Introducing cat to new baby

[Mommyto1.5]

i know i just posted something but i have a cat and a dog. i'm not worried about the dog bitting or getting jealous, truth be told the more kids around the happier he is. my friends baby plugged he nose and all he did was gently pulled his head away and liked her hand. my cat stayed away from her but i'm a little worried because my cat tries to sleep in my room with me (i don't know why) and a cpl of time i fnd her in the bassinette. i kicked her out but well she was a farm cat (that's all i'm going to say lol). i'm going to try the water see if that helps i've only caught her in there a cpl of times but who knows what they do while we're away at work. now my second issue is my dog like i said he loves kids, babies, adults (k anyone whose not breaking into the house lol). my concern with him is that he's so big, heavey and lovable but he doesn't pay attention and he doesn't know his own strength. i'm worried that he'll get to excited and accidentaly step on the baby. i have a crate for him but i'd rather not use it bc that's where he goes for his "time outs". any advice i'll take.

[jenjams]

We have 2 cats and a dog and there is no way I could give them away when junior comes. My animals will have to learn to adapt. Like someone else said above, they will probably freak out (well the cats) when they hear all of the noise. I have already shut up juniors room. We also have the water spray bottle which sort of works. But I will be introducing the pets to the baby slowly. My fur babies are part of the family too and they will have to learn to adapt.

[meow]

Our cat was sleeping with us so we've stopped that now in preparation and she is coping fine- completely content still. We keep our bedroom door shut now and only let her in sometimes when she is with us. We're planning on getting a cot canopy net too so we can keep the door open for day sleeps and the cat can't get into the cot. We rent so a screen door isn't an option.

Fortunately my sister visited with her 9 month old recently and we got to see how unfussed and happy to be around a baby our cat is... she would slowly walk a metre away if she didn't want the baby to touch her or else she just sat and purred as my niece 'patted' her.

[alittlegrubi]

We did similar to Nurse Dan, set up the baby's room very early and everytime we found the cat in the cot he got told off. We were lucky that the cat wasn't interested in the baby when he came home - infact he was scared of it - would run away. Now that we have a toddler the cat is even more scared of him. He will sleep at the end of his bed, but never got into the cot when the baby was in it.

[Kazbah]

Mommyto1.5 - sounds like a labrador! Maybe teach your dog a command (like "gentle") to just slow down a bit when baby's around?

[Evie76]

Lesty puss and Daniel? Like two peas in a pod.

Lesty is THE grumpiest cat on the planet. She is only a smally Devon Rex, but boy did she rule the roost. When Daniel came home he was smaller than the cat - which was kind of weird.

Now, they just look for each other all the time. Daniel plays with her paws and her tail and she just sits there purring. Me trying to touch her tail?? Are you joking?????????????

I just don't know what it is, but the relationships between animals and children are just amazing. I can't even explain what makes this cat recognise Daniel as a constant companion over everything else.

Daniel can be in absolut hysterics, but the cat walks in and meows loudly, it stops and he shouts at her - I think he's saying "come here".

Don't miss out on that relationship. It's VERY interesting to watch.

The labby on the other hand - like a bull in a China shop. But she's careful of Daniel and she was without me having to tell her - everyone else is fair game for massive paws in the chest. I REALLY don't know.

[Nettie]

I'm really glad I found this thread. I hadn't given much thought to this yet, but I know I will need to soon. I have 2 cats. One is friendly and loves to cuddle, the other is quite the opposite. He doesn't like to socialise much and generally keeps away from people. However the second cat can get aggressive quite quickly and without warning. So we have two very different behaviours to manage!

Sarah - I love your idea about the blanket on the floor. That's brilliant! It's also not too far removed from other training tools we have used with the cats in the past so I know it will work.

Thanks guys for all your sharing - it's helped me without me realising I needed it!

Nettie

[Clueless]

Hi everyone
I saw this great net for a cot at one of the BIG baby stores. It fits snuggly around the sides of the cot to the base and the top has a kind of cross over netted dome (like a tent). One side of it has a large arched zipper which unzips one side of the "dome" to get the baby in and out. The unzipped area was pretty big and I pretended I was trying to ge baby in and out in the store and it seemed pretty good. It was $70 I think and I'll definitely be getting one.
I've posted a pic of it in the gallery, just search for Cat Net

[christy]

Cats are often hard, maybe before the baby comes put something like al foil in the cot so when they jump in its noisy. Most cats wont snuggle up on foil.

For the dog... we've got a lab & a lab cross. When Matilda came our lab was only 6 months old and I never put the baby on the ground, either in a bouncer or rocker or on the lounge next to me.... I didn't put her on the ground and then after 3 months I put her in a playpen to keep the dog off her. LOL not because I was worried about too much else but knowing she needed time on a rug I used the play pen, or I would put the dogs out & then put Matilda on the ground.

With Jovie she had time on the ground with the dogs and she got stepped on once when she was 4 months old poor little mite cried but wasn't injured... So we got the play pen back out & used that when the dogs were inside.

Also read the article linked in my signiture HTH!