Hippie Chic's Makings

Although cats can and do fit into households with infants, some precautions should be taken to make sure all’s well with the infant-cat relationship.

Cats should never be left alone with infants. Veterinarians and other experts recommend placing a screen door over the baby’s room or a net over the crib to keep kitty out when baby is alone.

However, that has nothing to do with the old falsehood about cats taking air from babies. Supervising cats and newborns when together is just a good safety precaution in general.

Snopes.com classifies the “sucking the wind out of the baby” theory as false. They do caution that a cat could recline on a baby, causing death accidentally and not out of malice.

Numerous sources say that it’s just not possible for a cat to suffocate a baby by taking its breath away with its own.

Veterinary Partner is a trusted, vet-preferred online resource for information about pets. According to them, the myth is just another feline fallacy, perhaps started to explain crib death.

Kidshealth.org says the tale goes back hundreds of years and started with a belief that cats were associated with witchcraft and evil spirits.

Sadly, shelters are asked to take in cats because the belief in the myth is so widespread. If you know someone who still tells this tale that causes great harm to the feline rep, please pass along a link to this post. You’ll perhaps save a feline in the process.

(Image via flickr)

Post from: Blisstree

Cats Don’t Take Breath from Babies

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