Long-haired Cats, Other Pets, and SIDS

Pets, and SIDS

In response to a question about long-haired cats and SIDS: I know of no relationship. If cat hair plugged the airways of babies and caused them to die, this would be evident at the autopsy. We give no advice to parents about avoiding pets to reduce the risk of SIDS!

I hope this helps. Thanks.

Tom Keens
Children's Hospital Los Angeles

In response to a question, there is no relationship between SIDS and pets, specifically cats. There actually is a recent published study from New Zealand in the Journal of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Infant Mortality which shows that families with cats actually have a slightly lower incidence of SIDS than those with cats. The article does not recommend cat ownership as a way to reduce SIDS, but does put to rest the idea that cats smother babies.

I hope this is helpful. Thank you.

Tom Keens
Children's Hospital Los Angeles

Help ensure that the Global Internet services
of the SIDS Network continue to grow!

Donate directly to the SIDS Network securely with PayPal

Or through Network for Good

Buy flowers and 12% of your purchase supports the SIDS Network

Other ways to help can be found here.

Now you can translate SIDS Network Web Site pages to/from English, Spanish, French, German, Italian & Portuguese

©1995-2024, SIDS Network, Inc. <http://sids-network.org>
All rights reserved. Permission to use, copy, and distribute this document, in whole or in part, for non-commercial use and without fee,
is hereby granted, provided that this copyright, permission notice, and appropriate credit to the SIDS Network, Inc. be included in all copies.

The opinions and information provided here are not necessarily those of the author and are presented for educational purposes only.
The author accepts no responsibility for content, accuracy or use.

Privacy Policy

Please report any web site problems to sidsnet1-at-sids-network-dot-org
Web Design and maintenance by CAM Consulting