Cats and Babies

Susanbeth85 · January 2014

We have a cat that we have NO intention of getting rid of when baby arrives, but I have heard that you need to be careful of kitty snuggling with baby and accidentally suffocating him or her. Any advice on how to deal with cats and babies? I know our cat likes to cuddle for warmth, so this could happen. I am probably overreacting, though. Thanks for any input!

rainbowdashh · January 2014

I took in a 5 month old kitten when my daughter was about 3 months old. The cat wanted to sleep on her, but I just kept them separate when she was sleeping. It really wasn't much of a hassle at all. Now the cat and my daughter are best buds and they sleep together at night.

BabyCurtiss2014 · January 2014

i'm planning to keep my cat and baby separate for a while...especially when baby is sleeping...

kibean · January 2014

We are putting a screen door on the nursery so that we can still see and hear without having the cats (we have 2) running in and out, getting fur on things, generally being annoying, and potentially hurting the baby.

Got the idea here:

https://www.flor.com/blog/pulling-a-screen-kitty-defense/

I think it looks cute. They also sell crib screens, but that seemed like a pain to me and plus I'd rather the cats stay totally out for my own sanity.

Laurelyn2012 · January 2014

kibean said:

We are putting a screen door on the nursery so that we can still see and hear without having the cats (we have 2) running in and out, getting fur on things, generally being annoying, and potentially hurting the baby.

Got the idea here:

https://www.flor.com/blog/pulling-a-screen-kitty-defense/

I think it looks cute. They also sell crib screens, but that seemed like a pain to me and plus I'd rather the cats stay totally out for my own sanity.

Seems like a good idea but I have a feeling my cat would scratch the crap out of the screen door.

We plan on keeping him out of the nursery and am hopeful he will have no interest in the baby. He is not a very snugly cat to begin with.

dragonfly711 · January 2014

I have 3 cats. Honestly I am not worried.

Can always close the door to the nursery if you want to while baby is sleeping.

kibean · January 2014

Laurelyn2012 I know what you mean. I don't think my cats will scratch the door, but I know if they can't see in they will meow incessantly. They are super needy and cuddly, which I love, but not in this case.

We don't let them into our bedroom at night either, but it took YEARS for them to get the idea that no amount of crying would get them in. They finally caught on and now we are mixing it up again..sigh

ETA: Doors that are only screen on the top are another option for us. Not as cute maybe, but functional.

mrs_drc_rn · January 2014

My MIL had a screen door when DH was younger and it worked fine for her. We'll let our cats get used to the room before baby comes and then once the baby is here just keep the door shut while he's sleeping. Our cats will probably have no interest in Junior.

AandJ28 · January 2014

@kibean - we are doing the screen door. Our neighbors told us about it and we thought it was perfect.

Our cats don't have claws so we don't have to worry about them scratching - yes, I'm the mean lady who took their claws out. The room that will be the nursery has been off-limits to the cats (and dog) since we moved in and will continue to be. I plan on letting the dog explore once we have the nursery all set up but the cats won't have access. Not only do I not want them in there for fear of suffocation, I don't want their fur everywhere.

cas889 · January 2014

KrystaJ said:

I don't have cats and I'm not 100% sure this works, but I've heard that when you get the nursery set up, put tin foil inside the crib and any place else you don't want the cat jumping/going. If you let them explore on their own, they're supposed to figure it out.

We did this before our daughter was born. After we set up the crib, one day I found one of our cats in it so I covered it with tin foil and left it that way for a while. Almost 3 years later, we haven't found her in there again. We do close the door when E's sleeping, though.

Mztwilson · January 2014

My cat loved the soft blankets. He never layed on top of dd just snuggled next to her.

Luna C · January 2014

We just talked to our vet about this.

You probably know this, but for the sake of others, I will mention that it is a TOTAL BS OWT that cats try to suck the breath out of a baby, or try to suffocate them. That said, if you have a snuggly cat that thinks it can protect the baby by sleeping on its head... that can be a problem. But it's not deliberate!

This was the advice from our vet (whom I trust like family):

As early as possible, once you have the crib set up, put a big piece of cardboard in the crib, with double-sided tape on the "up" side. Cats hate the sticky feel and will figure out quickly that the crib is not an awesome place for them to sleep. (The foil idea other PPs mentioned works the same way -- but some cats like to play with the foil, so YMMV.) You should use this same trick in other places that you want to restrict the cat (bassinet, changing table, etc.)
Get a recording of baby sounds, esp. crying. The strange sounds are the thing that is actually most upsetting to the cats (not lack of attention, etc., like some folks think) so if you get them used to it now, they won't associate the bad sound with the baby.
Once baby is here, get Feliway scent diffusers -- these are like glade plug-ins but they release calming pheremones that help reduce kitty stress. (Humans can't smell them.) She suggested one plug in per story of the house.
Before the baby comes home, have DH or someone bring at least one of the baby's blankets home and leave it where the cats will smell it so they can get used to the new person's scent.

ETA: We also cannot have a closed door in our house without our beasties freaking out crying. We have a baby gate that we've put in the door of the nursery-to-be. That will keep out most cats. (Three of our four won't even attempt it.) That way, we can have the door open if need be, but keep most of the cats out of the room. So for us, it's just a matter of keeping our Leaping Girl from jumping in the crib.

Laurelyn2012 · January 2014

@kibean I'm lucky in the fact that my cat can't meow but instead likes to throw his whole body into closed doors and scratch them. We have just recently had to kick him out of our bedroom as he was peeing on our bed (We did take him to the vet and all tests came back that he is just a jerk) I have mostly had the door closed to the nursery anyways since it used to be a spare room/storage so he tends to leave it alone.

Does anyone have ideas on how to make a cat stop peeing on things? Our new couch is being delivered in February and I'm so concerned he is going to pee on it.

MollySm · January 2014

We started leaving tge nursery door closed long before we brought our daughter home, and they got used to that. We did kick them out if our bedroom at night when I was about 30 weeks pregnant. I just got too warm with them sleeping on the bed. It turned out to be a good idea because when she was a newborn sleeping in our room we didn't want them in there at night anyway.

bebemac · January 2014

I'm most worried about my cat licking my baby's eyelids off. They will both probably snuggle up to him, too.

Unknown · January 2014

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kibean · January 2014

Laurelyn2012 our cat used to pee on the wall/carpet in the basement. The only thing that stopped her was ripping out the entire carpet and putting in laminate floors instead. She hasn't migrated elsewhere, so it must have just been something about that area, but UGH I feel your pain. NOTHING makes me more crazy feeling than cat pee in my house.

MrsP419 · January 2014

Our old cat wanted nothing to do with our babies, even though they loved her. I think she was pretty pissed off that the babies stole her humans away during the awake hours of the early newborn phase and she was a big attention whore (especially to DH) as soon as they went to bed :-). The biggest adjustment we had to make was putting in a tall baby gate to our bedroom (where the babies slept) because our cat would cry and scratch under the door if it was shut for any reason. She had free reign of the house, but since she shed a lot, I did not want her to climb in the bassinet.

Hairstylist16 · January 2014

When we set up my sons crib 2 yrs ago our cat loved to sleep in it but as soon as we brought the baby home she never went in there again. Now we have a new crib set up for the new baby and she loves sleeping in it (so I'll wash the bedding before the baby is born) but I'm sure once the baby is born she won't go in there anymore. I think baby's are too loud and squirmy for cats ha ha.

lscal20 · January 2014

I have 3 cats and my plan is to keep the door closed and cats out of that room when baby is sleeping. While baby's awake someone will always be there watching, so I'm hoping this will work

dragonfly711 · January 2014

Laurelyn2012 said:

@kibean I'm lucky in the fact that my cat can't meow but instead likes to throw his whole body into closed doors and scratch them. We have just recently had to kick him out of our bedroom as he was peeing on our bed (We did take him to the vet and all tests came back that he is just a jerk) I have mostly had the door closed to the nursery anyways since it used to be a spare room/storage so he tends to leave it alone.

Does anyone have ideas on how to make a cat stop peeing on things? Our new couch is being delivered in February and I'm so concerned he is going to pee on it.

Laurelyn2012

Cats can get stressed very easily, from changing the cat litter, to moving things in the house. If the vet said all is ok then it is behavioral. You can try Feliway this is a pheromone spray or plug in that helps with anxiety. It does not work with all cats but I have had great luck with it with my cat that pulls his hair out and would recommend it for clients that would come into the animal hospital dealing w cats that were peeing all over.

Do you have only 1 cat? Rule of thumb 1 cat = 2 litter boxes. For each cat you have you should have 1 littler box plus 1. Do not change cat liters often, cats usually like the same kind. Some cats like boxes with hoods on them some dont so it would be good to have a box without just to make sure. Cats like clean boxes, clean the boxes daily, ( not saying you dont).

For the Feliway I like the plug in, it lasts a month you might need more than one and it might take a bit for it to work.

The litter you use, does it have a lot of perfume smells to it, some cats do not like that at all.

Where is your littler box? If you only have one get another one and put it in a different location in the house. ( upstairs and downstairs) if you can.

If you have more than 1 cat, this cat possibly could be having a hard time when he/she is in the box due to the other cat.

Did the vet say anything else to you? They should have recommended some or all of this. Did they check a urine on your kitty to rule out UTI? Some cats get FLUTD see article ( my cat has this)

https://www.vet.cornell.edu/FHC/health_resources/UrinaryConcerns.cfm

Last resort there are medications that you can put your cat on for anxiety ect but that is always a last resort discussed with Vet.

Feliway

https://www.feliway.us/

Let me know if you have any questions on what I said.

Oh by the way I am a vet tech for over 16 yrs and worked with a lot of people with cat peeing issues.

OH WAIT!!! you said this just started right???? You are pregnant!!! The cat might sense the changes and or you acting different due to being pregnant. This could be the trigger. Little things can set a cat off to pee somewhere else.

With your new bed make sure you get a matress cover that is waterproof it will save on your bed. ( i have had a few cats pee in the bed, not fun!!) Private message me if you want to chat more

JohannaD22 · January 2014

I have 2 cats and neither one of them have tried to actually sleep on my face. The 2 at my parents house are a different story. But the cats at my house are also kept at bay because we have 2 dogs. I'm honestly more worried about the dogs than the cats at this point.

colllydon · January 2014

I have no cats but I desperately wanted to use this gif. Please forgive me.

Luna C · January 2014

JohannaD22 said:

I have 2 cats and neither one of them have tried to actually sleep on my face. The 2 at my parents house are a different story. But the cats at my house are also kept at bay because we have 2 dogs. I'm honestly more worried about the dogs than the cats at this point.

I have a 15 pounder who thinks the best way to show me love is to lay on my head or my belly. He also likes to groom us by licking us all over with that raspy tongue -- esp. our hair if it's due to be washed. (I am 100% not kidding.)

He is the sweetest, gentlest animal I have ever known, but I am actually a little concerned about him accidentally hurting the baby while trying to snuggle or groom him/her.

CherSomething · January 2014

I'm worried about my cat investigating the baby's crib. Will try the tinfoil trick. I hope it works.

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