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Get updates on how your baby develops, your body changes, and what you can expect during each week of your pregnancy by signing up to the Mumsnet Pregnancy Newsletters.

Pregnancy

How do I keep the cat off the baby?

54 replies

HomeIsWhereTheGinIs · 27/12/2013 11:47

We have a cat that we absolutely dote upon and I'm pregnant with our first child. We plan to put the baby in our room when it's first born but I'm a little concerned about keeping the cat from sleeping on the baby. The cat has always slept on our bed and I'd like to allow it to continue to do so.

Any ideas on how best to go about doing this? Has anyone found a crib with bars on the top (no cracks about "caging the baby" please!) or similar? What did you do? Or did you all evict the cats?

OP posts:

Report

Dolallytats · 28/12/2013 19:28

When DS, now 5 was born we used to put things in his cot/pram to stop the cats (we had 4 at the time) from sitting in them. The cats did not seem to be interested in him at all.

Then we discovered that the eldest cat was actually sleeping at the bottom of his cot at night-and was totally uninterested in him. She never bothered him.

The 2 cats we still have now both tend to sleep at the bommom of his bed now, but again never actually bother him.

volvocowgirl · 28/12/2013 18:40

hubbahubster - further tests on the baby in that Telegraph article later revealed the baby had died from sudden infant death syndrome and the cat had got in afterwards.

Wolfiefan · 28/12/2013 17:51

2 cats here. Cats don't go in the bedroom of DCs. We shut them out of ours when baby in our room. I'm not at all convinced that a net would stop a cat. Sorry.

fluffyraggies · 28/12/2013 17:15

when i say 'they have their own beds on the landing' - i mean cat beds

(in case any of you pictured us with human's single beds just for the cats at the top of the stairs )

fluffyraggies · 28/12/2013 17:13

How about using a clean bed sheet to throw over the moses basket and or cot when baby is NOT in it to act as a 'net'. Cheaper than a cat net, bigger too.

IME a cat wont leap into or onto something which is an unpredictable or unfamiliar shape. So i would say let the moses basket/cot stay a mystery to the cats until baby comes (cover it or put it in a closed room) - then in the cats mind it will always be associated with a wriggly baby or an odd/uncertain shape.

As another poster said, baby should have all it's sleeps and naps in the same room as you for the first few months. I guess all the posters saying their cats sleep on the bed, and worrying about the moses basket, mean at night? ... Our cats sleep on our bed during the day allot, but we shut the bedroom door at night and they have their own beds on the landing. This solves the night time worry surely?

Jinglebellsforthebetter · 28/12/2013 17:09

I doubt the cat will bother the baby but (said nicely ) please have a read about the subject of babies' sleeping arrangements for the first 6 months. Your baby, your choice of course.

Good luck with the rest of your pg and birth

EmB1715 · 28/12/2013 16:53

We were worried about this too. Our cat has always slept with us and I would feel terrible kicking him out of the bedroom! He's not a fan of baby and won't go near her so sleeps at the foot of our bed now. We are cosleeping so I would be well aware if the cat was near the baby.

hubbahubster · 28/12/2013 16:22

The problem isn't likely to occur when you're awake and able to stop the cat getting into the cot/basket/whatever. The problem is likely to happen when you drop off and your cat is free to do as it pleases. As I've said, I've always had cats and love them, but even the possibility of this happening would put me off having them sleep in the same room as baby:
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1379196/Sleeping-cat-suffocates-baby.html

As another poster said, once your LO is home I'm guessing - and hoping - you'll feel that way too.

BurnThisDiscoDown · 28/12/2013 14:03

We had 3 cats when DS was born. DH put his t shirt he was wearing when he first held DS on the sofa where they sleep for 2 days til we came home, and when we brought DS in in his car seat. They sniffed him then ran off as soon as he stirred! They've always left him around, they're quite friendly now he's a bit older but they've never been a pest with him.

MaeMobley · 28/12/2013 11:41

Our cats kept on sleeping with us after the babies arrived. I never let them in the cot, the car seat or the buggy.

We did get a net but only really used it to protect the moses basket when the DC were not in it.

My girl cat was the only one who would get up with me in the night when I was breastfeeding. I loved having her there with me.

YoureBeingASillyBilly · 28/12/2013 11:31

Good idea op. you could also try a feliway plug in to help cat stay calm when baby areives.

HomeIsWhereTheGinIs · 28/12/2013 10:55

Thank you all for your input! We've decided to put the cot out with a net for a bit before the baby arrives to see how the cats react. Hopefully they'll be too bored with it to jump on it by the time the baby arrives. I think that the wait and see advice is sensible. The cat has fled the scene when friends have brought babies over so it's possible that it won't like ours. But the cat is family too, so I'm sure we can find a way to live in harmony together!

Have to admit (slightly off topic), I'm pretty appalled at the idea of shaving a long haired cat. Pretty cruel.

OP posts:

wonderstuff · 28/12/2013 10:45

I worried about this when expecting my first. She's six now and the cat still won't be in the same room as her.

MarlenaGru · 28/12/2013 10:43

I had two cat babies before DD and second what the poster said about you will change. As soon as I walked in the door with my DD I just had to protect her. Nothing else mattered. Baby cats were evicted for a few weeks until we could be sure they weren't going to affect baby.

I know my female cat tried to smother my male cat when he was a kitten by sitting on him so although I know it would be fairly unlikely she would have succeeded with a baby almost her size I had to be sure.

Luckily they totally hated DD until she was about 4 and understood gently and quietly. They are never in the same room as any visiting babies or toddlers by choice. And with new baby on the way I am not worried at all as I know the cats will give it a wide berth!

Oh and the cat-shaving idea is nuts. We have two long haired cats and it is their skin cells that cause allergies etc and we specifically chose to have long haired cats for that reason. Their hair will be part of growing up in this house for new baby as it was for DD.

msrisotto · 28/12/2013 10:33

Barmy

AnneElliott · 28/12/2013 09:54

Shut them out obviously

AnneElliott · 28/12/2013 09:54

My cats didn't try and sleep with DS at all. We brought him in in a car seat and they sniffed him. His little foot twitched and they jumped a mile!

Cat nets not worth it in my view. My aunt bought me one but I never used it. I would advise seeing how they react, but it's a bit mean to shit them out if they have always slept on your bed before.

LamaDrama · 28/12/2013 09:42

Also I only give Dcat her treats at bedtime now, so I feel less guilty.

I invested in the cat Furminator here
and the first time I used I got half a bag of fur from her & shes short haired!

I just do it once a week now, to reduce hair near DD.

Fedup1992 · 28/12/2013 09:36

Licking

Fedup1992 · 28/12/2013 09:35

He seems to like it. Didn't struggle when he had a bath or when his hair was cut. Apparantly he was sat down kicking his self.

I now don't need to vacuum twice a day because he malted that much.

It's my partners cat so wouldn't dream of making him get rid of it but something had to be done about the hair, he had hair like a dusting brush. Wasn't nice having them all over ur clothes. Xx

LamaDrama · 28/12/2013 09:22

I have a cat & shes been evicted to the rest of the house now at night.

I even indulged & bought her one of these so she doesnt feel a draught here

DD is 8 months now & DCat likes to lick her ears & face. So I have to really watch them together.
DD adores her though, her face lights up when DCat walks past. Actually they really love eachother.

I would leave the moses basket out now, you could put a teddy bear in it. If DCat tries to get in it, you can just keep getting her out. Then she might not do it when baby arrives?

Also the nets, I think might bow in the middle if DCat jumps on it, well mine would because she is dumpy well built!

ChippingInLovesChristmasLights · 28/12/2013 09:22

Madness. When was the last time you heard of a baby coming to any ill fate through a cat?

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msrisotto · 28/12/2013 09:17

That is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. If you think cat hairs are unhygienic, why have a cat?

BikeRunSki · 28/12/2013 09:17

Our cat has completely ignored our children since they were born. He moved out for a few weeks after dc1 was born, came back when he realised that DC was staying.

Writerwannabe83 · 28/12/2013 09:11

I've been worried about this issue too. Baby coming in 12 weeks and I have 3 cats. Thankfully, the room that will be the nursery is a room the cats have never really been in anyway but I am wondering how we are going to deter them from wanting to come into mine and DH's room. I'm just crossing my fingers that they will be that freaked out by a new bundle of screaming noises that they will keep their distance....

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