You CAN Keep Your Cat During Pregnancy
Wednesday March 12, 2008
Because toxoplasmosis can cause birth defects in children, pregnant women sometimes assume that they must get rid of their cat. This is entirely unnecessary, as a few simple measures will thoroughly safeguard against catching the disease, especially from your cat. Toxoplasmosis is a disease caused by a parasite that can infect your cat if she eats prey already harboring the parasite or comes into contact with contaminated soil. Toxoplasmosis is rare...read more
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There is really no danger to keep and cuddle your cat during pregnancy. Nowadays here in Europe, only very few women thinks or care about that. Even your gynecologist will tell you the same. All of my friends being pregnant kept of course their cats ! What an awfull drama to separate from your darlings while pregnant ! It’s better to be happy during that period and not worrying about your cats. I have been pregnant in 1972 and already at that time my doctor told me that there were no danger. My girlfriend in England had 8 cats and was happyly pregnant twice also in the 70th. Besides the “danger” of a cat during pregnancy, there are a lot of people who will tell you that the cats are dangerous for the babies. This isn’t true either, it all depends on you. If of course you suddenly forget your cat and you are only fumbeling around with the baby, the cat gets jalous, which is normal, she was the only child before ! Here are some hints :
Get your cat used to all the baby stuff you buy let her smell
when she sits on your lap let her hear that there is something in your belly.
When the baby is born, never chase the cat away, just put her gently on the floor.
Let her watch while you change the nappies.
Let her participate to everything what you are doing with the baby feeding, bathing etc.
If the babybed is reachable for the cat put a net around
All this I have done before and after the birth of my son. And he loved it looking at the cat while being fed or changed and when he was a little older sitting in his babychair and trying to catch the cat’s tail. They became real good buddies and my cat never did any harm to my baby !
http://gattinamycats.blogspot.com
for future mothers read “Piccola” in my old blog
http://gattina-cats.blog.com
I’m a dunderhead…I read just the headline and wondered “why would I give my cat away when she’s pregnant???” LOL
I did read the article and started howling. Yes, I did say I was a dunderhead!!
Some people are horribly ignorant about this issue… A few years ago, a co-worker actually had her kitten EUTHANIZED when she found out she was pregnant! And she announced this like it was no big deal! I swear, my jaw dropped and my mouth remained open for a full 5 minutes when I heard. What kind of person would think of doing such a thing — and what kind of vet would agree to do it? Afterwards I couldn’t even stand to be in the same room with her. *shudder*