Pet Guilt. Any One Else?

I would shoo mine without a second thought, they get used to it. Cats arent dumb. I wouldnt stick him in the garage tho.

To some degree. Even as I type, my feline "baby" is drooling on my keyboard and trying desperately to climb onto my arms. I have set him aside many times in the name of getting things done, and yes, I always feel mildly guilty. But the important thing (for me) is to make sure I don't completely ignore him. I give him love and affection for as long as I can (even if, after the kids go to bed, I have had it with being touched and climbed on). He seems to be pretty content most of the time, even if he gets "demoted". But there was one day when he had been meowing around my feet while I did dishes, and I pretty much ignored him. Until he jumped on my back and held on with all four sets of claws. That got my attention. While I still have no idea what he was after, it was an eye opener, nonetheless. I don't ignore him when he meows at me anymore :D.

That's why I didn't get another dog when the last one passed away. I would feel too guilty that I wasn't able to give it the love and attention it deserves and if it became seriously ill or hurt, I wouldn't divert resources from my kids to the animal.

I feel pet guilt too. We used to have 2 dogs and once our older son (now 4) came around, they didn't get alot of attention - he loved them, but the dogs really didn't care too much for him. When he was 2yr, we had to put one of our dogs down. Our one left is "tolerant" of him. Now we have an almost 8mo old son as well. The dog is 11yr old. She gets even less attention now than she used to. Our 4yr old still loves her, but she doesn't really like him "playing" with her most of them time, she'll tolerate him petting her most of the time, but she really wants attention from us. I do feel bad, but my kids come first. And we've decided that whenever she passes, we will not be getting another dog for a looooong time. We yell at her alot to go lay down or stop growling at the older one, it's not all her fault which is why I feel bad. It's a sad but true fact that my babies are my babies, the dog is just that, the family pet. I do love her and wish we could give her the attention she deserves, its' just tough with 2 little ones and she has never been too tolerant of kids (even before ours came along). But we manage. I hope what I've said doesnt come off as mean, I even tried to find someone to take the dogs before our oldest was born, but because they were older we couldn't foster them and no one would take them in and I refuse to put her in a shelter, so it is what it is...... Yes, I feel guilty

yes, my sweet baby kitty cat ended up running away because i spoiled her too much before my son was born.
she was 4 when my child was born and i had her from a kitten, 4 weeks old! she was the runt and the mom kept trying to smother her so they gave her to me early, i was like her mother! she followed me everywhere unless i went in the car!
when the baby came, my hubby didnt want the cat to sleep in the bedroom (we only had one bedroom so baby was in with us) because he heard that cats smother babies on accident in their sleep, which is very true, but my cat wasnt a face sitter you know? anyway, she got mad and left :'( i miss her so much every day and feel so guilty about not treating her more like part of the family. that was 9 years ago.

I think it's just a cat thing because we didn't rescue our cats until after having children, and the cats still want to be queens of the castle. They still want to snuggle with me and sleep on my head. They still want to take up half the space on my bed and sleep up against my middle. They want to sit on my laptop and my books to steal my attention. They demand open windows and a space all their own on the couches and the dining room chairs. But they also guard my babies in the night and hunt bugs for me, so I don't complain. :-) Well, they hunt all bugs except for spiders.

Yes, I did feel guilty. My dog incessantly licked his paws and once I had a baby, it was just an annoying sound to me. I would "snap" at him to stop it. I had just had a baby and was tired and overwhelmed and hormonal. Thing is, he was old, set in his ways and he died of old age shortly thereafter.

I felt guilty because I was being a grumpy gus to him. We have guilt as a meter and I regret being grumpy with him. Why? Because he didn't sign up for that. He signed up to be my pet and he was my baby. I feel guilty for being less than a loving person to him.

Shut your door to keep him out and keep the baby monitor on. Put a kitty bed in the hallway, and a scratch post--if room and sprinkle some fresh catnip on it. Brush him daily and that will help to relieve your stress because it is a proven fact that 'petting animals' decreases our stress. It will make him feel better and try to work on that bond that has been interrupted.

I promise you that in time, your child will love your cat as much as you "once" did but don't make the mistakes I did! See my dog was very old when my first child was born and I wasn't granted the time to make amends to him.

After my 2nd baby was born, my older one accidentally let my indoor cat out. Well, I spent night and day looking for him and didn't give up even though I had one newborn and a toddler. I ended up finding him because he wouldn't have survived long outdoors. Anyway, it was the best thing I ever did.

Remember...this too shall pass and be kind to the furry one too.

I ALWAYS ALWAYS said to my friends (because I was SO obsessed with babying my dog) "no way, my dog will NOT be put on the back burner when my son is born"......... :0( He was put on the back burner when my son was born....
Babies especially consume SO much of your time, that you can't physically help it... I felt HORRIBLE when my dog started going down hill with his health 8 months after having my son (he was 14 years old).... a month after my son's 1st birthday, my dogs health got so bad that I had to make that DEVASTATING decision to put him down... TALK ABOUT GUILT!!!!!!! He was getting up there in age, but I still felt my "lack of attention" made his health worsen faster.... :0(

Hey Jane,
I had the same issues with my two pet birds. I eventually gave them away to a friend who really wanted a pet and she LOVES them. It was better for the birds because now they get LOTS of attention and love and I am no longer carrying guilt for not being able to care for them as I had before my son was born. Do not feel guilty. They are pets. If you feel that your kitty will suffer from the lack of attention, do not hesitate to look for a new home. Your pet should not be a burden, and given that you already have your hands full with little ones, it might release some unnecessary stress and allow you a good night's sleep undisturbed, which is a necessity for proper mental and emotional functioning.

I figure that what attention I don't give the cats is made up for by the affection they get from the children. DD loooooves her kitties. I would get a baby monitor so you can have the door closed and keep the cat out. Now, if he's not so sure about the kids, then accept that he's decided to change his ways. Maybe when they get older he'll hang out more. At least he's not attacking anybody. He's just laying low.

Hubby & I love animals....we currently have 2 cats, 2 dogs & 2 teens! :) I have to admit that I never felt the need to "banish" my cat from my room as she wasn't interfering with my sleep. What I've been feeling guiilty about, though, is that our 2nd rescued dog had a litter of puppies before we had the opportunity to have her "fixed". My tom cat was so upset with me that he'd literally only come in the house to eat! Today (2 weeks after the pups have gone to their "forever"homes) is the first time he actually followed me to my room and allowed me to pet him! Cats are extremely forgiving and resilient so don't waste your time feeling guilty. Give him what you can, when you can and he'll be fine! Good luck!