Cats and babies

Weezy2012 · May 2014

Helloooo ladies! I posted about this a few days ago within another thread but figured it was more appropriate to start a new discussion. If you have ever had a cat and baby living in your house together at the same time, I want to hear from you!

I have a very curious and active 12 year old cat that's been with me since she was a kitten. I've been with DH for 11 years (living together for roughly 5 years with the cat) and it's taken her some time to get used to him. For instance, she FINALLY no longer tries to pee on his possessions (once she even peed on him while he slept....but that is a story for another time)

To my recollection she has never been around a young child and certainly not a newborn. Based on how curious she already is about DS' nursery, I am both excited and nervous about how she'll react to a baby in the house. I don't think she'll violently or anything but could see her getting either very distressed about the whole situation and regressing or try to be so close to the baby that she'll try to get in his crib while he is sleeping.

Any effective tips on keeping cats from jumping into cribs or lingering in the nursery? Have you ever experienced a problem or an unexpected moment with your cat and baby? Did your cat ever display really distressed behavior when you brought a baby home? Did you ever have issues with your cat licking or being near baby and causing rashes or allergy problems?

And for your viewing pleasure for reading my rambling post:

https://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/5316765?utm_hp_ref=mostpopular

I also apologize in advance if this has been brought up before. I am always on here with my iPhone and it is a bitch to search board content.

klauke_t13 · May 2014

I'm interested to see what feedback you get on this.

I'm a FTM in pretty much the same situation, but our cat likes DH better than me! She started peeing next to the litter box instead of in it over the last couple of days. I don't know if it's because she can tell something's changing, or if there is something going on with her.

shevaCC · May 2014

Our two cats have always been skitish but one unfortunately upped his inappropriate peeing after DD was born. We now keep our bedroom and the nursery doors closed all the time to keep the cats out after too many times finding cat pee on the bed/my pillow/etc.

That said, they mostly stay out of DD's reach so I don't worry so much about that. We've worked with her on gentle touches since she was way too young to understand and it's mostly sunk in. Now she's a bit older we talk about not cornering them.

tamarar5 · May 2014

I don't have cats because I'm terribly allergic. However, when DD1 was born, I lived with my parents and my sister had a cat. He *HATED* me. I had to make sure that my things never got left out where he could get to them or he would pee on them.

That said, he loved my dd. He never climbed in the crib or cradle, but he would curl around the legs of whatever dd was in. We were cautious to introduce her after birth, but we didn't have any issues until dd was mobile and liked pulling tails.

caballablanca · May 2014

My cat kept away once dd came. He was concerned the first night with all the noises and would look at her. He never wanted to snuggle her, but he was feral when I got him and only ever warmed up to me. Other humans he wants nothing to do with. Now that she is mobile, he makes it a point to stay away. He will be 10 in September.

lookame3639 · May 2014

This seems to be a hot issue.

If you are concerned about the cat hoping in the crib you can get a mesh tent. It helps keeps curious cats out and curious toddlers in.

As for cats...my cat has been through 3 newborns. She is curious about the stuff and somewhat about the newborns but she's never done more than sniffed them. When they become mobile she goes into hiding. When we moved DS into a toddler bed she came back out and began sleeping in bed with him and she likes to lay down with him now in the mornings. (DS is 7 now)

lookame3639 · May 2014

I want to suggest the my cat from hell series. You'll learn so much about cats and how to handle their behavior. There's even an episode which deals with someone who is getting ready to have a baby

Weezy2012 · May 2014

@lookame3639‌, thanks! I've heard of that series before but have never seen that episode.i will definitely check it out.

@shevaCC‌ did you ever get nervous about keeping the nursery door closed when the baby was napping? I have thought about just keeping the door shut but I am concerned about seeing/hearing DS but that may also just be FTM hypersensitivity.

And thank you everyone!! This makes me feel very hopeful

shevaCC · May 2014

@Weezy2012‌, sadly DD has always been a bad napper at home so she's rarely gone down in her crib, but we use a video baby monitor. With that, I don't worry at all about closed doors. It's also great for checking if she's awake and just being quiet or still sleeping.

Weezy2012 · May 2014

@klauke_t13‌ awww man that sucks! How old is your cat?

I know for our cat one of the first things we did was get her tested for a urinary infection and once we ruled that out 0 and determined she was just a urinating jerk, we tried feliway spray (minimal success), more scratch pads to relieve stress ( somewhat helpful), multiple litter boxes per the vets suggestion (great improvement in behavior), and a hell of a lot of that special enzyme urine cleaner. Even though she can still be a damn princess about her little box bring tidy at all times (something DH really hates being responsible for now) she seems to have gotten over whatever it was she was dealing with---not sure if it was moving out of our small Boston apartment or just time---and I am exceedingly grateful. DH was getting to his wits end with all of his things getting ruined (his new suit, school books, his side of the bed only, etc). We were just joking earlier today that the cat has preferred him over me since I got preggo but he insists it's only because he feeds her more wet food and treats than me. So, when in doubt, bribery will get you everywhere.

Raclla · May 2014

Pumpkin is 10. We made sure she had access to check everything out before DD was born. I found her sleeping on the changing pad a few times. It didn't take more than loud clapping and saying 'no' a few times to get her to stop.

Having things set up early enough really helped to know what items she was more attracted to.

In the beginning we kept the nursery door closed at night.

Now we're more worried about teaching DD 'gentle' than we are about the cat hurting her.

ungraceful13 · May 2014

We have 2 cats. One is 8 and the other is 7. We kept them separate from DD for a long time. They don't have free roam of our house and haven't since we moved in 3 years ago. We don't allow them in her room. As for her stuff around the house, they really only inspected it once or twice before she got here. Then after she got here we did very supervised visits and now they all play together well. One cat is terrified of her (he is terrified of everything) but the other one will lay down and let her pet him.

Jentech84 · May 2014

I'm not really concerned with my cats as they've always rolled with the punches with every big change - apartment to house, introduction of a dog, etc. Even still I'll be getting a Feliway diffuser to put on the top floor just in case a new baby is a little much

Without getting into the technical aspects of it, it's the best & easiest way to help your cat feel that everything is happy & safe in the house.

https://www.feliway.com/us/

I'd recommend everybody get it as it causes zero harm to any species and requires not a lick of effort towards the cat(s) itself!

klauke_t13 · May 2014

Weezy2012 said:
@klauke_t13‌ awww man that sucks! How old is your cat?

I know for our cat one of the first things we did was get her tested for a urinary infection and once we ruled that out 0 and determined she was just a urinating jerk, we tried feliway spray (minimal success), more scratch pads to relieve stress ( somewhat helpful), multiple litter boxes per the vets suggestion (great improvement in behavior), and a hell of a lot of that special enzyme urine cleaner. Even though she can still be a damn princess about her little box bring tidy at all times (something DH really hates being responsible for now) she seems to have gotten over whatever it was she was dealing with---not sure if it was moving out of our small Boston apartment or just time---and I am exceedingly grateful. DH was getting to his wits end with all of his things getting ruined (his new suit, school books, his side of the bed only, etc). We were just joking earlier today that the cat has preferred him over me since I got preggo but he insists it's only because he feeds her more wet food and treats than me. So, when in doubt, bribery will get you everywhere.

She's pushing 13. We've got several litter boxes, and she seems to do it with all of them. I think we're going to have to take her to the vet and get her checked, but I hate doing that. She's so skittish, it will take her weeks to recover from the stress!
I'll have to look for that enzyme cleaner. Thanks for the tips!

lookame3639 · May 2014

@klauke_t13‌ i always suggest an enzymatic cleaner, the best on the market is nature's miracle. Anyway if you clean with a regular household cleaner it may smell clean to us but it leaves then enzymes there, the cat can smell it and will go back to that spot. Plus nature's miracle was able to get chocolate sauce stains out of white carpet when DS was little. You can also buy a black light and spot where the cat has been peeing so you don't miss any areas.

babypants11 · May 2014

Our cat was super sad after DD was born, but she eventually got over it. Then this happened, and all was right in the world:

+RBL+ · May 2014

We have 2 male cats. Neither is very fond of strangers. One will be out if we have visitors and it curious, will sniff them and seems friendly, but if you move to touch him he will hiss at you. I've also seen him swat at MIL, but that is not common for him. The other hides if we have guests.

That being said, I was concerned about how they would react when DS arrived. It was both good and bad.

The good - They were (and still are) not all over him. They keep their distance. We keep DS's door shut at night and during nap time. But ever if we didn't they don't wonder in there. They both like to be wherever H or I are.

The bad - I think the stress of the baby caused some urinary issues for the older cat. The vet couldn't say for sure, because his issues are common for cats his age as well. He developed urinary crystals. Enough built up that he had a blockage and spent the night at the vet. Before the actual blockage there were a couple of different trips to the vet because he was acting strange, and they just said he was trying to pass crystals in his urine. Anyway, they had to go in and unblock him and since then he has been on special wet food.

So we had some issues, but nothing involving the cat getting to close/attacking the baby.

KittyMisha · May 2014

We were terrified that our cats would try to sleep on DD because of her warmth and accidentally smother her, so we bought a net for the bassinet. It was great for our peace of mind but totally unnecessary. The cats were mildly perturbed by the baby, especially when she cried, and otherwise completely ignored her. She didn't really register on their radar until she became mobile enough to grab an unsuspecting tail, and then they just started avoiding her.

marathonmommy82 · May 2014

When we brought DS home they weren't interested ... At all. We closed his nursery door and didn't leave him alone with the cats for a while, but they've mostly been indifferent

We've been teaching him how to "pet nicely" and leave the kitties alone when they run. They've never hissed or swatted at him. (Cats are all around 10yo)

Now that he can give treats - and is generous about it - they like him more

ErnieZippy · May 2014

Our 2 cats are tonkinese and crazy cuddly so we're worried they'll lie on baby for warmth. Starting by putting tin foil and coins in bassinet to freak them out if they jump in there, bu otherwise just gonna have to be vigilent. Kind of stressful though !

herecomesthesun · May 2014

Our cat is on the shy side. I'm sure there will be much hiding at first. I can see some cuddling next to me while baby is nursing after that and perhaps some curiosity with the baby's room and stuff. If jumping into the crib creates a concern, I'll do the foil thing.

lizztheo · May 2014

Now that my son is older, we let the cats in his room from time to time but never when he is sleeping. I have one cat that is particularly anxious and we use the Sentry calming collar on him during the initial transition (9 months pregnant-baby being 4-5 months old) and it really helps him. We had used it when we had peeing problems as well. I let them smell of DS when he came home from hospital and they were always in the room during tummy time to explore the nursery and the new baby. Once DS was about 7-8 months old, we started using the phrase "Gentle hands" and remind him of that when he pets or plays with the cats. Both my cats have done awesome and have only accidentally scratched him a few times when they got too wound up during play time. They are generally very sweet and will let my son flop down on them and use them as a pillow without complaint.

Since your cat has already displayed issues of stress/peeing in the past, I would definitely try to use a calming product such as the Sentry calming collar or Feliaway diffuser. If the peeing starts and is not under control in a few months, I would talk to a vet about it. You don't want your baby crawling on pee-floors and you don't want a stressed cat. Good luck!

Jules_Shamblin · May 2014

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned yet but one of my friend's has a cat who would always nap in the crib before their baby was born. My friend had read somewhere to blow up a bunch of balloons and fill the crib so the next time the cat jumped in, it would be surprised and wouldn't do it again. She did this once and the cat never bothered the crib again, either before or after their baby was born.

Just thought I'd pass it along!

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