Found the cat in the baby's Moses basket - fuming!

[sequeena]

if anyone is worried how their cats will react when baby arrives you can buy a plug in called feliway. All it does is release pheremones which will calm your cats, I'm pretty sure you can buy the drops to put in their water too and basic rescue remedy will be fine in their water, just 1 or 2 drops xx

 

[tinybutterfly]

feliway helps them to calm down and feel relaxed... it doesn't stop them from investigating and crawl into comfy spaces.
but i'm getting one for when baby is coming home (had some before for neighbourhood cat issues)

Obv. If cat looks like it's doing something it shouldn't then it'll be NO and water spray. I've already trained my cat to respond to many commands like 'no' 'get down' 'no biting' 'no scratching' and although he's cheeky like a toddler sometimes, he knows what these words mean! He does argue back sometimes which I find hilarious, aww I love my cat so much!

^^ i have your cat's brother lol
he knows commands (and also knows when he wants to ignore them) and talks back like a stubborn toddler.

water doesn't work, he loves a shower (he walks into the shower when i'm in there wanting to play with the water) haha.

what we did/do, apart from saying "NO" and take him out of the baby stuff (he loves the travelling system)....
was buy a cheap plastic doll and teach him that that is "baby", he now knows, that everywhere that baby goes into, he can't go in there.

we're also introducing all the baby stuff one by one.
the crib has been in the living room for a few weeks now. he jumped in day 1 (it's new, exciting, it NEEDS to be investigated) but he also got a very firm "NO" then from OH.
the next day i was holding him while i let him sniff everything but didn't let him jump into it, repeating "no milo, bed for baby, not milo".
then put the baby in there.
the crib is standing right next to his climbing/scratching post, he knows it's not for him and stays out (even when not around, i investigate for hairs every now and then).
he can however look at the baby in the crib from his scratching post, i think that helps for him.

now we're working on staying out of the maxi cosi lol.

i'm also trying to introduce nice cardboard boxes with soft blankets... but he doesn't care for them atm

 

[dottymouse]

we have 4cats, and at the moment they love trying to sneek into babies room, because it is quiet and warm, but as i found out when i had my daughter the cat we had then wasnt interested in being even in the same room as a baby. all my cats are very loving and if they have the opertunity would love to came and sleep on the bed with me and hubby, cudded into my bump, but hubby doesnt like them on the bed becaus of all the fur.
my sister has just had a baby (almost 6weeks old now) and when she visits the cats leave, the only issue we have is the dog is very protective over the baby, slightest noise and he has to sniff and nudge who- ever is holding the baby to make sure its ok, and if its sleeping in car seat or moses basket whilst she is here our dog lays down next to it, guarding it.

i would never get rid of any of the animals just because of having a baby, when we got them we knew we would be having a baby, and wouldnt get rid of them just because of a baby, animals learn quite quick if taught correctly, our dog is only 2 and is still learning, but he is getting there, but also responds VERY well to a water sprayer.

 

[kierley]

I started using the water spray on my cat but now it seems he doesnt like me at all. he constantly hisses at me and trys to swipe me if I get to close to him. his nature has completely cahnged. I only tried it as he is all to interested in the baby things and trying to keep him out with other kids in the house that leave doors open was proving impossible.. Now I dont know what to do with him I feel mean that he seems scared of me but I need to protect the baby things as Im nervous about him climbing in

 

[miss cakes]

god im glad i dont have any cats id be goin insane about all this lol x

 

[mtemptress]

read all these comments i agree with some people on the issues of cats but i have a critter myself and she is VERY VERY fluffy malts all over place but she is my baby she wont leave me alone at the min but when my friends come with babies she runs off,, my moses basket and baby stuff she ignores , but if she does she gets told off if is naughty but ultimately everyone's opinions and ideas are valid to each person ,its like my mate has dogs living with her and they both lick and clean her 1 year old and that makes me cringe but that may be because its a dog and ive never been a dog person prefer my kittys lol

 

[mamamay]

Hi - I have got 6 cats and a small home lol! I have got 'The Snug' moses basket from mothercare so that the cat net will fit a bit further away from the my babies face, as the design looks higher. Same as you I am going to make sure they are not left in a room together etc and the net is a precaution. x

 

[Adelicia]

From what I understand (and an earlier poster mentioned) the best thing is to place some double sided tape on some cardboard in the basket, or line it with aluminium foil, and let the cat have an investigation. They won't like the sensation on their paws and will decide the moses basket is not a nice place to be. I have done this in the past with areas like the kitchen counters, and my cats have no interest in those whatsoever now.

Using a water spray just teaches the cat not to go in there when you are about to see them doing it. Cats are very bright creatures (about as intelligent as a 4yr old child) and will think 'Right, don't let them see me do this' rather than 'Stay away from that basket, it gets my fur all wet' in pretty much the same way a toddler who gets shouted at might not learn 'don't pinch your brother' but 'don't pinch your Brother when mum is looking'

I'd have more of a concern putting a net over a moses basket (a cot I expect would be fine as it's further away from the face) as overheating does contribute an increased risk of SIDS, whereas there are very, very few cat related incidents reported. Most of the incidents which have been initially attributed to suffocation by car have sequentially been considered SIDS, as the presence of a live baby would most likely have made cats get out of the basket/pram/cot.

An interesting article from Snopes https://www.snopes.com/critters/wild/catsuck.asp

 

[Surprise]

I put aluminum foil in the bassinet and it only took one jump to keep my cats out. Then once the baby was born, they have never gotten in with him either. My 2 older cats don't like to hear him scream, so they keep their distance. My youngest kitty actually comes to get me when he cries and runs back to him with a worried look on her face, looking back at me to make sure I follow her, lol.

 

[mamamay]

I put aluminum foil in the bassinet and it only took one jump to keep my cats out. Then once the baby was born, they have never gotten in with him either. My 2 older cats don't like to hear him scream, so they keep their distance. My youngest kitty actually comes to get me when he cries and runs back to him with a worried look on her face, looking back at me to make sure I follow her, lol.

Ah thats well sweet x

 

[Mya209]

feliway helps them to calm down and feel relaxed... it doesn't stop them from investigating and crawl into comfy spaces.
but i'm getting one for when baby is coming home (had some before for neighbourhood cat issues)

Obv. If cat looks like it's doing something it shouldn't then it'll be NO and water spray. I've already trained my cat to respond to many commands like 'no' 'get down' 'no biting' 'no scratching' and although he's cheeky like a toddler sometimes, he knows what these words mean! He does argue back sometimes which I find hilarious, aww I love my cat so much!

^^ i have your cat's brother lol
he knows commands (and also knows when he wants to ignore them) and talks back like a stubborn toddler.

water doesn't work, he loves a shower (he walks into the shower when i'm in there wanting to play with the water) haha.

what we did/do, apart from saying "NO" and take him out of the baby stuff (he loves the travelling system)....
was buy a cheap plastic doll and teach him that that is "baby", he now knows, that everywhere that baby goes into, he can't go in there.

we're also introducing all the baby stuff one by one.
the crib has been in the living room for a few weeks now. he jumped in day 1 (it's new, exciting, it NEEDS to be investigated) but he also got a very firm "NO" then from OH.
the next day i was holding him while i let him sniff everything but didn't let him jump into it, repeating "no milo, bed for baby, not milo".
then put the baby in there.
the crib is standing right next to his climbing/scratching post, he knows it's not for him and stays out (even when not around, i investigate for hairs every now and then).
he can however look at the baby in the crib from his scratching post, i think that helps for him.

now we're working on staying out of the maxi cosi lol.

i'm also trying to introduce nice cardboard boxes with soft blankets... but he doesn't care for them atm

I love this!! You're spending the time to help your cat adjust and learn. As far as I'm concerned my cat is a valued member of the family. If I had a toddler who hit or pinched my baby or stole their toys I would teach the toddler what's right and whats wrong. I wouldn't get rid of my toddler or shut him out of rooms. Obv. If you have a problem cat then that's harder but in my experience, cats are gentle, intelligent and highly trainable! He's so much like a 2 year old in the things he does and understands. He really understands when I talk to him. I'm lucky, I have no worries about my cat at all. My main worry is that he'll feel left out and depressed. I want him to continue having a lovely life and we'll shedule in time to give him attention too so he doesn't get jealous.

 

[Sooz]

Luckily our cats won't jump a stair gate and we have one across the nursery door, have had for about 5 weeks now, and they quickly get used to not going in that room. From the end of this month they will be shut out of our room at night too.

It's all a matter of training and taking sensible precautions.

 

[JazzyCat]

LOL I love this thread! Those of you with success training your cats amaze me! I have all the baby stuff locked away for now in the nursery where my kitties can't explore. You better believe they want to get in there so badly! I don't believe there is any hope for my boy cat, he's just plain naughty. He wakes us up every night in the wee hours of the morning banging on our bedroom door or the bathroom door. I'm planning on using drop cloths to cover any baby stuff that is out once LO arrives. I'll give the training a shot of course, but I'm doubtful... Haven't had any luck training them with anything else. Plus don't want to elevate my blood pressure more disciplining them!


With 2 cats and 2 dogs - the day we bring our little girl home is going to be interesting to say the least!

 

[Mya209]

LOL I love this thread! Those of you with success training your cats amaze me! I have all the baby stuff locked away for now in the nursery where my kitties can't explore. You better believe they want to get in there so badly! I don't believe there is any hope for my boy cat, he's just plain naughty. He wakes us up every night in the wee hours of the morning banging on our bedroom door or the bathroom door. I'm planning on using drop cloths to cover any baby stuff that is out once LO arrives. I'll give the training a shot of course, but I'm doubtful... Haven't had any luck training them with anything else. Plus don't want to elevate my blood pressure more disciplining them!


With 2 cats and 2 dogs - the day we bring our little girl home is going to be interesting to say the least!

If you had a door in your house that was always locked you'd be desperate to see what's in there. Let the cats in and have a sniff around. It's like the advice given to put baby at the level of cats and dogs when they first come in the house so they can see and have a sniff. If the baby is raised over the head of the dog or cat they'll be desperate to see and think that somethings being brought into the house that they arent included in. Once they've had their sniff and look they won't be interested anymore. I've never shut any door in my house. My cat was there when we built the cot, he's always where we are. He follows us into the room if we are in there but never goes in there on his own. He's just not bothered because we've never made it a big deal.

 

[JazzyCat]

See my cats have had problems scratching and peeing on stuff in our house. The have ruined our leather sofas so I'm keeping them out of the nursery so they don't do the same to the new glider or crib. Our sofas are covered in plastic and drop cloths, if they are removed they pee. They will even pee on the drop cloths. New litter helped but did not completly solve this issue. Plus we had to put our bed on the floor off the bed rails bc they would go underneath and scratch the crap out of the mattress. Pretty sure they will do that to the crib if given the opportunity. I think it's awesome you are so permissive with your cat, but as much as I love my little kitties, they are going to have serious boundaries. I used to let them have free range of the house and it backfired in a big way. I would never get rid of any of my pets but limit them to certain parts of the house, yes, for sure. They'll be curious but I won't be sitting in pee!

 

[Mya209]

Haha! I sympathize with you! My kitty isn't perfect either! He used to pee on our bed! A nightmare! Luckily he grew out of it! We also used a urine deoderizer and disinfectant spray. They tend to pee where they can smell urine (often not noticible to human noses) and lots of people suggest that you cant train them out of it without removimg all traces of urine from your house. They sell UV lights for this too. Have u tried cat training spray too? That's good for scratching. It smells like orange and my cat hates it!

I do understand where your coming from, it must be a nightmare for you.

 

[tigs]

I have not read the whole thread - it was too long

BUT I have never met anyone who's cat has smothered a baby.. its an old rumer - to un -nerve people...

Anyway, IME cats do not go in to cots - or moses baskets when there is baby there.. because.. the baby is there..

They might go in once the the baby has vacated the space - it is warm and cosy - and comfy..


I agree with the spritzer bottle - it works a treat - that or a clicker - (I clicked my fingers to train my cat...)

TBH My cat was so disgusted I had a baby last time she would not even sit in the same room as me and the baby

 

[Mya209]

I have not read the whole thread - it was too long

BUT I have never met anyone who's cat has smothered a baby.. its an old rumer - to un -nerve people...

Anyway, IME cats do not go in to cots - or moses baskets when there is baby there.. because.. the baby is there..

They might go in once the the baby has vacated the space - it is warm and cosy - and comfy..


I agree with the spritzer bottle - it works a treat - that or a clicker - (I clicked my fingers to train my cat...)

TBH My cat was so disgusted I had a baby last time she would not even sit in the same room as me and the baby

We click our fingers too and that works if he's ignoring us. We have been doing this consistently since he was 8weeks old though. It's hard to train a mature cat like that.

 

[JazzyCat]

We've spent countless hours steam cleaning the sofas and they will never really be good again. Eventually we'll have to get new ones. They don't pee on microfiber only leather... I'll have to look into the orange spray... Haven't tried that. We have used the feliway spray, it's okay but expensive too. We also have been battling fleas, all the drops that go on their backs haven't worked.... Flea collars don't work, finally best we have found is brewers yeast with garlic supplements and frequent baths... Only a few left at this point, which is a miracle. Dogs take an oral flea medicine and are fine... But the cats are a whole different story! I think we are almost there... Hoping they'll be gone before LO comes! I haven't been bitten in a few weeks which us a vast improvement. I think the fleas in our area are super fleas and building tolerance to pesticides used to kill them!! My older cat's skin and overall health has been so much better with the brewer's yeast!

The fleas are another reason we are keeping the cats out of our bedroom and the nursery for now! They also are banned from the bathrooms - as one likes to eat trash, soap and drink toilet water! Love my cats but they are little pistols!

 

[Mya209]

What hard work! The spray we use is https://www.ukpetsupplies.com/Details.aspx?Action=1&ProdId=2581
We often have to reapply it and you have to use verbal commands so it's a training aid. Our cat won't go near it if it's sprayed though. Never spray this onto the cat!!
Have you been to your vets about some of these behavioral issues and the flees? We have a flee injection from the vet and it works great. Jake came to us as a kitten covered in flees and it took a while to get rid of them, you need to treat your house too, you can buy sprays for that.
Vets can give advice and treatment about behavioral issues too. Cats get a lot of psychological issues. Jake has lots of odd OCD things that he does which is odd.

Sorry if this stuff is obvious, just trying to help.