Dear Dr. Walt: We are expecting our first child in June. So naturally I am getting an over abundance of advice right now. Some of this advice has been that our cats may accidentally (or out of jealously) smother our baby by sleeping on him because he is warm. Frankly, I think this whole notion is ridiculous. Any thoughts?
You raise one of a number of common 'pet myths' that are often perpetuated because they are based on half-truths. In this situation, the half-truth is that it is never wise to allow any pet, whether dog or cat, unsupervised access to a newborn child or infant. The reason is that one can never predict the response of either and very close contact, whether when awake or asleep, may result in irritation of your newborn's immature respiratory tract due to your pet's hair and dander. I have never heard of a case of an infant being smothered in this fashion and common sense would dictate that first, the screams of the uncomfortable child would scare the cat away and second, I doubt your cat ever slept in a manner that would obstruct your own breathing. This pet myth was even taken one step further with some claiming that a cat can 'suck a child's breath away'. Even if a cat had the desire to do this (which they don't) its lung capacity would have to exceed that of the child's - in essence, it would have to be the size of a full grown lion! The bottom line is to use common sense - for many reasons (but not the smothering theory), it is simply in the best interests of both infant and cat to avoid allowing them to sleep together.
This question does raise an interesting area, and that is pet myths in general. In future columns I will try to debunk many of those still in existence but would love to hear from readers of any that they would like answers to.
Page 2 of 2 -- On page 1, learn about the pros and cons of various pet identification methods.
About Dr. Walt Ingwersen
Dr. Walt Ingwersen is Chief Veterinary Officer at PetCare Insurance Brokers Ltd. He is a 1982 graduate of the Ontario Veterinary College. Board certified in Internal Medicine, he has the distinction of being the first Canadian editor of the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, a position he currently holds.
Involved in many aspects of the national and international veterinary community, "Dr. Walt" is the recipient of the President's Award for outstanding contribution to the veterinary profession awarded by the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA). He is also Chief Veterinary Officer and Chairman of the Veterinary Advisory Board at PetCare Insurance Brokers Ltd. – Canada's leading provider of insurance for dogs and cats.
