So many cats find themselves looking for new homes when a baby is expected that you could say babies are dangerous to cats!

You don't need to find a new home for your pet if you become pregnant, no matter what well-meaning relatives and friends may say to the contrary. Cats do not maliciously smother or suck the breath out of babies, as the myths hold. Still, to best protect your baby, you do need to be aware of the facts and exercise a little caution.

Cats don't suck the breath of infants, but the myth that they do probably came from their natural curiosity to investigate a new addition to the family, coupled with the tragedy of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome, or SIDS. Hundreds of years ago, people may have seen a cat in the crib — perhaps sniffing at a baby's milk-scented breath — and later found a dead child and then tried to find an explanation for the loss by linking the two events.