cats in the crib?

mpstochlinski8

we have 2 1yr old cats, the male is the crazy wild one of the 2. we're still working on the nursery and mostly keep the door closed but if we're in there he comes in and lurks around and a few times I've caught him walking across the rail of the crib and hes gone in the crib too. I still have the plastic on the mattress til its closer to their coming home but he has us nervous he'll try to jump in while LOs are in the crib! Do any of you have cats at home or kittens, do they ever go in the crib with LOs? I'll have to keep the door closed as much as possible which stinks bc our main heat source is a pellet stove which is in another room, we'll have to use seperate heat source in the nursery if we have to keep the door closed all night. TIA

Kimee13

We have two cats and while they both LOVED to sleep in the crib before we had DS, once he arrived they wanted nothing to do with the crib if he was in there.  On occasion, I've found one of them sleeping in there but never when the baby was in there.  We also leave the door open all the time and have no problems at all.  The more you try and keep them out, the more they will want to come in.

katcarls

You can get a crib tent which is a mesh thing that goes over the top of the crib.  There are several on Amazon.  Another option would be to switch the nursery door out for a screen door.  A lot of people have done that to keep animals out but allow for air flow.

Mereou12

Try lining the crib with aluminum foil -- most cats hate the feel/sound of it, so it'll scare the crap out of them if they try to jump in. We did this with our curious kitties, and they never went near the crib ever again.

 

Fulbri05

Our cat loves the crib, so we shut the door when DS takes naps, and then at night the cat goes into my husband's "man room", which is where his litter box and food are. That way we can keep both our master bedroom and DS's room's doors open and don't have to worry about the cat waking the baby up by jumping in the crib. During the day when the door is left open the cat will walk along the ledges or get in the crib but I wash the sheets enough that the hair doesn't matter.

MarcyIam

I was going to recommend the aluminum foil as well if they don't stop going in there.  Or filling it with balloons - they hop in and pop them and won't go in there again.  ;-)

 

HeatherPB1020

We have two cats... our male is a wild guy.  They do not sleep in the crib at all... Before LO was born I would catch them in it and I would scare them out.  Once LO came home I think they understood...  I never catch them in it or on the glider in his room for that matter.  We have a full size bed in the nursery so I let them sleep on it... When I find them on  the bed I pet them and praise them.  Also... this was big for us.  I only close the door to the nursery when LO is sleeping.  When ever we used to keep a room off limits to them... that seems to be the only room they want to go into. Plus, when the door to  that room would open they would run under our feet to get in.  I didn't want that to happen when I was holding LO... so we do not keep them out of the  nursery.  It may help if you put a place for them to sleep in the nursery... like a cat bed or something. 

vansgirl68

Kimee13:

We have two cats and while they both LOVED to sleep in the crib before we had DS, once he arrived they wanted nothing to do with the crib if he was in there.  On occasion, I've found one of them sleeping in there but never when the baby was in there.  We also leave the door open all the time and have no problems at all.  The more you try and keep them out, the more they will want to come in.

This!!  We have 3 cats and before DS was born, 2 of them thought the crib was for them.  They slept & played in it all the time.  As soon as DS was born, they wanted nothing to do with the crib or even his room & we leave the door open. 

mpstochlinski8

thanks everyone! Im going to try lining it now with foil to scare him off and hopefully once LOs are here he just avoids the cribs! I'll have to try that will the PNPs and all other baby things as we open/put together around here.

DiademChi

Every cat is different.  I used to volunteer at a cat shelter, so I've heard all the different cat-baby stories.  Usually, cats get shy and leave the crib alone once baby arrives.  Sometimes, a very disturbed, territorial cat (male or female, already sprayed/neutered) will start peeing on the baby's things to elliminate the threatening scent.  Knew a gal whose cat kept peeing in the crib and changing table.  Some cats, like mine, love to cuddle with babies in a crib even when they are crying (happened when I babysat a fussy 9-month old).  It can really vary.

For us, we got a crib tent.  The peace of mind from keeping the cats out of the crib, but still welcome in the nursery was well worth it.  Set up felliway plug-ins in the nursery before LO arrives to help them have positive associations with the space.

Although none of these tricks worked for me and my cats, others claim success with using sticky tape, tinfoil, balloons, and other loud sounds to scare the cat away from the crib.  (One of my cats loves to eat tape, the other loves "scary" sounds as toys.  One also loves to be sprayed in the face with water.)

Shaynnon

I have two cats too.

One used to walk across the railing of the crib before LO...and the other can't jump (nothing physically wrong with him, he just doesn't try to jump..lazy?) so I don't worry about him in the crib.

Since LO though, neither go near it. 

thewayiam

I am very concerned about our two cats once the baby comes (though we haven't done our nursery yet) and have been looking into all sorts of options to protect LO. When my mom was a baby, her mother found her, blue, with their cat snuggled over her neck/face, so I'm paranoid. We're buying a retractable screen door to keep on the nursery door, and to keep the cats out. I like the aluminum idea, before the baby comes, too.

gpicayo

We have four cats and three babies. The cats sleeping in the cribs with them was a major concern for us from the very beginning. We bought crib tents from Amazon, so far we have no complaints, they were a kinda pricey, but for us its been worth it. We can sleep soundly knowing the cats won't curl up with them. If you like I can post pics of our cribs with the tents on them 

cougarlicious

Get a crib tent. My cat peed on top of the aluminum foil I had placed in my sons bassinet. She was not, and is still not, happy he is around and likes to make it clear. Your cats may be okay, but it won't hurt to have a tent just in case.