let the baby go outside at all, considering the state of the air we breathe! No water, no veg either—they’re full of pesticides! You’ve got to keep things in perspective and realise you can’t just keep them in a sterile bubble!
Yes @candy, an 18-month-old is a handful, that's true, but in this case my daughter hadn't even touched him; she was just sitting on the sofa where the cat was. Apparently, since I wasn't there that day, she sat too close to him and the cat wasn't happy about it and bang!!! It happened!
Now with my cats, I tell her to stop when I see she's starting to want to play with them too much, because they don't like it at all. One time Rocket scratched her hand; well, I didn't tell off the cat, I told off my daughter because I'd warned her and told her it was her own fault
Generally she doesn't bother them, but she's only two and a half and she has her mad moments too, so at those times I'm on my guard
An 18-month-old is definitely a handful. When I see the little one heading towards the cats, I tell him "no". He got a little scratch once and I told him he shouldn't have touched the cat – he seems to have got the message, but I’m still keeping a close eye on things anyway.
Ohhh yes Lyly, you're so right!!! It happens in the blink of an eye!
Last year my boyfriend went over to a friend's place with my daughter. This friend has a cat that isn't used to little ones at all, especially as my daughter wasn't even 18 months old yet, so she was still quite rough. It scratched her face and it was barely a millimetre away from her eye!!! And when I say a millimetre, I'm being generous. I thought my boyfriend was going to kill that cat! Luckily, it was more of a scare than anything else.
I got those kinds of comments too when I was pregnant. At the time I only had Toulouse, an old cat I’d had since I was a little girl. My "friends" were telling me to give up my cat because of the baby’s arrival. I told them there was no way I was going to give up a cat I’d had since I was 9!!! (and even if he'd only been with us a short while, I still wouldn't have done it). I can’t stand those kinds of conversations, like: having a baby with animals isn't hygienic, they're full of germs, it's dirty, etc... The main thing is just making sure the cat or dog, or whatever it is, isn't left alone with the baby.
It’s actually the main topic of conversation at home right now! We’ve been wanting another child for 2 years and my partner says the cats will have to live outside!!!! He’s gone mad!!!! He knows full well I won’t let that happen anyway! Anyway....
As for toxo, you just have to wash your hands regularly and wear gloves to do the litter tray. I didn't have that issue myself; this is just advice from some friends of mine.
