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

[jjbump]

Hi all.

Anyone got any ideas on what I should do? We've got a nursery with loads of baby things - cot, toys, blankets, Moses basket etc. The door is religiously kept shut, but I've just been in there to find that not only the cat got in, she made her way into the cot and Moses basket! I am shocked at how easy (and quickly) it was for her to do this! I think my OH left the door open and accidentally shut her in.

My OH thinks I'm overeacting, but I see this as a sign to come. Although the plan is to watch over the Moses basket at all times, mistakes will happen.

I know the cat doesn't understand, but I was fuming and now want to find a home for the cat only for the first 6 months or so until the baby's old enough.

What do you think? Are those Moses basket covers any good?

xx

 

[lou100]

I have a cat net for the moses & the cot... just to be on the safe side...you never know...we are only human, you cant have your eye on the moses basket constantly.
Got mine off ebay for about a fiver each...well worth it i think x

 

[CandyApple19]

No id totally be angry too tbh, ive heard all too many stories of cats accidentely smothering baby in their sleep cause they get cosey in their cot/moses basket, and its awful, since uve had the cat only 6 months giving he/she up wont be too much of a downer for you i imagine? your OH needs to be really careful, my mum n big sis have a cat and when amber was first born he'd end up in her moses basket if one of them didnt keep an eye on him, it was quite unnerving....

 

[miss cakes]

urgh yes id be very upset! i think the nets a good idea and next time remind OH to keep that door shut you dont want cat hair allover the babies things x

 

[BabyBoyNYC]

I have three friends who have cats and their cats were so into all the baby things, even laying on their bumps! He/she is probably thinking this is all her stuff lol. Plus its good to have their scents mixed so they can know about each other. I wouldn't worry about a cat smothering your baby. Maybe use a water bottle to spritz the cat when she gets around the baby stuff, let her know its not for her

 

[moonbeam_sea]

With my son, I worked with training my cats to stay out of his stuff before he was born. It involved lots of squirting the cats with water bottles, but they got the idea and gave up on jumping in his things before my son was born. I'll have to get this one's stuff up soon so we can do some refresher training... Good luck.

 

[Macmad]

My cat has done exactly the same. Obviously she doesn't understand. I keep the door shut to the nursery but to be honest from other cat owners I have read about, they say once the baby is here they aren't interested. They don't like their smell and the noise they make.
You could get a net for the cot/basket to save you worrying.

X

 

[dizzynic]

If it was me i would be finding a home for the cat the nets arnt foolproof obviously you will be attached to the cat so it would be difficult but myself i wouldnt take the risk xx

 

[vetti1979]

When our son was born we had four cats, went out one afternoon and got home to find charlie laying in the moses basket! so soooo mad at the cat and went straight out and bought a cat net - absolute god send.

This time due to finances we had to get three of them re homed so now only have george who is now almost 5 but he KNOWS not to dare to go into the bedrooms. you can use the water spray technique as they really dont like that. we also found that if the cat has its own comfy bed and space he is less likely to venture but it depends on the nature of the .

good luck! x

 

[luna28]

oh please no reason to rehome your cat because you are having a baby! get a water spray and spray her when she goes near she will soon learn. We have 3 cats and they have all tried to sleep in the moses basket and pram-cats just like to be cozy, so we have covered them with stuff so they can't get in to them.
When the baby arrives the cats will probably want to be far away from baby.

 

[mumoffive]

Ive had cats with all my children and its never been an issue tbh. I have been vigilant though and always have know where the cat is when they are younger. None of my cats have ever ventured into cot or moses basket while baby is sleeping or not..but most cats will go where they are comfy and quiet thats why your cat sought this space out. Most cats actually dont like babies! My cats have always been trained though to always sleep in their baskets and never allowed on worktops or tables or even sitting room chairs. I think as long as your careful where the cat is, you will be fine and so will your baby.

 

[shiner]

How sad to hear about talk of rehoming a cat because it got on baby stuff. That is a great first lesson to your child about responsibility. Dear, we used to have cats until they became a bother, so we dumped them. Training would have been too much!

PS, this is not directed at the OP, I don't think they mentioned dumping thief pets at all.

 

[mislaww]

No id totally be angry too tbh, ive heard all too many stories of cats accidentely smothering baby in their sleep cause they get cosey in their cot/moses basket, and its awful, since uve had the cat only 6 months giving he/she up wont be too much of a downer for you i imagine? your OH needs to be really careful, my mum n big sis have a cat and when amber was first born he'd end up in her moses basket if one of them didnt keep an eye on him, it was quite unnerving....

There are no reported incidents of cats smothering babies - it's just an urban myth.

That doesn't mean you want your cat in your moses basket though. We put upside down packing tape in ours - she got her paw caught up in it and hated it. Now, she doesn't go in even if her toys fly into there (same goes with the crib, and shelves with baby's things on them). We have a net, but I don't think we'll need to use it. You could also try tin foil.

Lots of people find that once there's a baby in the basket, the cat doesn't want to be in there anymore anyways.

 

[madcatwoman]

oh been there!. found both of mine in the cot, and once in the basket!. we have had to keep the nursery door shut, but im thinking of getting a net too as i can always shut off the room that the basket is in!

 

[pupsicle]

Hi all.

Anyone got any ideas on what I should do? We've got a nursery with loads of baby things - cot, toys, blankets, Moses basket etc. The door is religiously kept shut, but I've just been in there to find that not only the cat got in, she made her way into the cot and Moses basket! I am shocked at how easy (and quickly) it was for her to do this! I think my OH left the door open and accidentally shut her in.

My OH thinks I'm overeacting, but I see this as a sign to come. Although the plan is to watch over the Moses basket at all times, mistakes will happen.

I know the cat doesn't understand, but I was fuming and now want to find a home for the cat only for the first 6 months or so until the baby's old enough.

What do you think? Are those Moses basket covers any good?

xx

We worried about this, we have a large fluffy cat that kept sleeping in the moses basket. We brought a cat net, but she just laid on the cat net. Now we have LO we just keep a close eye on her with the baby. But when the baby's in the moses basket, she stays clear.

 

[nullaby]

I think its a little extreme to get rid of the cat because she was in the basket IMO. She doesnt know any better and once the baby is home she will stay clear. My cat was curious about the baby in the crib/bassinet and would look at her, but thats as close as she got. I would def try training before shipping her out!

 

[madcatwoman]

I think its a little extreme to get rid of the cat because she was in the basket IMO. She doesnt know any better and once the baby is home she will stay clear. My cat was curious about the baby in the crib/bassinet and would look at her, but thats as close as she got. I would def try training before shipping her out!

i do agree there, its a little extream to get rid of the cat just like that, give him/her a fair go, theres a little animal life to consider as well after all.
if someone brings a baby or toddler to our house my 2 cats run a mile, theyre actually quite frightenend!

 

[Noonoo1]

No id totally be angry too tbh, ive heard all too many stories of cats accidentely smothering baby in their sleep cause they get cosey in their cot/moses basket, and its awful, since uve had the cat only 6 months giving he/she up wont be too much of a downer for you i imagine? your OH needs to be really careful, my mum n big sis have a cat and when amber was first born he'd end up in her moses basket if one of them didnt keep an eye on him, it was quite unnerving....

I am sorry to but in but these really are largely old wive's tales. It would be in the news if this happened all the time and cats killed babies. I am sure it does happen from time to time but then no animal should be left unsupervised with a baby, whatever it is.

As for giving the cat up, you can't just get rid of animals like that. The cat has no idea you are about to have a baby and although it is annoying it wants to check out all the baby things, until it learns the boundaries (which takes time and effort) you can't just give up on it.


Just stay calm and persevere with the cat. They are naturally curious but they do learn and in time I am sure it will make a nice companion for your kiddy

 

[CandyApple19]

No id totally be angry too tbh, ive heard all too many stories of cats accidentely smothering baby in their sleep cause they get cosey in their cot/moses basket, and its awful, since uve had the cat only 6 months giving he/she up wont be too much of a downer for you i imagine? your OH needs to be really careful, my mum n big sis have a cat and when amber was first born he'd end up in her moses basket if one of them didnt keep an eye on him, it was quite unnerving....

There are no reported incidents of cats smothering babies - it's just an urban myth.

That doesn't mean you want your cat in your moses basket though. We put upside down packing tape in ours - she got her paw caught up in it and hated it. Now, she doesn't go in even if her toys fly into there (same goes with the crib, and shelves with baby's things on them). We have a net, but I don't think we'll need to use it. You could also try tin foil.

Lots of people find that once there's a baby in the basket, the cat doesn't want to be in there anymore anyways.

sadly i do know of a girl whos 2 week baby was smothered by a cat getting into his moses basket, she was a single parent and baby was sleeping, so went off for a shower n came down n found the cat ontop of the baby and thought she'd let the cat out.. was really really sad actually. thats my own personal know of it, i dont personally know anyone else whos had something so unfortunate happen to them, but have seen through other people mentioning it. i've always been a pet person but unfortunately we cant have animals in our home, or else we would have a cat or a dog or even both, great caution does need to be taken with stuff like this, especially cats that go outside like tom cats (my mums cat) as he often came in after wandering in some really nasty places and his paws were covered in alsorts :S

Sorry if it seemed like i was being a bit extreme or trying to scare anyone, i'm not, there are ways around training your cat up to stop them doing stuff but my mums cat has proven so difficult since amber arrived, like peeing on her things through jealously, and they had-had him for a good 4-5 yrs before she was born, and everything they do to try and train him not to, he goes against, so currently trying to rehome.hes a lovely cat too..

 

[elaineindc]

Please don't rehome your cat for the first six months or until baby is older - that will not do any good for the cat, it's an animal, it won't understand. Cats like stability and that's one of the reasons they check out any new piece of furniture - if you rehome your cat and then take it back, it's confusing and you'll end up with a stressed out cat.

We got our cats knowing we'd care for them for life (theirs) and to consider booting one out, even temporarily, because it went in a moses basket to check it out, is well, in my opinion, a reason for someone not to be allowed to have a pet, period. It's up to you, as the owner, to train it not to go back in there. Punishing the animal is backwards.

I get upset when people write about cats smothering babies. That's an old wives tale and it's scaremongering. One of my cats went in our moses basket last week - not a big deal. The cats live in the house, so will my baby. A bit of cat fur here and there will not hurt my child and may even prove to help towards warding off allergies in the longterm. Who knows. Either way, I am not going to freak out about something so small.