Pets

AnnieLange · January 2015

This is my first pregnancy, and my husband and I already have two cats. I love them, but they're annoying and require a lot of attention. They're not happy about an impending new resident in the house. They scratch up the boxes that the crib and stroller are in now, so I'm afraid they'll have few boundaries when both are built and have a newborn in them. We've started closing them out of the bedroom at night so they can get used to not being allowed in some parts of the house, but they scratch and cry at the door most of the night. I know at the very least we might have to get them declawed in order to protect out child, but does anyone else have experience with this and have suggestions?

Mches05 · January 2015

Please don't declaw your cats. It is barbaric and cruel as it is the equivalent of cutting your fingers off from the first knuckle.

With that being said cats can be trained to not scratch things. Especially if you provide them with other alternatives to give them an outlet to curb their natural urge to scratch. We have several scratching posts and have no issues.

So my advice is to find a resource to learn how to properly train your cats so they won't rule the house now or when the baby arrives nor will you be harming them. Remember that this is a big change for them too and change is hard for cats. They like routine.

Unknown · January 2015

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graciest719 · January 2015

Please do not declaw your cats. That is beyond cruel. My cat has needle sharp claws that I never trim because I value my life. No plans to trim either.

The sooner you get shit set up the better. Get it out of the boxes and put it in place; the sooner they see the changes the more time they will have to adjust to them. I set up my crib then put tin foil on the mattress. The cat jumped in, freaked out, and got right out. I have a feeling he did it a few more times. I have since removed the foil, but the cat stays the hell out of the crib.

I have not closed any rooms off. It usually just makes him want in more. I'm not clear why a cat would not be allowed in certain rooms just because of a baby.

mandi195 · January 2015

Just because your cat scratched a box doesn't mean that it's "not happy" about a baby coming... it means that it wanted something to scratch on. Invest in a kitty scratching pole/tower, and relax. Your cat isn't going to claw your baby to death.

AnnieLange · January 2015

Thanks... I'm not so much worried about the cats scratching the crib as I am the them getting into it, so the tin foil idea sounds great. I don't want to declaw, that's just the suggestion I get from all my non-pet owning family. The cap on the nails idea is great too. They're very loving cats, so of course I think the worst and envision them climbing into the cradle to cuddle up to something warm and accidentally smothering my child. Like I said, I'm new at this, but you guys are right, it's not like babies and cats haven't existed together before.

Akrystofiak · January 2015

So I'm going to make a crazy leap in logic, and assume that when you got cats you knew at some point in the next 10-15 years you were going to have children. If the cats are annoying and require a lot of attention, there's one of two issues happening. 1) This is a problem that you caused by encouraging annoying behaviors (feeding them when they meow excessively, allowing them to jump all over shit because it's easier, not investing in scratching posts and making sure they use them) 2) This is a problem that you're facing because they're not getting enough attention. Either way, you'd be pissed if suddenly the shit that you were used to doing suddenly became unacceptable.

Let's not even talk about the whole declawing issue because I think it's barbaric. However, say you did declaw them. How is this going to stop them from pawing/meowing at your door at night? Or perhaps biting your infant? (Which seriously isn't going to happen. I've never heard of a cat attacking a baby) My advice is take care of the problem now. And taking care of the problem doesn't involve blaming the cats, because they're animals and whatever habits they've picked up are not their fault.

I have 5 cats. They get 20 minutes of play/treat time a day, with 5 of them that's all it takes for them to be happy sleeping the rest of the day away. I have a "poofer" that sprays air and makes a loud beep outside of the one room in the house they are not allowed in. It took 6 weeks, but they finally stopped attempting to go in there. I have two scratching posts per floor, and spent two full days chasing around cats with a water bottle to make sure they only used the posts. Cats are highly trainable, you just have to put the time into it, and if you don't want to put the time in then you should reconsider having pets.

deeohgee · January 2015

5 cats....

Unknown · January 2015

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Skrittens · January 2015

I had to come out of lurking to respond
My 4 cats are so super annoying. So is my H. So is my son when he kicks me in the ribs. But I love them all and would never even think of hurting any of them - so Do not declaw your cats!!!!That is cruel. And it really makes me sad.

My cats claw at boxes - it's natural. Get them a corrugated cardboard alpine scratcher (kitty treadmill) - they will love it.

I don't shut mine out of the bedroom. I think my son will do a good enough job when he screams. I have no problem with them being in the bedroom - and we plan to cosleep. I just don't want them in bed with the baby. So, mosquito netting and/or a little squirt with a water bottle will do the trick!!

I also have places that I know the cats love already - such as the basement and the office - and I am trying to keep the baby stuff out of those rooms.

If anything - I see this baby as an inconvenience on my cats - not the other way around. My goal is to show my cats I still love them just as much as before. And, ultimately, teach my son to love and respect pets. I bet as long as I pay them attention they will ignore the baby.

salmphil · January 2015

Also post-war de-lurking because I have to second all the PPs. Like all pets, cats need to be trained and given attention. Scratching posts, squirt bottles and tin foil will help. I have no idea how my 2 cats will react to baby and I'm just not concerned because people have been cohabitating with cats for centuries. Can't imagine declawing my kitties or putting them under strict quarantine simply because I decided to have a baby. Your cats will probably be fine, but please don't underestimate the work & responsibility required to be a pet owner for their whole lives.

ngolimento · January 2015

Cats scratch at cardboard. It's not an emotional statement, they just think it's the shit. If you want them to leave the crib alone, leave the cardboard box in another room. They'll love on the box for weeks.

Whitfry · January 2015

You're just interpreting things wrong. Cats are very evolved and intelligent, once you learn their language. First you have to look at what they're scratching. This gives you the emotional context in which to take their message. Then you look at the scratch pattern itself, which will give you the message body.

For example, I thought my cats were clawing at our new sofa because it's leather and they were bored. But upon closer inspection, I discovered that they were dissatisfied with their kibble and wanted to switch brands. Additionally, they were disagreeing about whether they liked it when we fed them cilantro. It was very eye-opening.

If you mutilate them, it will impede their ability to communicate and they'll choose another method. Typically pissing and shitting on stuff. While this linguistic strain is easier to understand, it's less pleasant to clean up after.

Bluebell0315 · January 2015

When I had DD we had two cats. Then one shit in her crib. Now we have one cat and a hedgehog.

MalVough · January 2015

Cats + Boxes = Pure Joy

My cats (I have two) were all over the furniture boxes for the nursery. They are cats. Boxes are kinda their thing.

We have a large scratching post / kitty condo that they have learned to enjoy. We also taught our dog that scratching is bad and she'll chase the cats if they pick at anything other than their designated area. We've also used a squirt bottle, which SO found to be way too much fun.

I'm concerned about one of the cats trying to smother LO. She's a cuddler and likes to lay on your head. I'm not going to full-out ban the cats from the room that was once their safe haven. But they will be locked out during naptime and bedtime.

One cat doesn't seem to know what's going on. She just enjoys sleeping in the car seat (we put a cover over it). The other is glued to me. I'm pretty sure she's going to greet LO with open... paws.

Whitfry · January 2015

EmpireRecords24 said:

When I had DD we had two cats. Then one shit in her crib. Now we have one cat and a hedgehog.
Dear god, what did you do to the baby when it shit in the crib?!

Clearly they turned the baby into a hedgehog.

bwftw · January 2015

AnnieLange said:
They're very loving cats, so of course I think the worst and envision them climbing into the cradle to cuddle up to something warm and accidentally smothering my child.

Maybe don't leave the cats alone with a sleeping baby...

I don't know, seems like common sense to me.

colleen4019 · January 2015

EmpireRecords24 said:

Bluebell0315 said:
When I had DD we had two cats. Then one shit in her crib. Now we have one cat and a hedgehog.
Dear god, what did you do to the baby when it shit in the crib?!

You're amazing.

Bluebell0315 · January 2015

EmpireRecords24 said:

Bluebell0315 said:
When I had DD we had two cats. Then one shit in her crib. Now we have one cat and a hedgehog.
Dear god, what did you do to the baby when it shit in the crib?!

Why do you think we're having another one?

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