Introducing cat to new baby

[Clueless]

Hi everyone
I was wondering if anyone had any experience with introducing cats to new babies. I have heard of people giving their cats away as the cat will try to sleep in the cot with bub where it is nice and warm.
There is no way I could give up my little furry buddy, but aside from closing the nursery door all the time, does anyone have any helpful tips to keep us all happy?
My cat is super friendly so biting/scratching wont be a problem.
Thanks!!!

[Sammiejane]

Hi,

I am in the same dilema as you - however i am a bit more concerned as my cat can be nasty at times - she has figured out that the dog is scared of her and is a bit sneaky... whilst she has never been nasty to us, she does get jealous and ran away when the new dog was brought home for a while.

We were thinking that as we did not want to close the door to the baby's room (when he/she arrives) that we may devide it in two - like a stable door. Although she can prbably jump that high she is less likly to jump over something that she cannot see into.
Someone else suggested that we get a flywire door so that it can be closed but we can see in.

I would really hate to give away our puscat, but if she is outting our babies life at risk or scrating she will have to go

I will be watching this thread for ideas and suggestions!

[Butterfly_Princess]

I cant really help you, but i know the feling.
Ive had to leave my kitty behind at my parents house because of not only bubby but because of the trouble of moving her from parents house to DP's house, plus she has a bigger yard and 2 other cats she lives with at my parents house...
It was a hard decision but i figured, i can still visit her, and maybe at a later date i can move her to DP's house with me, when bubby is a bit older.
Wish i could help more, maybe run a search on google?

[Kazbah]

Dr Harry did an episode with this problem - they put a screen door on the nursery!

With our cats, they've never been allowed in or on the cot - was caught once and regretted it. Mosquito netting is quite effective to keep cats out.

Just a Touch - how old is your baby or when is s/he due? Maybe cuddle your cat now if you're still preggers, let the cat know there's a bub in there. My bub kicked my cat a lot during the pregnancy. Otherwise, we just ignored the cat when it was baby time, and if the cat came near the baby, we'd shoo it away. Now the baby grabs the cats, and they keep themselves away

Cutting the claws of the cat is also a very, very good idea.

Good luck!

[Clueless]

Kazbah
I am only 16 weeks, so not due till April 08.
Years ago my boss had a screen door put on their nursery as they had two Siamese cats. That worked well as they could see and hear the baby and the cats also became familiar with another little person in the house. I think that might be the best option, although I'll give the mosquito net a go as well - hadn't thought of that. I dont have a noticeable bump yet so being interactive with that is a bit tough. When we start buying stuff like a cot and pram, I'll lay down the groundrules early about staying out of them. I hope our cat will like the baby, it would be great if they could be friends.

[2 please]

Hello,
I have a chocolate bumise cat and he is already in training. I leave the bedroom door open to the babies room and make sure he gets a big smack if found in any of the babies beds. Gilly knows now what is in store for him if found anywhere near the babies room or the beds. He is never found in there now.

At night he now knows he sleeps in the garage and during the day sleeps in 2 of hes favourite spots. Its all in the training, but I might also get a screen door too. I think both methods in use cant hurt just incase the screen door gets left open or he sneeks in some how.

Good luck,

[christy]

I've written an article on the main site about introducing your pets to your baby, have a look there

Also, the screen door is a good idea, as long as it doesn't squeek!! Imagine putting your baby blissfully in bed & then opening the door to the squeek waking them up! Eeekkkkk can't think of anything worse.

One thing that I found worked really well for some people is setting the cot up & wrapping the mattress in aluminum foil because cats hate jumping on that. Also buying some pheramone spray from your local vet to help calm the cats in that area. Spray the cot & pram with it. Anyway... have a read Pets and Your Baby - Preparing Your Pet For A Baby

[danniellabella]

I like the screen door idea but we live in a rental so can't do that. I think we will either shut the baby's door or lock the cats in the laundry overnight.

I'm 22 weeks and the other day while sleeping on me, one of my cats got kicked by bubs so hard that he woke up and jumped! Also occasionally now when my cats see my belly move, they try to pounce on it...I don't let them do that though.

[Roquen]

I have a cat and am due in Feb, just starting to think about these sorts of things. I think I will go with some netting over the cradle/cot as long as baby is young enough not to sit up and grab at it. Will try to get a habit of putting cat outside a bit more too, he is good and doesn't run away.

[SJmumof2]

When i had my first baby i had a cat but soon got rid of him after my partners mum told me that her friends baby was sufficated to death by their cat when it jumped into the babies cot. the cat was trying to get warm and layed on the bubs face. You have to be sooooo careful as it doesnt take long for something terrible to happen!
I didnt want to take the risk.

[{sarah}]

My cat is a bit of a psycho & I was really worried about bringing Zander home to meet her. She was 12 years old at the time & as such had been our baby for a very long time. We used lots of the tricks in Christy article as well as some others she taught me.

One invaluable thing we did was from midway through my pregnancy we would put a blanket on the floor in the loungeroom because bub would spend lots of time there. She got squirted with a water pistol every time she went put a paw on it. We did this to explain to her that the blanket was baby space & she was not allowed to step onto it. This worked brilliantly & even today, nearly three years later, she will not step on a blanket on the floor.

Bear was taught that she wasn't to be in the babies room & she was pretty good about it. Though as Zander got a bit bigger she liked to sleep under his cot, she must've thought she was a watch-cat LOL! Now though she can't stay far enough away from him! He's not mean or anything with her, just a boisterous little man!

[suse]

Our cat got 'donated' to MIL when we moved. Partially because we were moving 3000km interstate, but also because his favourite trick was to sleep on our pillows, preferably when our faces were on them. Nice...

I felt that having a first baby was going to be a challenge on its own, without constantly worrying about the cat as well - we live in a small flat, so there wasn't the option of putting him outside. Giving him away was really difficult (we'd had him for 8 years), but it was the right decision for us. After a couple of days of settling in, our cat loved his new home and has a huge backyard to roam!

Every pet is different though, and you have plenty of time to get your furry one used to the idea of there being an addition to the family - good luck!

[Astrid]

Had no trouble with our cats and they love to sleep with us. Whilst they were happy to sleep on Maggie things when she was not around, they got out of there the moment she was. We really only have trouble now when they walk on her to get to me in the middle of the night and that is only because they don't know she is there.

[StephanieB]

Im really glad i found this post. Ive got a 7 month old kitten and spraying her with water doesnt really stop her from doing anything, she;s getting more and more used to it. Does anyone have a suggestion as to something else we could use to stop her from getting into places she shouldnt be??

[Liviam]

We had this exact problem. We have put up a baby gate (from target $70) and my little kitty hasn't even gone near the door. We don't latch the gate so that way if she jumped up on it it would move and scare her. We also set up the cot really early so she got used to it. Luckily she hasn't paid Olivia any interest at all. Unfortunately we can't say the same about Olivia. She just loves her moving toys.
Another idea is after bubby is born but you are still in hospital have your DH bring home clothes that bubby has worn so your kitty can get used to the smell of your new addition.
Good luck

[jane_carter]

No different to if you have any pet - The pets don't go in the baby room, and always check they aren't in there when you close the door.

I really wouldn 't worry too much about it, the cat is likely to stay away from the baby because of the cries and fuss it makes.

But also make sure to spend time with your cat so they know you still love them - Just the same as if you have another child in the family.

[StephanieB]

Thanks heaps! I've now got some ideas to try. When's she in bubs room she doesnt get in the cot just under it, but im not going to give her the opportunity!
You've all been a big help, thank you so much! I didn't want to have to get rid of my other little baby

[Mommyto1.5]

try tapping her on the nose with 2 fingers my boys out at my parents farm are the same way water just turns into a game with them so i tap them. they don't like and stop whatever they are doing most of the time.