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Parenting

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Original poster

Keeping the cat out of the crib - cat net no use!

30 replies

runtus · 25/04/2006 10:33

Anyone know of a way to keep the cat out of the crib we have for the new baby?? Unfortuantely we have a cat that seems to be very pleased we have bought him his own bed at last and doesn't seem to understand that it isn't actually for him........

Tried a cat net but he just jumps on it and then it collapses inwards onto the mattress. Not such a problem now but can forsee problems in 4 weeks when the baby arrives!

I either need a net that ties onto the sides, so it can't slip - or another detterent to keep the menace away.......any ideas????

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ladymuck · 25/04/2006 10:35

Shutting the door to the room?

WigWamBam · 25/04/2006 10:36

We simply decided to close the door on the room that dd was sleeping in, and deny our cat access. Once dd arrived the cat kept her distance from her anyway, so the problem didn't arise.

Cats dislike the smell of citrus, so maybe you could try putting some orange essential oil on some cotton wool near the crib to keep the cat away.

Kelly1978 · 25/04/2006 10:37

water pistol the cat?

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CHICagoMUM · 25/04/2006 10:37

WITH OUR CATS WHEN DD WAS BORN THEY NO LONGER WENT ANY WHERE NEAR THE ROOM LET ALONE THE CRIB. SO YOU MAY BE LUCKY

CHICagoMUM · 25/04/2006 10:38

Sorry didn't mean to shout. .

Blackduck · 25/04/2006 10:39

I found my cat slept in the crib when ds wasn't in it, but wouldn't go near it when he was - I think she was just making a point

MrsBadger · 25/04/2006 10:40

you could sew ties to the current net, but be aware that this could make it hard for you to get into the crib quickly when you need to. Perhaps velcro loops?

lucykate · 25/04/2006 10:41

now we have children, our cat is no longer allowed upstairs and goes outside during the day.

we got him his own bed, a new one when the baby arrived so he does at least have somewhere he can be thats just for him.

charliecat · 25/04/2006 10:44

I put the baby to bed, switched the monitor on looked for the cat, plucked the cat up, shut the babys room door and plonked the cat where I could see him or I couldnt quite settle.

LadyTophamHatt · 25/04/2006 10:48

Get rid of the cat......
at cat (or dog) hair on anyones bed.

YUK!

Original poster

runtus · 25/04/2006 10:50

Simply shutting him out of the room won't be an option as he would just squark outside the door and attempt superman leaps at it till we open it! Plus, the crib is in our bedroom and the cat has always been allowed to sleep in there with us, I wouldn't feel happy about suddenly throwing him out..........he wouldn't understand bless him!

Think I may try the velcro loop idea and see if that holds up to the challenge. At the moment we have taken the mattress out of the crib so it is less inviting but obviously it will have to go back in when junior arrives.

Hoping the cat loses interest when there is someone in there!

OP posts:

kbaby · 25/04/2006 17:28

We had exactly the same thing. Even now the cats try and sneak in DD's cot.
I bought cat nets but found them a pain and like what someone else has said once the baby arrives you probably wont see the cat in the house let alone in the crib. Only after 23 months does our cat come anywhere near DD.

shellybelly · 25/04/2006 20:30

same as lucykate, no cats allowed upstairs, tho one does try its luck but gets chucked out till it gets the message

shellybelly · 25/04/2006 20:33

ps when the baby arrives believe me you won't want the cat in your room, my sister years ago had a cat and it got in the crib when the baby was in it, could have suffocated the baby - needless to say she got rid of the cat (we have one of her kittens tho, not a kitten now but he is a really well behaved cat and knows he ain't allowed upstairs)

bobblehead · 26/04/2006 04:17

We were same as you Runtus as cat had always slept in our room, but I still shut her out. I did feel terrible about it but tried to give her extra attention during the day to make up for it. She would lie outside the door scratching to get in for hours at night and I felt soooo guilty. Mostly dh slept in the spare room for the early days anyway so she did have someone else to cuddle up to and I suppose she just got used to it in the end. Dd moved to her own room at 6 months and cat happily rejoined us then. Am truly embarrassed to admit I would put dd for naps in travel cot as cat slept in her cot during the day for many weeks (at other end on extra blanket) and even now I have caught her in there with dd so I don't think there is any way of keeping them out except shut doors.

Ooops sorry seems to have rambled a bit there

Original poster

runtus · 26/04/2006 06:29

oh thanks for that Bobblehead, your posting has mademe feel a lot better about being a pushover where the cat is concerned................niehter I or DP can forsee a time when we would just throw Stan out of the room he thinks of as his as much as ours.....feels like I'm throwing out another child!

I am presently thinking of trying to fashion some sort of hoops to go over the cot and hold the net in place, once I have attached some velcro loops to the bottom. All sounds a bit complex and no doubt ridiculous to those without cats but I have to try!

OP posts:

pooka · 26/04/2006 07:17

Would be a bit of a pian getting the babe out for night feeds with a net over it. Not sure of advice - personally we shut the cats out of our room when dd was in with us and then out of her room when she moved. But have to say I went through a stage of really disliking the cat when dd was born. Felt quite sad about it, but think was just my protective instinct kicking in, so had no problem with shutting him out of our room.

TheBlonde · 26/04/2006 07:46

I would shut the cat out of the room, it's not as if you're shutting it out of the house altogether

edam · 26/04/2006 08:13

You may well find the cat steers clear once your baby arrives anyway. Babies are noisy and unpredictable and cats tend to avoid them.

FWIW I'm not sure there has ever been a documented case of a cat suffocating a baby. But we shut our cat out of our room when ds was newborn, mainly because dh has asthma and eczema so I thought a hairy bedroom might be a bad thing. Although studies show that babies in families with cats are less prone to allergies, I still didn't want her around when ds was sleeping.

It was hard on the poor cat who has always slept on our bed. We bought her a new cat mat stuffed with cat nip so there was somewhere enticing for her to curl up. But she spent six months making us feel guilty by looking at us with that expression cats have when they want you to know you are in trouble...

gladbag · 26/04/2006 08:26

I'll echo what a lot of people have said. Our cat always sleeps with us, and if we shut her out, she makes an awful row and scratches at the carpet outside the door. I was really worried about when the baby came, as she too thought the crib was for her, but once he arrived she wouldn't go anywhere near it. She still slept with us, and occasionally sniffed at the baby, but never touched him. He's now two, and although she is very playful and can scratch and bite when playing with us, she has never hurt him, and infact avoids him like the plague. HTH

Original poster

runtus · 26/04/2006 10:24

Thanks everyone for reading and helping, finding it all reassuring. I have decided to stick with the cat net option but I'm going to have a go at reinforcing it to make sure it doesn't collapse if he jumps on it............should be pretty easy with them dress boning strips.

That way he gets to stay in the room, I don't fell awful for throwing him out and the baby gets prtotected even if he does decide to investigate the crib.

Hopefully,as you say, he will run a mile when there is someone in there but if not - at least I'll know the baby is safe. Not that i think for a moment he would be in danger of suffocation - was thinking more along the lines of cat hair really.

Thanks again for all your help guys!

OP posts:

edam · 26/04/2006 10:30

Cat hair is a consideration, but did you notice the point about babies who live with cats in their first year are less likely to develop allergies? So the cat is practically a health boost, rather than a hazard.

Original poster

runtus · 26/04/2006 11:01

Hooray - I'll tell Stan that!

OP posts:

bobblehead · 26/04/2006 15:16

Agree the cat net will be a total faff for night feedings though. Wouldn't worry too much about cat hair though- my dd must have ingested tons of the stuff as it would stick to my nipples something awful with that nip cream on.Our cat used to love her bouncy chair and car seat too and found these were more the things I had to watch for as she would just climb on top of the baby if she wanted on in the early days and pretend it wasn't there, at least in the cot there would have been room for two!

mumfor1standfinaltime · 26/04/2006 15:19

We shut the door to ds bedroom when he was newborn, but he was scared of the new baby and the cot anyway! (He is a wimp)

He now sleeps under the cot from time to time, only because there are pipes under the floor!

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