Cats and Cots

[MM1993]

My cat is literally the light of my life, she's an indoor cat so has spent her whole life (4 years) it really just being me and her. Now baby is coming I'm firstly worried about how she may react, she's never really been used to not being number one 🤦🏻‍♀️ also, I know a lot has been said about keeping cats away from cots as they like the warmth and get in etc - for anyone that will say to just shut her out the room, this isn't an option as she will literally scratch, cry, scream at the door until she is let back in again (my fault for allowing her in since a kitten) she has given me plenty of sleepless nights because of this - sometimes it feels like I already have a child.

Has anyone got any advice as to what they have done with their spoilt pets ?!
Or what I can do to cover the cot ? I'm thinking of getting a co-sleeper due to space, I have seen mosquito type nets can be used but they don't seem to have good reviews - help!

[Aprilshowersandhail]

Our 2 dcats refused to be in the same room as ds intil he was about 8 months old!!
Waaay too loud!!

[Nat4392]

Following with interest. My cat is my baby and I want to make the transition as least stressful for him as possible. He sleeps on my bed at night and that’s how it’s always been, locking him out of the bedroom isn’t an option as he would be so stressed.
I’m a few weeks away from giving birth so the Moses basket is set up and he’s already trying to nap in there which I keep trying to discourage. He also regularly sleeps in the cot. I think once there is a baby in the basket he won’t go anywhere near it as I’m anticipating he won’t be a fan of the baby at all.

[DinosaurDiana]

Can’t help really, but I do remember having a little hook on the outside of baby’s room so that the cats couldn’t get in, but so that I didn’t make a noise when opening and shutting the door when he was asleep.

[SeaTurtles92]

You can get cot covers so the cat doesn't go in there in there when the cot isn't being used but obviously you can't have it on when baby is in there. Chances are the cat won't want to be near the baby but the only option is to shut the door. Your cat will soon learn it cannot come into the room.

[DizzySquirrel90]

I'm in the same boat so following the thread x congrats OP X

[Thatsanicepear]

I bought a very cheap mosquito net to put over the crib but it was unnecessary as the cat wasn't interested! The cat has been amazing adjusting to the baby and now, 16 months on, they're best pals and quite the double act!

[Chelyanne]

With any pet you need to set ground rules before baby arrives, start shutting them out of no go areas now so they are used to it.

Harder with cats because they're not very trainable in general.

[DizzySquirrel90]

@Chelyanne I always thought this, but it's not strictly true, my cat is a well trained rescue.

[Thistimelastyear]

I disagree with cats not being trainable, ours certainly like their routine. We need to shut ours out too and they will certainly cry/scratch the door and carpet. However, needs must as it is very dangerous to have them in the same room whilst you and the baby are asleep.

We plan to start a couple of months before, playing with them on our bed as we normally do and then calling them to the spare room with treats. After a couple of nights they will realise at bedtime they get treats and go to wait in the other room. They did this as kittens when we shut them in the kitchen so I see no reason it can't work again with some effort.

[LakeShoreD]

My cat shows zero interest in the cot. Occasionally he gives the baby a quick sniff and really likes the shopping basket of the pram but has never attempted to get in the cot. We have quite a high tech baby monitor that sends a notification to your phone when it detects motion around the crib so we can be certain the cat hasn’t gone anywhere near it.

[PegPeople]

@Aprilshowersandhail

Our 2 dcats refused to be in the same room as ds intil he was about 8 months old!!
Waaay too loud!!

Same here. Like you I was worried before baby arrived about them scratching the dooor as they would scratch the door if we ever left it closed. However this was never an issue once baby was here. They were more than content to voluntarily sleep downstairs as far away from the noisy small human as possible.

[Pamparam]

My cat slept in the cot when it was unoccupied. I got a mosquito net thing, it was shite, I ditched it quickly as realised there was zero chance of the cat going into the cot with the baby! And this is a hugely affectionate human loving cat.

[BertieBotts]

Never been an issue, I think it's an old wives tale. Don't leave the baby and cat unattended but that's more in case the baby hurts the cat and the cat retaliated!

[Pamparam]

Ps didn’t shut him out of the room either, he sometimes slept on the bed but more often elsewhere when she was being noisy.

[inappropriateraspberry]

My cats would warm the cot up for baby! But once thrown out of the cot they wouldn't go back in with baby. They steered clear of her most of the time!
I bought a cat net but never ended up using it, only on the pram outside to keep bugs off!
Now my children are 3 and 6. The cats tolerate them, 3 loves the cats, 6 not so keen.

[flashylamp]

for anyone that will say to just shut her out the room, this isn't an option as she will literally scratch, cry, scream at the door until she is let back in again

I would still shut her out, and I would start doing it long before baby arrives. There are ways to prevent doors getting scratch damage and things you can get to make the area smell/feel less attractive to them.

[BertieBotts]

I live in Germany now and although cats are common pets, I've never seen a cat net for sale among the safety equipment in baby stores. There are a couple of things you don't see in the UK though! I think our perceptions of what is hazardous can sometimes be cultural.

[romdowa]

You may just have to put up with the scratching and meowing for a couple of nights until she gets the hint that the bedroom at night is out of bounds. We made the same mistake with our first cat and we had to endure the noise until he learned that he had to stay in the kitchen at night, he was disturbing our sleep at night and we were both exhausted. A year on and we have a second cat and they both know when its time for food and bed and they happily trot off to the sitting room. It is possible to train a cat but you just need to preserve.

[Dollywilde]

Set up the cot well in advance of baby arriving so they get used to it. We made a point of shooing cat out of the cot every time he got in and he eventually got the message. We also had him sleeping downstairs from me being about 8 months (would have waited til baby was here but I was so big it was uncomfortable sharing with him!) Cat was fine with it (and now back sleeping on our bed as she’s in her own room!)

[Dollywilde]

Ooh and Feliway is your friend!

[Mylittlesandwich]

We initially shut our cats in one room overnight so we could get up and use the bathroom etc without juggling cats trying to get into our room. When DS was a couple of months old we realised they weren't interested in being anywhere near him and they've had free roam ever since.

[tobytoes1403]

I was the same with my two cats. I started keeping them out of the bedroom at night in jan and DS was born mid March. Got them each a new bed and after a few nights of crying at the door they've both adapted well to sleeping downstairs.

[DoraChance]

Three cats here - they didn't want to be in the cot with the baby because of the unpredictable noise. Another vote for feliway too.

[SJR86]

We have two cats and a 7 month old, one has no interest in going near anything baby related. The other will often sneak into the cot but only if it's unoccupied.

I was really worried about how the cats/baby scenario would pan out but it's all been a lot smoother than I thought it would be!

[MamaMoonbeam]

My indoor cats never bothered with my ds when he was cosleeping with me. I don't think your girl will be interested, tbf.
Good luck! 😊🍀