Help with spoilt cat and new baby

Hi all,

As the title suggests, we have a cat that we have treated as part of the family since we got him 5 years ago. He has his own little bed in our room, a cat door to come and go as he pleases and is basically treated like a little human.

As my due date nears (10 weeks to go) I'm getting really worried about how we'll go with him and the baby. I don't think he'd try to hurt the baby as such but am more worried he might try and curl up on baby for warmth etc - so basically am scared he'll suffocate bubs.

Just wondering if anyone else has been in the same situation and what you did? I don't want to suddenly start making cat sleep outside or change too much for him, but just to keep him away from bubs when sleeping.

Any suggestions/ideas are really welcomed!

Oh I feel for you and your situation. Our cat was the same. Although by the time I was 7 months pg he'd peed on every bed in the house (we had moved about 2 months earlier but we're unsure what really triggered his change) and then when bubs was born we would find him on the change table etc. Oskar slept in a hammock and he would try to see inside it and then play under it. He started to swipe my feet as I walked around. He never did hurt Oskar but did curl up next to him on the lounge when he was very small. The last straw for me was when he peed on the change table. We had to unfortunately rehome him. He is VERY happy where he is now though, they are in their 40's with no kids and I think that's how he likes it. It's a very tough position to be in and you think that you won't change how you feel towards your cat but you need to be prepared for the fact that you MAY feel different and your instincts will be to protect your newborn baby. I still loved my cat but I felt different at the same time and we just had to make the decision for what was best for our family as it stood then and not in the future. I was going crazy. I really hope that everything will be very different for you and your cat.

Just adding.. he was a purebred Ragdoll and just gorgeous!

the old fashioned remedy is to put a fine muslin or mosquito net over the baby's cot...the cat usually won't jump in because when they test the survace it gives too much. you could also set up the baby's cot and check on your cat, whether it jumps in or not, and freak it out with a loud whistle to discourage it being in there.

i shut my dog in the laundry at night, and my sister does with her cats, no exceptions. it's not too late to start training your cat.

Our friends have two cats, so when they were pg they taught the cats not to go into the nursery. By the time their baby arrived they had no problems with the cats going in the room.

Some people also suggest using a mosquito net over the cot to stop the cat from jumping in.

Best of luck :)

Hi,
We actually put a screen door on bubs room so we could still hear and see him but the cat couldn't get in. Working very well! And the bonus is that now bubs is a bit mobile, I can pop him in his room (which is baby proofed) and close the door so he can't crawl out, but I can still hear and see him. Hope it all goes well for you.

3 very spoilt cats here and no problem with them trying to sleep on either baby. Whilst I found they like to sleep in cots, basinettes, prams etc it is only when they are empty. If they try to jump in with a baby there they jump straight out of their own accord. The only time they walk over the baby is when they are trying to get to me and I am there to stop them. They don't seem to fond of small crying humans ;)

what a brilliant idea, lorirae!

Thank you for your stories and ideas girls! Much appreciated.

Will just keep an eye on him to start and see if he's even interested in being around bubs to start with.

Love the door idea - that's something I never would've thought of.

i dont have a cat, but i was going to mention the screen door, i remember seeing it on TV ,it was on Dr Harrys Practice a few years ago, and i though it was a good idea.