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Original poster

Napping babies and cats

26 replies

leoniethelioness · 12/06/2016 11:33

We are expecting our first baby in September and I'm turning my mind to what to do with the cats. We have two, and they are lovely and quite independent but only really used to adults (although we were told by Cats Protection that they lived with children before we got them two years ago). We will shut them out of our room, where the baby will sleep at night, and his nursery, and supervise them with the baby in the day time. They are outdoor cats but kept in from 6 until 6. They like their creature comforts but aren't massive lap cats.

I'm looking into cat nets, etc. but is there anything else out there I can buy? For example, if baby is asleep and I need the loo and the cats are inside, is my only option to take baby with me or is there a Moses basket or crib that's catproof for a few minutes? Our downstairs is quite open plan so it's difficult to shut the cats out if that's where I am.

Sorry if this is a silly question or I'm overlooking something really obvious!

OP posts:
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MyBreadIsEggy · 12/06/2016 11:45

My my was worried about my cat when DD was born, "You need to get a cat net!!" "That thing will maul the baby" and the like Hmm No mother. I have a domestic cat, not a fucking lion Hmm
All I did was kept bedroom doors shut.
My cat was terrified of DD if I'm honest! When we first came home from the hospital, we put her car seat in the middle of the living room and let the cat have a sniff. DD made the tiniest little squeak, and my cat crapped her furry pants and ran off! She always kept her distance from the baby - would rarely be in the same room. If baby was in the Moses basket in the living room, cat would be on the radiator in the kitchen for example.

pocketsized · 12/06/2016 11:48

Our cats never showed any interest in DD, except to be very unimpressed and give her a v wide birth! We shut them out of the bedroom at night, but didnt use anything in the day.

spacefrog35 · 12/06/2016 11:50

Mine has never gone anywhere near the baby or any of her stuff. I needed Feliway to help her cope with the disruption of having baby around. I'm more worried about the cat than the baby I think Blush

NapQueen · 12/06/2016 11:51

We have two cats and two kids and they only started interacting once the babies were trying to play with them.
No nets here

PeaceNotPieces · 12/06/2016 12:01

We've always had cats.

None bothered with any of the dc. Far to wriggly and noisy for a puss wanting some comfort.

As the dc got older the cats started to go to sleep on their beds (4+) but they've always been fab.

You just need to be aware and if you need the loo or want a quick shower while baby's asleep, you ll need to lock the cat out of the room from your baby.

amysmummy12345 · 12/06/2016 12:03

Mu cat Lucifer runs a mile whenever baby moves/cries etc...

Gillian1980 · 12/06/2016 13:27

Aside from the odd sniff, our cats would scarper as soon as our DD moved or made a noise!

They're not scared of her now after 10 months, but they should be as she now wants to grab them all the time!

Tanito279 · 12/06/2016 13:35

My cats took one look at DD when she came home and practically moved out. I bought a cat house for the garden so they could escape outside when she cried. I caught a cat in the cot once (no baby in it) and went so ballistic that it never happened again.

NightWanderer · 12/06/2016 13:43

I read on MN that it was a myth about cats smothering babies so didnt worry about it. However, my cat was obsessed with the baby and always climbing in her moses basket. One time i heard her struggling and sure enough he was on her face. After that i just slept her in her room with a baby monitor and the door closed. I gave the moses basket to the cat as a cat bed. He still loves sleeping on her pillow next to her but shes 2 now so its ok.

Original poster
leoniethelioness · 12/06/2016 14:02

Thank you! The cats met a baby for the first time yesterday - one wasn't interested at all and the other one seemed a bit apprehensive of this tiny little person making noises. I'm not particularly worried about the cats but my DM keeps telling me about cats smothering babies...

OP posts:
AngelBlue12 · 12/06/2016 14:14

It does depend on your cat, we have had a variety of moggies over the years and none of them have ever tried to smother any of the children - UNTIL our eldest bought a (gorgeous) siamese girl and she did nearly smother our youngest DD. Thankfully I heard muffled crying and went and turfed daft cat off tiny babies head! After that I double checked the bedroom for cats before closing the door.

So now I am very cautious about cats near very tiny sleeping babies if I'm not in the same room.

orangebird69 · 12/06/2016 17:08

It's never happened... its just old wives tales. I have 5 cats... so far my son has made it to 8 mo without being suffocated. Maybe we're just lucky Hmm. Only 2 cats are brave enough to go anyway near him so far. Just keep the cats out of the baby's room. You'll be fine.

Sierra259 · 12/06/2016 17:11

Our cats never showed much interest in the DC as babies. We just made sure they couldn't get into the room the baby was sleeping in, particularly overnight.

CutYourHairAndGetAJob · 12/06/2016 17:29

Most cats will stay well away from babies. Our cat regarded our two with a mixture of contempt and disgust and stayed well away. I still wouldn't allow her in the bedroom at night but I never worried about popping to the loo or anything like that.

An empty cot or pram was a different matter, our cat would always sneak into them for a nap. Cat nets didn't work (she just jumped on top of them) so I got into the habit of covering the mattresses with a muslin so that at least the sheets didn't get covered with fur.

Janey50 · 12/06/2016 17:43

My cat crapped her furry pants and ran off Grin. I agree with you MyBreadIsEggy. IMO cats seem to be very wary,if not downright scared of babies that are making any sort of noise.

Wolfiefan · 12/06/2016 17:49

Hah to cats smothering babies!!
We had two cats when we bought DS home. One had a look and the other ran away!
Be sure to shut nursery door (or yours if you plan to co sleep) before baby arrives to get them used to the changes.
I wouldn't bother with a cat net. If a cat were to climb on it I'm not sure it would help much anyway.

TheDisreputableDog · 12/06/2016 17:50

Our cats distinctly uninterested when our DD arrived. Gave her a wide birth which has got MUCH wider now she's a toddler!
They love evenings though, toddler in bed and they can snuggle up with us and pretend it never happened Grin

Haworthiia · 12/06/2016 18:24

Our cat very nearly smothered my brother as a baby.

I doubt they sit there plotting to suffocate tiny humans, but they do like sitting in baskets and they could easily smother a baby, or scratch it, so they do need to be kept out of a baby's room.
I carry the video monitor with me when I go to the loo etc - could you do that?

Heirhelp · 15/06/2016 18:53

Cat nets do not work for my fat cat. I find it easier to take the cat with me to the toliet rather than the baby.

I would think carefully about letting the cats access to come and go as they please as cats find new babies stressful.

My cat thinks the play gym is his.

HandbagFan · 16/06/2016 10:31

I have 3 cats and this...

www.amazon.co.uk/Safety-Cover-Me-Canopy-protection/dp/B00792EU4E/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1466069408&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=Bouncers+hair+cat+net

Fits over the sleepyhead / his baby bjorn bouncer chair and the playmat. I can leave him while he naps or plays and I need to wee or go to the kitchen or upstairs and the cats can't get him. Perfect.

They're not that interested but they like his sleepyhead and would climb in with him if the net wasn't there?

Thataintnoetchasketch · 16/06/2016 11:44

I panicked about this but our two friendly house cats haven't shown much interest so far in our 6 month old DS. I do suspect they occasionally sleep in the cot when we're out & they love his playmat and the basket under the pram. When I'm BF at night one of them will sometimes come up to lie on my lap & rest her chin on DS but that's as close as they get.

It's probably good that your cautious to start with & see how things go. I agree it's easier to take the cat to the loo with you though than the baby.

Me624 · 17/06/2016 20:58

Our cat is terrified of DS. He has jumped into the empty pram a couple of times but never the cot or Moses basket. We started off shutting him out of our bedroom at night but he would spend the whole night scratching at the door - he hates a closed door. So now we leave the door open and he sleeps on the landing just outside the bedroom door. I'm happy to wander off to the loo - he simply will not go anywhere near DS.

gamerchick · 17/06/2016 21:05

Mu cat Lucifer runs a mile whenever baby moves/cries etc

You called your cat lucifer? Do you like shout it when calling him in at night?

Pinkerbeller · 17/06/2016 21:20

Our cat stalks the baby when she cries and we have to physically get in between them to break his focus. Our cat is a shit.

amysmummy12345 · 20/06/2016 00:51

Haha gamer I do indeed!!! We got some very strange looks when we moved house! Fortunately, for most part we call him Luce... Or dd calls him Deuce 😍 he tends to get called by his full name when being told off for various cat indiscretions such as catching toads and torturing them/throwing up on landing/scratching the foam seals on the UPVC windows fucking cat Confused

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