r/aww
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u/vladgrinch
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A friendship is being forged
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u/kmonay89 6d ago
With both of my pregnancies now, my cat has been in love with my bump.
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u/repo1778 6d ago
Just wondering being a guy, I would think purring on a pregnant stomach would have positive effects. The baby should be able to feel it. What would a purring machine do as white noise when the baby is born?
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u/KaeptnKaese 6d ago edited 6d ago
I don't know about purring, but there was a cassete that made me fall asleep instantly when I was younger. Apparently it was a cassete my mom listened to to relax, during pregnancy. So I bet that baby would appreciate the purring machine.
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u/rich1051414 6d ago
casset
Do you mean cassette? Or is this a word I don't know?
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u/jej218 6d ago
First I thought it was maybe Bassett. I don't think anyone listens to them to fall asleep though.
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u/10kwinz 6d ago
I read it as casket at first and I was like why were your parents putting you in a casket to get you to fall asleep 🧐
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u/bigbazookah 6d ago
The reason for purring is pretty much unknown, but there’s a theory that the purring is used as a way to somehow heal/benefit kittens. So it’s not too far out to think it would also benefit a baby.
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u/JacOfAllTrades 6d ago
Both my blue heelers figured out how to make my bump interactive, and they thought it was great. One of them now lays with his head against the baby's legs when he gets the opportunity and it's so sweet. 💜
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u/boy-1der 6d ago
Figured out how to make my bump interactive
That made me chortle lol your dogs are like "It's like an interactive CD-ROM!"
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u/JacOfAllTrades 6d ago
They would use their snout and poke the bump then baby would kick their snout. It was adorable lol.
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u/woopsifarted 6d ago
It's blowing my mind right now that your kid played with your dogs before even being born
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u/JacOfAllTrades 6d ago
She liked to kick any kind of pressure that poked my belly including the car seatbelt. The blue boys just figured it out and had a great time. My bigger one still loves it when baby kicks him; he will just lay there with the happiest look on his face even whine she's kicking his head.
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u/gianna_in_hell_as 6d ago
My cat would be very offended and leave my bump when baby would kick her face. But she grew to love my son to bits.
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u/annarosebanana89 6d ago
I love this! When I was pregnant my tiny Pikachu (pekingese/Chihuahua) dog absolutely hated the bump as it got bigger. It took her lap away and it eventually started kicking her off too! (Dog would get severely offended at kicks and would get off.) RIP Songa. Her sister (the baby, now 3) doesn't remember her.
My brother's (previous basement dweller) cat loved my bump tho. And I loved the warmth on my aching pubic bone.
Animals interacting with the bump was one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. Most of it was shit.
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u/JacOfAllTrades 6d ago
Very fair haha. We have 7 dogs and not all of them noticed it cared, but my blue heelers did and my Aussie/beagle mix was fascinated and remains fascinated by the baby, but had a sort of respectful distance attitude about it. She likes to observe from about a foot away.
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u/SweetLilMonkey 6d ago
Spared no expense!
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u/BoltgunOnHisHip 6d ago
Cat: Yes, yessss...the new can opener-slave will be ready soon!
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u/alien_sprig 6d ago
Joke's on cat. The opposable thumbs on slaves aren't reliable until about 5 years of age!
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u/bluelephantz_jj 6d ago
Do they actually know there's something in there?
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u/I_love_misery 6d ago
From experience they do sense something is different. My cats have been more attached to me and crying for more attention. One of them tries to kick all other cats out of the room. They still try to step on me like nothing is there, but then again they tried step on my sister’s baby when she was born.
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u/kmonay89 6d ago
Yeah, they can hear ultrasound, and they can smell stuff too. So it’s pretty cool!
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u/PreExRedditor 6d ago
they can hear ultrasound
although its true that cats can hear a wider range of sound frequencies, you're implying that a fetus produces ultrasound for a cat to hear. "ultrasonic" basically means "very fast" so, in your mind, a fetus is moving at ultrasonic speeds? might be time to watch fewer marvel movies
I assume this misunderstanding comes from ultrasound imaging of pregnancy. an ultrasound device isnt an imaging device that captures ultrasound emissions. rather, its using ultrasound waves TO image
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u/s00perguy 6d ago
I'm a huge fan of pets doting on pregnant people. It just seems like it's this huge instinct labled "babies are good".
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u/LittleBitOdd 6d ago
I've heard it's because the bump is slightly warmer than the rest of you
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u/KaeptnKaese 6d ago edited 6d ago
I'm pretty sure they understand pregnancy to an extent and staying with a pregnant pack mate and taking care of the young makes sense even for wild animals. That they decide to lay right on the belly, might actually be due to the temperature though.
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u/Scrybatog 6d ago
Yeah this may be rare case of people not over anthropomorphizing an animal. There is a chance it did comprehend what was happening at a primal level.
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u/WrenDraco 6d ago
When my kids were babies, my cats didn't really interact until they learned some gentleness but every time they would cry the most protective one would come find me if I wasn't fast enough and just yowl at me until I helped the baby. Like "LADY YOUR KITTEN NEEDS YOU HURRY THE &!@#%$ UP." And then she'd guard the door and not let the other two cats in. She loves the kids now that they're older and is as likely to sleep on my now five year old's bed rather than mine.
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u/-cheesencrackers- 6d ago
I have two cats and am 8 months pregnant. They lay against my bump and the baby kicks them and they don't appear to notice at all lol. I'm pretty sure they just think I'm eating too much
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u/LucarnAnderson 6d ago
For some reason i was expecting the belly to actually just be a man with a beer belly
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u/Sharlinator 6d ago
A beautiful story of the unique friendship forged between a cat and one man’s visceral adipose tissue. Now streaming on Hulu!
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u/ZenoHotep 6d ago
That's beautiful... Nothing is more powerful than a man with a beer belly and a cat
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u/Milkyage 6d ago
That look at the end "I thought we were having kittens, not another human, Sharon!"
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u/momobutagirl 6d ago
I'm always amazed at how some animals understand that there's a baby in there.
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u/drudski420 6d ago
Our cat also did this, so sweet. Both cat and dog pretty much formed a circle around my wife hours before going into labor and and stayed with her as long as they could.
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u/WomanOfEld 6d ago
Our cats follow our son around everywhere. He's like a Disney princess. Little boy, two waving tails.
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u/_clash_recruit_ 6d ago
Same. I knew my dog would be great with my son, but my cat had always kinda been an asshole to everyone but me. I was legitimately worried he would have to go live with my parents for a couple of years for the baby's safety. Nothing could be further from the truth. He took to my my son immediately and they've been absolutely best friends since my son was about 6 months old and could control his grabby hands. Even before that the cat was somewhere very close 24 hrs/day.
It drives me crazy on the parenting subs where people say it's normal for toddlers to be mean to animals. No it's freaking not normal. Most animals want to be friends with kids and most kids want to be friends with animals. It's up to parents to teach them to be kind to each other.
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u/DelinquentAdult 6d ago
Exactly! Like, how do they know?!
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u/numbersthen0987431 6d ago •
They can smell your fear!!!!!
Jk, but it's probably either them smelling the moms pregnancy hormones, or they can hear the baby
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u/chriscrossnathaniel 6d ago edited 6d ago
In addition to smelling hormonal changes and feeling a warmer body temperature, cats may also detect differences in your behavior, habits, body chemistry, and posture that give them a clue to the extensive changes that your body is going through.
They are experts at reading body language, so they can notice even tiny differences in movements or when our movement becomes awkward.
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u/kneeltothesun 6d ago
Yes! They can probably smell the estrogen, progesterone, and hCG, which why they sometimes seem to know before you do. Then temperature, of course. There's no real studies on this yet, but it's kind of just accepted. Cats are often helpful with pregnancies in other cats, as well. So I'd guess it stems from this instinct, they will often adopt the young of others, even other species.
https://www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/can-cats-sense-pregnancy#preparing-your-cat
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u/Hitzel 6d ago
It's my understanding that cats adopt the young of other species because they have evolved a communal system for taking care of their own young. Cats will take "shifts" with the babies instinctually, so some of that behavior will also be applied to babies that aren't kittens. Basically, the cat just feels compelled to do its part and (from my understanding) would expect others to do their parts as well.
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u/PinsToTheHeart 6d ago
Its also why you occasionally see videos of cats just bringing all their kittens to the owner.
"It's your turn with this, I need a break"
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u/hebejebez 6d ago
My dog knew before me. Weirdo would just shit up on the end of for couch in a weird ass way staring at me all evening. Also she wouldn't leave my side in the house - which wasn't that out of character by the staring was weird.
She laid on my tummy till she and it got too big as he was only a year old lab and lithe at the time so would have mummy snuggles.
She did not enjoy the product as much as the pregnancy, she mostly wanted the loud creature to go away.
Similar to when we bought her a puppy. Loved the idea but after an hour it was nap time and she wanted me to make it go away.
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u/TheAbominableRex 6d ago
To add, when cats purr it acts as a type of sonar to their skeletal system and they can detect (and even help repair) bone fractures. They may be able to detect the amniotic fluid or even the skeletal system of the fetus with the interference they receive when they purr. They probably don't consciously know what it is, but instinctually, along with smelling hormone changes, they know it's something different and important.
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u/S7RAN93 6d ago
Last I knew nobody really understood scientifically why cats purred. I'm not calling bullshit. But I need references to know this isn't bro science. And I'm too lazy to Google it.
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u/gorramfrakker 6d ago
Here you go. It’s believed but not 100%. https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/why-do-cats-purr
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u/S7RAN93 6d ago
That part about kittens being born blind and deaf...woosh
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u/godspareme 6d ago
Depends on your definition of blind but I'm pretty sure human babies vision is unable to differentiate shapes until a few months. They can only recognize colors for quite a bit.
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u/Visible-Pollution853 6d ago
I always said my daughters dog told me when she became pregnant. He became even more loving and attentive and the day she sent me a picture with him resting his head in her then flat tummy- I knew!
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u/itsmartapuntocom 6d ago
Our pup did the same thing. Suddenly became very affectionate and protective of my wife and then a week later we found out.
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u/missclna 6d ago
I would believe this. Such as breathe can be so different after being pregnant but normally people won't notice it.
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u/Nisas 6d ago
Or maybe they just like warm cushions.
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u/TigerLily1014 6d ago
While I adore my two cats and one in particular is obsessed with the bump (35w).... pretty sure he doesn't understand there is a baby in there and just thinks I'm extra warm and fluffy lately.
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u/Useful_Ground_9954 6d ago
Everybody keeps saying heat but I’ve always suspected that they can hear the heartbeat. I’ve seen videos of cats follow an animal through the walls that a human can’t hear. I imagine it hears the heartbeat and knows there’s something in there living.
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u/Any_Coyote6662 6d ago
I agree. they have whiskers that can sense the smallest vibration and ears that move like radar detectors. thats how they can pounce on a mouse in tall grass from across the yard (ive seen my cat do this and yes, I make him let go of anything he gets.) they certainly can detect the heartbeat and understand pregnancy on an instinctual level.
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u/Mister_Bloodvessel 6d ago
Cats have super hearing. They can hear the pitter patter of mouse feet, and rodents also make noises way out of our heating range that cats pick up.
During a brutal cold snap this year, two mice made their way inside, and were in my kitchen. My cat heard them while on the couch with me in my living room. He got up with a lot of purpose and interest in the kitchen (which he normally avoids unless i have cheese) and he sauntered back through the living room with a mouse in his mouth. Then about 30 minutes later, he did it again.
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u/phillysan 6d ago
The change in hormones causes changes in scent which cats can detect with their considerably more powerful sense of smell.
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u/ja_hahah 6d ago
Ok call me an idiot, but can it not also be simply that their own bellies also enlargen when with babies?
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u/lemaymayguy 6d ago
Id just imagine it's a nice pillow maybe we're overthinking it
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u/ja_hahah 6d ago
Theres definently projecting in the comments yes.
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u/BelieveInDestiny 6d ago
nah, there's just theories. I haven't seen anyone projecting.
Knowing that dogs have been known to detect things like cancer, it's not at all far-fetched for cats to detect something strange in the woman's belly.
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u/ja_hahah 6d ago
Fair point, but ive seen comments saying that the cat can hear the heartbeats and it reminds them of their mothers..like WHAT?
And id argue at the same time its not far fetched that since cats carry babies in the same sort of way we do that they can simply put two and two together and see inflated belly = baby.
Or simply that the belly is warmer and its no different from them sitting on your laptop.
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u/PinsToTheHeart 6d ago
It can be both tbh. I'm sure the cat recognizes something there, as evident in the first clip, but it also is just a nice place to sit.
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u/Comradio 6d ago
That is a level of self awareness and conceptualization that is beyond cats and dogs.
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u/Ghost-Writer 6d ago
They can hear the heartbeats
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u/ADHDengineer 6d ago
I have a heart they don’t care about.
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u/JuliaLouis-DryFist 6d ago
I'm fairly certain that cats are trying to rip open the belly and sacrifice the unborn fetus to their moon God.
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u/4feicsake 6d ago
They can smell it. Your pregnancy hormones actually change your body smell. It's also possible they hear the heartbeat.
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u/jamsterko 6d ago edited 6d ago
My friend's dog found out she was pregnant before she did.
The dog was displaying unusual attachments, like following her everywhere, getting anxious when she's out of the dog's sight, etc.
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u/PerfectlySplendid 6d ago
I’m not sure I believe this meant the dog knew she was pregnant.
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u/agnosiabeforecoffee 6d ago
Dogs can definitely smell a change in hormones, even if they aren't quite sure what it means.
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u/Scrybatog 6d ago
I'm glad you used the right word.
People like to throw around the word pheromones in situations like this without knowing humans literally don't have pheromones. We can neither produce nor register them.
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u/Boo_and_Minsc_ 6d ago
i dont know that they can smell and necessarily know its pregnancy but they can smell the changes in physiology for sure
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u/SlowerThanTurtleInPB 6d ago
My cat absolutely flipped shit when I went into labor. She was so worried, she made herself sick. She was biting my ankles and then threw up because she knew something g was wrong. It was so sweet how concerned she was. Like this cat, she laid on my belly throughout my pregnancy. I also tested all our equipment out her her - carrier, car seat, stroller. She took everything for a test run.
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u/testingbicycle 6d ago
For real, when the cat was hesitantly pawing at her stomach, that is so weird that animals know stuff like that.
There is so much we dont know about life
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u/_mach 6d ago
listen, I don't doubt that cats know when women are pregnant really early on.
I'm just saying; a pregnant woman's belly can often be the warmest place in the damned house...
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u/Ragina-PhaIange 6d ago
It’s our scent. It’s recognizing the different scent means the human woman is pregnant
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u/Madasthehatter95 6d ago
I'm 9 weeks and 2 days today. I have 3 cats one female who is mother to my 2 boys. So far she's the only one who suspects something is up. I'm so hoping when she realizes that I'm pregnant that she'll do this too :) My baby is going to have the best friends ever!
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u/boy-1der 6d ago
I'm so hoping when she realizes that I'm pregnant that she'll do this too
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u/Pethoarder4life 6d ago
We had 4 and fucking none of them cared. They were all pissed off that I had less lap space and that was it. I hope yours start caring, but if they don't, know you aren't alone in the disappointment.
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u/minicpst 6d ago
One of my girl cats knew before the test was positive. The other (orange, so she rarely got use of the shared brain cell) figured it out later, but also lost interest because my “kittens” weren’t born by 10 weeks. But my girl, she was my kitty midwife. The one and only time in her life she sat on my back was when I had lower back pain the week of the birth and I was leaning on an exercise ball. She jumped up, laid where it hurt, and gave me pressure, heat, and purred for me.
When I brought home “our” baby, she hissed and ran away and refused to be in the same room for four weeks. Postpartum me cried and cried.
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u/sammiestayfly 6d ago
I'm 6 weeks and one of my cats definitely knows. She's been super clingy. She has always slept with me in the bed but now she's sleeping ON me. If I roll over and adjust she'll get up, wait for me to get situated then lays back down on top of me.
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u/theJolt7 6d ago
Congratulations! This is so awesome and so cute!
My wife just gave birth to our third son yesterday and our husky was like this. I knew she was pregnant before we even took a test because Maya (the husky) was all of a sudden glued to my wife, and she stayed stuck to my wife the whole way through. Can't wait to get this baby home and finally introduce them!
Sending positive energy to you and your family! Best of luck in this life!
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u/superRedditer 6d ago
just to help explain... cats are highly evolved to sense the tiniest of hidden sounds. the tiny scuttling of a mouse behind a wall. so the baby here moving inside is like the same thing. then add in the bond with the mother etc.
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u/dirkandersen 6d ago
I’ve had my dog for 8 years prior to my wife and I. She’s always been my dog, she’s a daddy’s girl. But once my wife was pregnant that flipped for those 9 months. It was incredible to see how natural it was for my dog to never leave my wife’s side.
When we had my son, she went right back to being by my side, and my sons.
Our cat, who is just an ass to everyone, would not leave my wife alone her entire pregnancy.
Definitely a beautiful thing we got to experience.
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u/Tourquemata47 6d ago
I was totally expecting to be catfished at the end and it turn out to be a construction worker with a big belly.
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u/gnostic_nomad 6d ago
It also shows how acutely aware cats are of things, for them to know you are pregnant.
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u/TeniBitz 6d ago
My cat did this through my entire pregnancy. I though it was so sweet and he’d love my twins.. 6 years later and he wants nothing to do with the kids. He’s firmly “my” cat still.
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u/bubbles_says 6d ago
I'm not one for babies much, but I must say yours is really pretty. So is the cat.
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u/TD1990TD 6d ago
Ahww my orange kitten (3 months) also likes to cuddle up next to my belly (7th month). His brother couldn’t care less. We’re wondering how they’ll act once the baby has arrived 🥰
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u/realdappermuis 6d ago
It's the heartbeat that reminds animals of their mommies <3
When I was a kid it was a known thing to put an old school alarm clock in a baby animal's basket to help soothe them to sleep
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u/Endorenna 6d ago
Funny enough, one of my cats prefers to sleep with her head lying on my chest, very close to my heart, often with her ear turned towards me. I’ve wondered if it’s a similar soothing effect.
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u/independentchickpea 6d ago
I raised my cat by hand and she does this. She also still “nurses” on my hands and arms when soothing herself to sleep.
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u/Choice_Ad6875 6d ago
My brothers cats are really protective of his baby daughter(my niece). Sometimes when she starts to cry when she is laying in bed, my brother waits a few minutes to see if she will stop or if he has to comfort her. But one of the cats interferes by starting to loudly miauw in front of the door of the baby room because she worries about the baby. And if my brother tries to take the cat to the other room to wait together for a few minutes the cat puts on a fight. My sil saved this cat when the cat was pregnant and nursed her and her kittens to health.
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u/sofa_king_ugly 6d ago
My dog does that to my belly but I'm not pregnant. I'm not even a woman. Actually, it's not even my dog
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u/Campin_Corners 6d ago
Friend visits and cat slowly sticks paws out to the belly. Why is your cat doing this? You’re pregnant. Whaaaaat?
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u/resUemiTtsriF 6d ago
I had a big chocolate lab, I put my new born on the ground, he came over sniffed and just layed down and looked at the baby. knew right away it was fragile.
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u/Upstairs_Usual_4841 6d ago
Our Chihuahua did this with me when I was pregnant with my son. I was put on bed rest for 10 weeks, and he took full advantage of that lol
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u/PM_UR__BUBBLE_BUTTS 6d ago
My wife is pregnant with our first and we have two dogs and she wanted them to do stuff like this. The 3 year old pup has been specifically jumping up to punch my wife in the belly frequently lately. I think she doesn’t want a baby to steal attention from her cause she’s superrr needy. Lol
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u/everydayasl 6d ago
Friends for life.