Keeping the cats out of the crib

KristinaJones85 · May 2013

I have two cats... one is far too fat to ever even consider making him way into our baby boy's crib, but our younger kitty is an active guy (and indoor only, so this house is his playground)...

Have any of you guys used Cat Nets on cribs? What other preventative measures did you take? (PS getting rid of the cats is not an option, I worked at several different animal shelters within the last 10 years and know first hand what happens there.)

rondokye · May 2013

From my experience, only doors keep cats out. Lol. Mine is very determined and I doubt that a net would work. I found her lounging in the crib the other day and tossed her butt out. I'm going to start locking her out of that room this week to get her used to it being off limits. From what friends have told me, their cats wanted nothing to do with the baby, especially at first.

BellaOso · May 2013

I just close the door. We love our kitties, but we don't let them in bedroom. They can have the rest of the house.

bakerlm · May 2013

I have a very active cat as well. He had hopped in the crib when we first set it up, but once ds was born, it was like his instincts kicked in and he never even goes near it. Now he tries to sleep in ds's bed, which he will have no part of. You might find that he won't play on it once a screaming baby is near it. But like others said, just keep the door shut.

ColeyHouse · May 2013

if your cat is already doing it, try some crushed red peppers, (if babys not born yet either) cat's will sniff where they are laying and dont like smelling peppers. works with preventing them going to the bathroom in areas you dont want them to go, i assume that could work, but clearly not after you have the baby. if you start keeping them out of the room now, it wont be such a shock when baby comes.

AMarie101 · May 2013

Look up sscat

dyanquinn · May 2013

im pretty sure my cats think we built the nursery for them. When we shut the door the one cat sits at it and screams. /rolls eyes

That being said you could always get a spray bottle and put water in it. When you see the cat in there give em a squirt and they will run. Eventually they will get sick of it.

July2013Momma · May 2013

We just keep the door shut to the nursery.

When we had problems with the cat jumping on the kitchen counter, we put tin foil on the counters and he stopped. They don't like the feel of the foil on their feet.

cwhitloc · May 2013

When we moved into our house, I always kept the nursery door closed even though I wasn't pregnant yet. The cats need to know it's not their territory. Fast forward to when my daughter came home, she wanted nothing to do with her. Cats hate noise, so a baby crying is not their idea of fun.

All and all, the stories from the 1950s of cats smothering babies are unfounded and just urban legend. Check out the movie Babies, and you'll see a few examples of how cats interact with kids.

sndravt · May 2013

My cats haven't bothered the crib but they were quite interested in the Pack and Play. I followed someone elses advice and put balloons in there and they haven't gone in. I also hear that tin foil will work. Please don't put hot pepper in a place your child will be sleeping in.

plunderb · May 2013

We put some balloons in the bassinet. No problem.

PrimRoseMama · May 2013

Honestly, my cats wanted nothing to do with the screaming, smelly infant. They kept their distance. Its only now that they want to cuddle her in her toddler bed, but she doesn't like it. So, we just give them their own hide hole beds under hers. They sit under there at night and "guard" her. Its sweet.

They didn't want anything to do with her when she was a newborn.

crogers19 · May 2013

AMarie101:
Look up sscat

we used SSScat and it was a life saver. ( I found it on amazon) Its an aerosol can with a motion sensor on it so if the cat passes in front of where you place it ie ... the counter, crib, a door, it sprays a cold blast of air. My cat HATED it and after getting sprayed a few times doesn't go near the crib or pack n play.

Stensgard · May 2013

People keep saying kitty won't want anything to do with baby but my older female cat wouldn't leave my daughter's side when she ws born two years ago. I'm anxious to try a few of these ideas out.

RachelLaree20 · May 2013

I've been working with my cat to keep him out of the baby's room before she gets here so my cat's fairly used to not being allowed in the room. Sometimes he still sneaks in though when he wants to be naughty so since it's warmer out finally I'm probably just going to have the door shut when baby's in the crib sleeping to prevent my naughty kitty from getting in the crib! I've never seen him jump in there yet and part of me suspects he may be too fat but i'm not sure and better safe than sorry.

Oh and yay for not giving up the cats! I could never ever get rid of mine, it'd be like getting rid of a family member

skio · May 2013

Close the door. I will never understand the issue people have with keeping cats out of the nursery. Close.the.door. Once the baby is in there, they won't want anything to do with it, anyway.

The nets that go over the crib are extremely unsafe for a child and giving up a cat because you don't want it in the baby's shitt shouldn't even be a consideration.

sonshine0609 · May 2013

Closing the door isn't an option for us. We live in a loft style apartment. I have been wondering about this too. My experience with the cats & baby has been quite different from other peoples. My roommate's cat was extremely protective of my DS when he was born. You couldn't keep him away. Where ever the baby was he was there too, usually snuggled up around the foot of baby's blanket. He would also get very vocal and beg if he felt the baby needed something (usually about 5-10 min before baby would cry). A real nanny cat. I'm not sure how my two cats are going to handle new LO. One cat can't seem to handle change already. The other is pretty chill.

queenbone · May 2013

I registered for, and received, that mesh cat dome crib thingy, but we never took it out of the box and eventually returned it. My cats were not interested in being around the baby or trying to get into his crib or changing table whatsoever.

theroadahead · May 2013

Honestly we just put up the pack n play early. We don't have the option to close the door. We put an old blanket down so they wouldn't get hair on the mattress. Then we let them have their way with it. After almost a month they don't pay attention to it at all. Like PP said the cat probably won't want anything to do with the baby once it's born.