Can my cat sense this?

[Tonysweetie]

I have 2 kitties. Max is almost 1 and 1/2 and Cleo is 6 months. Max has always been the cuddly, more mamas boy, mellow kitty while Cleo, granted she's a kitten, has always been the playful, miss independent, don't touch me kitty. Well about 3 weeks ago me and my husband found out that were pregnant and ever since Max has totally changed roles. He all of sudden is getting into trouble, wanting to be in my lap 24/7, he gets so fired up sometimes during the day that he drives Cleo crazy. She hides from him and when he finds her he pretty much attacks her and she tries to run off and hide. Poor girl! They are usually the best of buds. I don't know what has gotten into him. It's almost like him and Cleo totally switched places except he's getting into trouble. He never gets on my kitchen counters, or tears things up but lately I can't keep him off the counters, he's tearing things up, running all around the house like a crazy cat, has to constantly be in my lap whether I'm on the computer, in the bed, on the couch. It's driving me insane! Does he sense things are changing and it's making him upset? What should I do to calm him? I feel bad for him but at the same time he's driving me crazy! I'm afraid once the baby comes he's going to become a really bad cat. So I'm a little worried about him how he'll react to someone else taking his mommies attention most of the time. HELP! lol

[maplekitty]

I have a friend who's cat has turned pyscho on her ever since she got pregnant. He used to be very friendly and loving, and now he hisses at her, and even charges her and nips her ankles. She's actually scared of him now!! I went over there and he didnt act any different towards me, but I for sure saw him growl at her as he walked by and took a swing at her foot - very weird indeed.

[Tonysweetie]

hmmm that is strange. Maybe Max is sensing the upcoming change. Poor kitty!

[Rico'sAlice]

This doesn't help much, but my dogs definitely know that I'm pregnant. They have stopped jumping on me. They have all gone to obedience and are trained to not jump on other people who come to the door, but we couldn't get them to stop jumping on myself and DH. Now they only jump on DH.
Also, my GSD has a tendency to jump on the bed and pace over myself and DH, stepping right onto our chests & stomaches. Now she only steps on my head.:rolleyes:

I don't know much about cats, the only thing that makes sense to me is to make a special effort to pay a little extra attention to Max throughout the pregnancy. And as difficult as it will be, try to do the same after the baby comes too. I would guess that once he gets reassurance that he won't be abandoned he will chill out.

[eli1126]

I have heard of cats knowing that something is up. A friend had a cat that was a mean old thing, but the minute she was pg wanted to be a lap cat!

Beth

[jnettie]

I wouldn't say it's out of the question, but Max is also at the "teenager" stage for a cat. Jade started acting up around 1 1/2, and calmed down around 2 1/2 to 3. She's 4 now, and pretty much your average cat again. They do go through developmental stages, too, just like people kids.

[Tonysweetie]

Thanks everyone. I'll see what happens over the next few months. Hopefully he'll realize he's still my boy! :)

[lml41981]

How many more places can you post your pregnancy announcement? Have you visited the cooking forum? Maybe you could start a thread about, "Any good recipes guaranteed to satisfy my pregnancy cravings?" ;):p

Yes, animals are very perceptive. It is highly likely he senses that he's about to be knocked from baby status to just-a-cat status. Fortunately, with your SAHW/SAHM status, you can give him the same amount of attention, just spread out a bit. I'm pretty sure my dogs are more thankful than anyone that I SAH now. They get much more attention and out-of-the-crate time.

[Delaney21]

We have 2 cats and one of them wasn't very lovey, but as soon as I got pregnant it switched and he won't leave me alone now. He follows me every where and has to be sitting with me all the time.

He did the absolute cutest thing the other day:

I was laying on the couch and he jumped up and snuggled his way between my arm and my belly. The baby started moving so I lifted up my shirt so I could watch my belly move. My cat lifted up his head to see what I was doing and he saw my belly moving, so he reached out his paw and laid it on my belly. I couldn't believe it, it was the cutest thing ever!

[lml41981]

I was laying on the couch and he jumped up and snuggled his way between my arm and my belly. The baby started moving so I lifted up my shirt so I could watch my belly move. My cat lifted up his head to see what I was doing and he saw my belly moving, so he reached out his paw and laid it on my belly. I couldn't believe it, it was the cutest thing ever!
That is so sweet. My dog Gretchen did similar stuff. When I was pg, she would snuggle my belly. I truly believe that our dogs knew who Natalie was as soon as we brought her home, too, because there was no getting-used-to-you stuff. They burst past my mother and ran to DH and DD at the car. In any other situation, they would have burst past my mother and took off down the block. But they knew.

[maplekitty]

My Captain sits in the doorway of the nursery and meows if you walk by. I call him our Guard Cat, hehe
He totally gets something is going on, because if I'm in there and putting away clothes or just...you know staring a things....he'll come in and rub up on my leg (something he doesn't usually do) and acts overly affectionate.

[Tonysweetie]

We have 2 cats and one of them wasn't very lovey, but as soon as I got pregnant it switched and he won't leave me alone now. He follows me every where and has to be sitting with me all the time.

He did the absolute cutest thing the other day:

I was laying on the couch and he jumped up and snuggled his way between my arm and my belly. The baby started moving so I lifted up my shirt so I could watch my belly move. My cat lifted up his head to see what I was doing and he saw my belly moving, so he reached out his paw and laid it on my belly. I couldn't believe it, it was the cutest thing ever!

That is the cutest thing! lol. :) Thanks for sharing that.

[ejs]

Another note about cats. I'm sure you've heard it, though. It's definitely an old wives' tale that cats "steal the breath" of infants. So don't worry about that one! If you're worried, you can buy a breathable netting to put over the top of the crib.

[kam]

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/catsuck.htm

[ejs]

http://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/catsuck.htm

Thanks for providing backup to help me make my point.

[kam]

Thanks for providing backup to help me make my point.

Yeah, when I hear "old wives tale", snopes is my best friend. And while we're on the subject, that microsoft email claiming you can make money from forwarding? Totally bogus ;)

[Tonysweetie]

Thanks for the article Kam. I've heard that so many times but never knew if it was really true or not. To be honest I'm more worried about the cat scratching the baby or getting cat hair all over it's crib and clothes and stuff, lol.

[BethIrish]

Thanks for the article Kam. I've heard that so many times but never knew if it was really true or not. To be honest I'm more worried about the cat scratching the baby or getting cat hair all over it's crib and clothes and stuff, lol.

At least the cat hair won't harm the baby and the scratching (for the most part) is preventable.

[jbenny75]

You're pregnant? I had no idea!

FWIW, my cats have coexisted with DS very well. They completely steer clear of him and his stuff. No scratching and with some preventative training while I was PG, they stay off of his stuff. Cats hate aluminum foil, so I covered everything with it before he was born. Pet stores also sell products designed to keep animals off of furniture.

I think one of my cats sensed I was PG, she was all over me the entire time. Maybe your kitty is nervous about the change and afraid he could lose his happy home? Do all you can to reassure him that you love him-this will take extra work once you have the baby to make sure he gets attention. Set up all of your baby stuff before the baby comes so that the cats can get used to it. Train them to stay off of it then. I have 2 cats and 1 dog...don't worry about the hair-my DS is still alive at 3 months after being exposed to cat hair AND dog hair.