Cat Concerns

dshannah

It seems like there are a lot of cat people on this board and so I thought I'd ask about this even though it's a long way off, because I have no idea how this is going to work:

How do you make your home safe for baby and cats alike?

I've got two 8yo cats. They sleep with me and my husband on our bed, and they follow me around whenever I'm home and jump on my lap whenever I sit. I love it, but this is going to be rough with baby. Our house doesn't really have cat-proof doors (old house--no room can be locked from the inside) and even if we were to lock them out of a room we were in they will caterwaul if we do.

We're planning to keep baby's crib in our bedroom for a very long while: how do we keep the cats out of the crib?

How will the cats react to a little one?

How likely is it that kiddo will be allergic?

I know this all depends on you, your home, and the dispositions of your kid and your cats, but I'd appreciate hearing what other folks have done!

camillaandcarson

While most cats aren't a threat in general my super outgoing housecat sleeps on faces and necks, is drawn to warmth, and was obsessed with baby (still is - even as a toddler - their relationship is adorable!).

We absolutely kept the cat away while baby was sleeping in our room with a series of baby gates stacked to the ceiling.

I have also heard of people installing a temporary screen door for this purpose. The cat was pissed about not being able to cat around there at all hours but got over it. And the baby learned to sleep through yowling.

yogahh

My cat is a mush so I'm not too concerned. I will be buying a tent to put over the crib so she can't jump in. Other than that, I don't have too many concerns. We are starting to play baby crying noises so she can get accustomed (find them on YouTube). I dont know how scientific this is, but I feel that kids that grow up with animals have less allergies. I know I've read it before, and it makes sense I guess. If all else fails Google babies and cat- super adorbs!

dshannah

yogahh said:

I will be buying a tent to put over the crib so she can't jump in. 

Like this one?  https://www.babycribsafetynet.com/

I hadn't ever thought such a thing existed; I am so glad it does! This is totally going on my registry!

yogahh

@dshannah yup! Totally ingenious right?!

saladflambe

Two of my cats sleep in our basement one of my cats sleeps in my office. I don't allow cats to free roam around the house during the evening because I cannot sleep through a cat outside my door. Our fourth foster cat will be going to a new foster home because she is currently in the nursery and we will need space.

I have seen all of these cats around kids and know that they are not going to be aggressive but that one of them is extremely friendly and will probably want to check the baby out. I will just keep an eye on it I don't really plan to do anything preemptively. I think the bigger concern will be once the baby is mobile because then I'll have to start gating things off but as long as the cats have a vertical space to get away to, they should be safe.

Unfortunately, I don't believe there's anything you can do about allergies. Neither my husband nor I are allergic, but both of our moms are. I am just holding my breath and hoping that science is correct when it says that a baby that grows up with pets is less likely to have allergies to them. The back up plan is if the baby is really truly severely allergic our cats will have to live in our finished basement and we will have to rotate spending time down there. And if that doesn't work, absolute worst case scenario, we will work with the rescue I foster for to rehome them, but that would be devastating, so it really would be a last resort if something were really medically required.

mariaalene

Yea depends on your cat. I've had 2 cats around baby. Both aren't overly affectionate but will follow me around and sleep on me. Both were strictly indoors. I did nothing with the cats or house as far as prep. DHs cat was nice and he was declawed (by a previous owner). When baby came home he stopped sleeping with us bc every time I would get up it disturbed his sleeping. But if baby was in her room or somewhere crying he would come get me and lead me to her. He would sit on me when I fed her. We had to have him put to sleep when baby was 3 months old. So then we got my cat who had been staying at my moms. He's affectionate but mean. Sometimes he bites and scratches. He has soft paws on. At first he just ran away and hid from the baby and every toy. Now he's used to her. He has learnt that she doesn't move very far so he gets pretty close. Sometimes baby does tug on his ears or fur, then he moves away. He knows he's faster than her so there's no need to attack her. We cut a hole in the basement door so they can still get down to the litter box and food and water even if the door gets shut. I will need to put a magnetic cat door in the hole so the cat can get through but the baby can't. But she's not crawling quite yet. I was never concerned about allergies (even tho DHs ENTIRE family is allergic to all animals). I wasn't really concerned about toxoplasmosis either. Both cats are indoor cats, but previously were outdoor cats or ate wild mice or birds that came in the house. But I've been around outdoor cats and their poop my whole life so I'm prob immune. And if I'm not immune just scoop daily, wear gloves, and wash hands well right after

camillaandcarson

Oh yeah I forgot to add we have a very large cat tree with a heated pet cat bed cave (this cat is all about heat!) and also placed another large cat bed in the house (that the cat could knead and sleep in with a super soft blanket in it, actually was previously my favorite blanket but also the cats too) so the cat also had favorite spaces besides the bedroom.
We also got new cat toys to scatter around.

That obviously didn't stop the indignation of not being able to fully cat around at all hours in our room but I like to think it helped.

And I wouldn't worry too much about allergies. By having a cat living with them the chances of a cat allergy are greatly reduced.

I saw your cat hangs out on your lap too and my cat always hung out on our laps and still does. I have so many memories of her just hanging out on the boppy pillow while I fed the baby. So things changed a bit for the cat when our laps were covered but our cat didn't let that stop their agenda.

jessicalacey1226

My brother and sister-in-law used the screen tent that went over the bassinet while they had the boys sleeping in their room. When the babies were big enough to go to their own rooms, they just kept the door to the nursery closed. That's what we're planning to do as well.

Does anyone get nervous about their cat kneeding/ sitting/ jumping on their belly during pregnancy? I think I'm extra paranoid because of my history of MC, but I've been trying to keep my fur babies away from that area during early pregnancy.

JoMunson

I've had my cat since he was four weeks (he's seven now). Every time we've gotten another pet he's become very stand off-ish for a few weeks-a few months till he can figure out what the deal is. I suspect it will be the same with the new baby. He also doesn't like little kids so I don't think he'll be dying to cuddle with the baby, I think he'll be looking for his cuddle time. I'm gunna make sure that he gets some one on one love time so he doesn't feel left out.

gamommyx3

jessicalacey1226 said:

My brother and sister-in-law used the screen tent that went over the bassinet while they had the boys sleeping in their room. When the babies were big enough to go to their own rooms, they just kept the door to the nursery closed. That's what we're planning to do as well.

Does anyone get nervous about their cat kneeding/ sitting/ jumping on their belly during pregnancy? I think I'm extra paranoid because of my history of MC, but I've been trying to keep my fur babies away from that area during early pregnancy.

I am very paranoid about them kneading my stomach!! My cat is a little confused as to why she's no longer welcome to sit in my lap and make muffins:) I think this will get better when baby is bigger.

lilyandtheoandlulu

We have 2 cats, one declawed and one not. I was super paranoid when pregnant with DS about how everything would work. It turned out I had worried for nothing. They pretty much ignored DS as a baby. As he got more mobile, we taught DS how to pet the cats, not to pull tails, etc. We ended up not doing any sort of "cat-proofing" but I have always thought the crib tent was a cool idea.

mels823

My cat had 0 interest in my baby (which blows my mind because he wants attention from everyone and anyone), but I realize that isn't always the case. Just make sure you keep your eyes open and make sure the cats don't have the opportunity to jump in the crib or pnp with the baby. I always just made sure I had the door shut to wherever LO was sleeping if I wasn't going to be around. 

.Kelly.

Our cats barely even noticed when we brought our first baby home. I'm not doing anything different this time either. 

blockedrose

They have come out with a mesh bubble dome thing that goes over the top of the crib. Seriously reduces the cats ability to join the baby.
my cat probably wont be a problem but that is because he seems cautious around sleeping babies. He just stared at them, and god forbid they move lol.

schicksal

Ours only wants to sleep on people when it's not hot out. By May our area is already in disgustingly hot and humid weather mode, so the cat won't want to sleep on anyone anyway.

Cassandramariec

Our cat is very very bonded with us, and used to being the center of our world. I think she'll be a little confused/put off at first but will adjust. I can imagine her snuggling next to me while breastfeeding-- next best thing to the lap!

When we have the crib and/or bassinet, my husband plans to set up noisemakers (cans with coins or some such) balanced on the edge so if she jumps in/on it, the noise will startle her and discourage future attempts. In addition, the usual warnings and "you're in trouble" hiss if she tries. By May, crib should be well established as off limits.

Other than that, even when very little, I would offer supervised time together-- let Agnes kitty approach and sniff, run baby's little hand through her fur, and so on. I hope they form a good relationship!