Cats Don’t Take Breath from Babies
May 15, 2009 by Peggy Rowland
Filed under Pets
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)
Regarding this article specifically. I personally experienced what truly happens with cat’s and breathing and quite frankly think this is something that needs to be noted especially for people who have small children or babies. The experience that I had was with my pet cat which decided he wanted to curl up on my chest for a nap with me. While sleeping the cat’s purring became so intense that I actually quit breathing in my sleep. Fortunately, I became aware of my plight and jumped up in total disbelief gasping for air. I had heard of the old wives tale regarding babies and cats sucking the breath away and frankly never believed it. I’ve read article after article to see if this was a commonly noted experience and can’t seem to find any other documented experiences. Well I’m hear to tell you from my experience, I will NEVER allow my cat to sleep with my children. I didn’t sense that the cat was trying to kill me he was just simply content with the warmth of my body and was enjoying his nap to the fullest. As for the sensation I experienced from the purring which caused me to stop breathing is one than an individual would have to experience for themselves. Frankly, it’s unexplainable. All I can say is it was an intense rhythmic vibration which totally stopped my need to breathe. Well, at least for a while.
Hi Paul. That’s a very interesting story. Have you been checked out by your doc in case there’s an underlying problem?
I do wish that a talented group of researchers would take up this question in a sleep lab. I’ve never considered that a cat’s purr could affect someone like that, but I guess that’s a topic for further research.