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March 2017 Moms
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Keeping Kitty out of the Nursery

Kwitha8916Kwitha8916 member
in March 2017 Moms
Are there any cat owning mamas out that can give me advice on how to keep a cat out of the nursery? I married into a relationship with a cat and she's an asshole to say the least. I'm worried because the room that the nursery is going to be used to be her hang out spot. As nice as I try to be, she's unfriendly to me and even hubs for that matter. I'm concerned what her attitude will be towards the baby, especially because she's losing her favorite place to hide because of the little one. Letting her stay in the nursery while I'm not in it is not an option for me. I can keep the door closed but wanted your thoughts.
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Re: Keeping Kitty out of the Nursery

  • motherofdragons-2motherofdragons-2 member
    Hmmm...an interesting dilemma! I would say get a baby gate but cats give no f*cks about any obstacles usually and will jump right over. I have heard that there are sprays you can get to coat the perimeter of an area that smell bad to cats and thusly discourage their attendance but would not know where to get them. Implementing a gentle consequence for whenever she walks into the room might also turn her off- (spray with a water bottle or put her out immediately or make a startling sound) but your best, cheapest bet is to keep that door closed, put a spring on it so it will close itself etc. All my cats have been indifferent to babies and toddlers but I don't know if yours or any cat would be as indifferent to having their hang out spot replaced! 
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  • disneybaby84disneybaby84 member
    I have cats, the crib is in the bedroom with me, my cats are never allowed in the bedroom anyway, so that part not a  problem. When baby is in the living room, I hope for my baby and cats to make friends. Honestly though I think with the crying and smelling like poop, my cats will be afraid of the baby. The new baby smells and noises coming from the nursery might deter your cat.
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  • BurrberrymumBurrberrymum member
    Maybe try lining the floor with tin foil for the next little while just to deter the cat away. Another thought.. we have this egg shaped air spray cat deterrent thing. It's a motion sensor so when your cat goes near it the egg would burst a shot of air to deter the cat. This worked well for us around the Christmas tree. 
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  • JustAnotherUsername16JustAnotherUsername16 member
    @Kwitha8916 We just started training our cat a couple weeks ago regarding this for similar reasons (cat thinks the extra bedroom is "her" room). Whenever DH and/or I are in the room, we leave the door open and have a spray bottle on hand with water. We give a verbal warning (read: yell at her) if she starts to come into the room and if she doesn't listen to that we spray her with water. It's been a couple weeks, but she's already learned that she's not supposed to be there - instead she will lay right outside the door and wait for us to come out. Whenever we are not in the room, we keep the door closed so as to not let her get comfortable in there at all. I don't know a bunch about cats... so I don't know if this would work with all cats - and ours is a lot more friendly (less of an asshole, haha), so I'm unsure if the same thing works for you, but worth a try maybe?
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  • RunBooRunRunBooRun member
    I have two. I'm not so worried about them being in the nursery per se, I just want to deter them from sleeping in the crib. I've heard the tin foil thing before, but that didn't work for the counters, so not sure if it will work with the crib...
    Team Green turned Pink!
    Samantha - 4/5/2017

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  • Shazzie116Shazzie116 member
    We had a cat when we had DD and ended up putting his tower, water and litter box in the bathroom and shutting him in there at night. We didn't restrict him from the nursery, but if we caught him in the crib we'd make a big commotion scaring him out. He never jumped in when DD was in there. He would nap on the changing pad or the rocking chair, which I was fine with.

    You can try getting one of those silent alarm things that only cats can hear (something about the frequency) and plug it into an outlet in the baby's room. I have friends who have used them to keep cats off kitchen counters. Or maybe diffuse some orange oil or something citrusy. There's no guarantee any of these will work other than shutting the door, though. Good luck!
    Met DH - Aug 2001 :: Married - Jan 2010 :: DD born - Sept 2012

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  • Shazzie116Shazzie116 member
    Oh, we also kept a can of air (like you'd use to clean your computer keyboard) next to the rocking chair and if he came in and was being a jerk or trying to jump in the crib we'd spray the canned air. The sound would scare him out. 
    Met DH - Aug 2001 :: Married - Jan 2010 :: DD born - Sept 2012

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  • kat0607kat0607 member
    edited January 2017
    *Lurking from July '17*

    We have two cats who are extremely stubborn and who don't respond to repeated techniques like scaring with sound/air or a spray bottle. Plus, my husband and I are at work all day so we can't keep a constant watch of where they're wandering. So, we are planning on trying to put a screen door on the nursery. We just moved into a new house so we are keeping the door closed for now, to teach them to stay out. But with a screen door, it's like having the door open: I can go in and out freely and still hear/see the baby, without the cats being able to get in. 

    ETA: Pinterest has some suggestions about screen doors for the nursery if you're interested!
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  • MMaruMMaru member

    We're planning to have el kiddo sleep in our bedroom for the most part, which the cats have always been allowed in.  We will be closing them out of the bedroom whenever we are sleeping in there along with the baby.  Planning to start easing them into the concept of them not being allowed in there by closing them out for a couple hours each day, but I do not expect it to go well - they are spoiled!  I don't want them to feel like they're losing territory, though, and possibly take a dislike to the baby because of it, so we'll let them in there as long as we're in there, too, and keeping an eye out.

    We have a spare bedroom that is going to be the nursery which they have never been allowed in, so naturally every time that door opens, all three want to try and wheedle their way in.  They will still never be allowed in there after baby is here.

    I will say that the citrus thing didn't work one tiny bit with our cats in the past.  Even though one of them very clearly disliked the smell, it never deterred him from his mission to sleep in the Christmas tree that weighed only about as much as he does.

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