Bubs and Cats ...help!

[Mumma]

Hi....in desparate need of some advice. I am new mum to a beautiful three month old son. The problem is I am constantly worried about the whereabouts of my cat..particularly at night. I am terrified that my cat will wind up in the cot. I am being totally paranoid but I can't help. I need some advice..because it is inteferring with my sleep...and as new mum thats the last thing I need!

Any ideas would be grateful accepted.

[Jaileth]

Hey mumma,

I don't have a bub yet, but at night we have always put our cat in a room by herself - like the laundry, bathroom or garage - with some food, water and a tray. Is your cat and indoor one? You could try this and see if it works. You have the security of knowing that the cat is safe, and that bub is safe and both are in seperate parts of the house.

Hope this helps. And congrats on bub!

[Rainbowbrite]

We have a cat also, but we make him sleep in the laundry at night, otherwise he sleeps on our heads :eek: We've done this since I was pregnant.

Of a day he roams but MJ sleeps in a portable cot in the loungeroom so i can see her.

RB

[Chickadee]

Instead of locking the cat up you could simply shut the door to your bub's room and use a baby monitor to be able to hear him. You'd just have to watch the cat when you go in and out to feed and make sure he/she is out when you go out.

[Tubbychook]

Another idea is rather then shut bubs door is to get a screen door like the ones you have at the front or back door and have it fitted to bubs door that way you can still hear bub crying and know that the cat can't get to him then after bubs is older then you can remove it.

Hope this helps.

Shannon and Bubba Squirt

[Mum2Tyla]

Hi,
I am a vet nurse and soon to be mum, some great ideas, we put our cat in the laundry at night and that works great, you may have problems at first with her complaining if she is used to having free run of the house if this is the case then the flyscreen door sounds like an excellent idea. Good luck and I hope you get some sleep
Kelly

[Shazbutt]

I had cats before i had kids and when the DD1 came along i DID have a problem with one cat sleeping in the cot...i just shut the door, and at first had a monitor to listen to her, but i found i didn't need it after a while. She still has the door shut at 2 1/2 years as the cats would go and sleep on her bed and around her head and wake her up. As a bonus, she's not scared of the dark! My cats were terrible whingers, and didn't give up as most cats would do, so it was simpler to shut the door rather than shut them in one room and have them howl all night!

[Rockett]

I third the screen door idea.I got my dad to knock up a simple screen door,cost about $30 for materials,much cheaper than buying a proper door.
This way there is still airflow into the room,especially now in summer,and you can just peek through to see if bub is ok,while keeping kitty out.

[JnA]

Hi

We have two cats and one loves to get into all the warm and cosy spots (like the pram, the baby seat (beofre it was put in the car) and other spaces made just for the little one. I solved the cot dilemma by making a netting that fits over the cot and down the sides. I used a very light netting material I got from Spotlight and it doesn't interfere with vision, but it does deter the cat from jumping in. It's simple to make, even *I* could make it!

Best of luck.

[Issey]

Hi Mumma,

I too am worried about my cats. I haven't had bubs yet (another few weeks) but the two cats are in and out and often wake us up to be let out. I've never been able to fix this!! Both cats have found interest in the newly set up baby room, one cat keeps jumping into the pram and I promptly kick her out. :confused:

I am concerned about when I bring bubs home what to do with the cats - make them stay out all night (even though non-cat lovers wouldn't like this :mad: ) or shut the baby's door just in case.

I am interested to hear what you do and what works. :)

[Shazbutt]

Mine used to wake me up to get let out and i got so fed up when i was already losing sleep with a new bub, that i started to let them out at night (with a window open for them to get back in)...I know thats not good, and boy have i learnt, especially when you wake and find dead birds strewn around the house at 6am!! :rolleyes: Also, i have lost a few cats to being run over and just disappearing at night and not coming back.....If its at all possible to lock them in one room, then i would do that, or....just shut bubs door, thats what i did and just had a monitor to hear if bub woke up....GOOD LUCK!

[Mum2Tyla]

Hi,
I am a vet nurse and I would strongly recommend keeping them in at night in a closed room if possible, this will reduce the chance of them getting into fights with other cats, being hit by cars and killing wildlife, I would start now and see how they go as they may drive you insane if they are not used to being kept in, you could also try putting a flyscreen on babies room so you can still hear and see but the cats are unable to get in. Good luck.

Kelly :o

[ozzysmum]

i had my two fat fur balls for 10 years before we had ozzy and was very worried about how they would react to the baby. We started training the cats out of going into what would be his room from as soon as we found out we were pregnant. i also did some research and found that hardly any babies have been admitted to hospital with cat-related dramas for the past ten years, as opposed to dogs which had HUGE statistics. this put my mind at ease a bit but i'm still very conscious of where the critters are at night. i've found neither of them are remotely interested in ozzy and as soon as the cot started smelling like him both cats lost interest in that, too. if we had any problems we were going to do the screen door thing, too - just be aware that cats LOVE to shred things like that! after 3 months we have all settled into the routine of one cat in the bed with us, one asleep on daddy's sofa and ozzy tucked up safely in his cot :) good luck!

[carls]

I plan to shut the nursery door. Biggles doesnt take much interest in the nursery unless I'm chasing him and he hides under the cot (and for a 9kg cat its a tight squeeze). If I shut him in a room I would NEVER hear the end of it from him!

[3TinLids]

Our cat sleeps in the laundry at night and the door to Ashley's room is always shut when he is in the cot asleep. We use monitors to hear what is happening in his room. Cats love warm cosy spaces and a cot with a warm sleeping baby would be very attractive so we decided not to take any chances. Especially since we have found our cat occasionally in the cot (not whilst Ashley was in it!).

Rebecca

[Mittens]

Hello all,

We have two cats and a baby due early December.
My Mom wanted me to get rid of the cats at first (never! they are not disposable!!!) but we have done a couple of things.
We trained the cats out of being in the room (somewhat successful) and we have a mosquito net over the cot on a hoop clipped to the side, so even though they have never been into the cot this should be a secondary barrier to keep them out.

I also checked with a friend who is a vet and she confirmed what many of you have said, cats don't tend to like babies, they smell, cry and move erratically.
She herself has three cats and a 9 week old.

Good luck with whatever you try, though the cat will love the 'room of mystery' if it's never let in!

All the best
Mittens

[reAllytee]

I only had one drama before bubs was born cause my boy cat started getting a little jealous as there was a room he wasnt allowed to go into all of a sudden & he no longer had a lap that could take him ! So one day i accidently left the nursery door open & went in later to find he had urinated in the cot ! gggrrrrrr !
It was from then on we made sure he couldnt get in but i made sure i gave him more attention & he seemed to settle. I have to agree with mittens that if you make a "room of mystery" the cat will want to know more & it can make things worse.
I keep the nursery door open nowadays but both my cats have always been allowed near bubs as i didnt want them to be jealous. That being said i always keep an eye on them but they do tend to sneak in & sleep on his chest of drawers every now & then. They do tend to steer clear as they dont like their sudden movements my girl cat especially doesnt like being close to Harry. Although one time did i find my girl cat in the cot & that was during a very cold winters nite & she actually slept at Harry's feet ( she was kicked out of course ). My boy cat is now Harry's fave as he comes up for pats & Harry loves holding out his hand to touch him & this has been going on for a number of months.
I think the best move is to make sure your furry friend still has attention & knows that they are still part of the family with bubs the latest addition to the petting & cuddling squad !

[Poppy'smum]

the advice of my chn was to fill the cot/pram with balloons.....then when the cat jumps in and they pop, they will never do it again!!! :)

[reAllytee]

Poppy'smum that is one fantastic idea !
Will have to keep that one in mind when we decide to have another bub !

[Jaileth]

the advice of my chn was to fill the cot/pram with balloons.....then when the cat jumps in and they pop, they will never do it again!!!

Cool. That's really clever! Have to remember that if Shae looks like she's interested in the cot.

[BJelly]

I had bubs with us in our bedroom in a bassinet for the first 4 months, so by the time she went into her room, she was a bit older, so that helped a bit.

While I was pregnant we trained the cat to stay out of our bedroom and the nursery whenever we caught her in either room we clapped our hands to get her to get out.

Our baby is now 10 mths old, and I've never caught the cat in her cot since she's been home - our cat is really good, but I wanted to share our story because it shows it is possible to train cats to stay out of bedrooms. But if you are worried, I'd put on a screen door to the nursery.