Crib tents and cats

hubbs173 · December 2013

I'm a FTM and 14 wks 4 days. I was told by someone about crib tents when I mentioned my fear that my cat will try to sleep in the crib. Has anyone ever used one? Or have any other suggestions to cat proof the babies room?? My cat is queen of the house and goes where she pleases, we often joke that it's her house we just live here and pay the bills! The babies room will be right next to our room and I'd like to be able to keep the door open so we can hear if the baby cries or wakes up. I know I've got some time to figure it out but any suggestions will be much appreciated!

KeyLime81 · December 2013

I don't know if you can buy crib tents anymore. I'm pretty sure they were recalled for being unsafe (older babies/toddlers trying to climb out of the crib would get caught).

Could you put a baby gate in front of the nursery door to keep the cat out or would she still be able to jump/climb over?

MrsP419 · December 2013

I have a lot of friends who swear by the crib tent, but they also have all been recalled in the past year (I think). So I never used one, even though my DS climbs out.

When we had our little ones, we put a tall baby gate up in the doorway to where the baby slept so the cat could SEE in but not get in (in the beginning, that was our room). That way, the door could be open, but I did not have to worry about the cat getting into the baby bed :-).

austinlyns · December 2013

I don't think they sell those any more. If the baby's room is right next to yours, you will be able to hear the crying even with the door closed. I would just close it. You can get a monitor if you need to, but I am sure you won't need it. Usually by the time the baby moves into his/her own room, they can cry LOUD.

Luna C · December 2013

For non-baby related reasons, we use a babygate to keep our cats out of one room. It stops three of them, the other one knows how to get over it. So that might be an option for you, based on your cats jumping ability.

But keep in mind, the cat might not even be interested/able to get in the crib. Personally, we're taking a wait-and-see approach.

SashaPervaya · December 2013

I've heard of people training cats not to jump certain places by laying tin foil down on the surface. Freaks them out when they land on it and trains them not to do it. My old roommates did this just before they had their baby, actually - they put tin foil in the bassinet for a while, and by the time baby came along, the cat was no longer interested in jumping in there. So you could try that out, since you've still got plenty of time (although maybe don't give her TOO much time, or she'll figure out what's really up). Typical cat-training caveats apply, of course. It MIGHT work for you. Depending on how smart your cat is. ;-)

Unknown · December 2013

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owlcup · December 2013

Like a pp said aluminum foil should ward her off. Or just use a cheap monitor with the door shut. Even without a monitor you are likely to hear every sound that baby makes even with the door shut.

hopin4babies · December 2013

We plan on keeping the door closed when baby is in the crib. Our cats hate when a door is closed to a room and will annoy us until we open it. The past couple weeks we have been closing the door to the babys room at night so they can start getting used to it now. They hated it at first but are getting used to it. I know there is no way a baby gate would keep them out and our bedroom doors are very close maybe 6 ft away so we figure we will be able to hear the baby even with the door closed. Ill just get a moniter if I can't year or if I'm not comfortable with it.

wtfisup · December 2013

Unless there's a piece of furniture near the crib (dresser, changing table), I don't see how a cat could get in there. We plan to use a moses basket in the beginning, and the cats will just be something we deal with by shutting the door.

mrs_drc_rn · December 2013

Our cats seem to be really interested in new spaces but get tired of them quickly. I'm hoping once the nursery is set up that we can leave the door open to give them time to inspect it and then, hopefully, get tired of it. One cat has designated our bed as his bed and the other sleeps on the cat tower. If that doesn't work, we'll likely keep the door shut with a monitor.

Erica314 · December 2013

wtfisup said:

Unless there's a piece of furniture near the crib (dresser, changing table), I don't see how a cat could get in there. We plan to use a moses basket in the beginning, and the cats will just be something we deal with by shutting the door.

You must have lazy cats! My two can jump from our kitchen counter tops to the top of our cupboards which is a solid 5 feet in my apartment. I don't know of any cribs that are taller than that.

1982Babies · December 2013

I plan on keeping the doors closed and getting a monitor. We have wood flooring, so I can hear a lot going on in the house. My cats would be super interested as well.

You can get a deterrent like an "air blower" and put it in front of the door, so if the cat meows at the door or tries to break in, she will get hit with air and learn not to.

You have the Queen, I have the King. My lil a-hole wouldn't leave me alone as a kitten, and I closed the bedroom door. One night, he pried open the venting system (we had a few screws missing after painting) and made his way from the bathroom into the bedroom (across the hall!) to come and sleep with me. I leave the door open now, except he doesn't like that DH has stolen his sleeping spot.

Luna C · December 2013

Erica314 said:
You must have lazy cats! My two can jump from our kitchen counter tops to the top of our cupboards which is a solid 5 feet in my apartment. I don't know of any cribs that are taller than that.

A lot of cats will not jump when the landing area is "below" the area they need to clear. As in, if they have to go over the crib wall, and then land on the mattress beneath it. They want to land on a surface that's even with the highest point of the leap, such as a table top.

Three of ours are totally capable of it, but simply will not attempt it. I think maybe it's harder on their joints.

Erica314 · December 2013

Luna C said:

Erica314 said:
You must have lazy cats! My two can jump from our kitchen counter tops to the top of our cupboards which is a solid 5 feet in my apartment. I don't know of any cribs that are taller than that.

A lot of cats will not jump when the landing area is "below" the area they need to clear. As in, if they have to go over the crib wall, and then land on the mattress beneath it. They want to land on a surface that's even with the highest point of the leap, such as a table top.

Three of ours are totally capable of it, but simply will not attempt it. I think maybe it's harder on their joints.

Yeah, my fattie might be deterred by that but I'm not sure my younger one is smart enough to notice the difference. I guess we'll find out when I finally buy and set up the crib!

wtfisup · December 2013

Luna C said:

Erica314 said:
You must have lazy cats! My two can jump from our kitchen counter tops to the top of our cupboards which is a solid 5 feet in my apartment. I don't know of any cribs that are taller than that.

A lot of cats will not jump when the landing area is "below" the area they need to clear. As in, if they have to go over the crib wall, and then land on the mattress beneath it. They want to land on a surface that's even with the highest point of the leap, such as a table top.

Three of ours are totally capable of it, but simply will not attempt it. I think maybe it's harder on their joints.

Yup. Mine regulalry jumps from the countertops to the top of the fridge, but he wouldn't jump into a crib because he doesn't really see what he'd land on. I.e. a lot of cats won't jump into an open space, I assume because they can't really calculate the jump.

If there was a piece of furniture nearby, like a dresser, and he could look down into the crib, he'd do it. But springing from the floor up into an arch and down into the crib? Some crazy cats might; many won't.

Luckily, our really nutty one is older now and not so spry.

vixey · December 2013

We plan on keeping the door closed when LO is in the crib and getting a monitor so we can hear any crying.

littlemonstermama · December 2013

We registered for one and received it. We thought because our cat was a huge snuggle whore with us that he would want to be near the sleeping baby. Turned out he hated the baby and wanted nothing to do with her, never even goes in the nursery.

lscal20 · December 2013

I have 3 cats and have just figured I'd leave the door closed and have a monitor in there. Currently we're in an apartment, so I think I'll hear crying everywhere, but just for my peace of mind

Laurelyn2012 · December 2013

Our cat is used to not being allowed in the second bedroom. I'm more worried about when I have a basinet set up by the bed for the first 3 months and him hoping on in with the baby. I think we might try the tinfoil trick and see if that works when we get closer to the time.

LegalLadyBug · December 2013

We used one and honestly never needed it, the cats never tried to get in it the crib. We had one for the pack and play too and the cats did try that. You could try putting balloons in the crib. My cats loved tinfoil so it was actually attracting them, balloons were the only thing that trained them to stay away.

obscurereference · December 2013

I think closing the door is your best bet. If you have a vocal cat, they might go in and make a bunch of noise which a tent wouldn't help. This is exactly what happened to us! Our cat jumped in once with the baby and never did it again, but routinely went in her room and complained loudly at night.

hubbs173 · December 2013

Thanks everyone for your advice. We do have gates around the house now for our dog which she can jump, but does get lazy and sometimes won't. I guess we'll probably use a monitor and close the door, which I hope doesn't trigger her big mouth!! I'm hoping she actually doesn't want anything to do with the baby since the baby won't benefit her in any way, meaning it's incapable of feeding her so she probably won't bother!! Lol. I guess we'll see how interested she gets once we set up the nursery, which used to be "her" room with a queen sized bed. Since we've gotten rid of that bed she sleeps in my bed or on her cat tree and doesn't really go in the baby's room.

Dejohunt · December 2013

We have one. Only used if for about a month. I think that most of the time the cats are afraid of the baby and stay away. Our cat never went near him and now almost always runs from him. I wouldn't worry, watch and see the cats reaction for a few days. Maybe if your concerned you could put the cat in another room.

skyview222 · December 2013

I'm glad you asked this question. I was planning on using a tent too and had not heard they were recalled. I have two cats who constantly jump higher than a crib, sleep on top of us on a regular basis (spoiled, yes) and do not tolerate closed doors (will tear up the carpet and whine incessantly if a door is closed). Clearly I have not socialized them for a baby. One of my cats is very "pawsy". Frankly, he gives great massages, but he can get a little carried away. (I must sound a little nuts!)

My biggest concern is one of my cats smothering a sleeping newborn. Frankly, I'm going to look into the dangers that caused the recall and if they are all related to older babies, I'm going to try to snag them from the "black market". Better yet, maybe someone here can team up with me to invent a new solution and we can pitch the idea on Shark Tank.

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