HELP! my cat wants to sleep in the bassinet!

[PineappleHead]

Like the title says... one of my cats is absolutely fascinated with the bassinet AND the cradle AND the changing table-- like all the places my lil man will be laying at some point or another. I want her to get used to the furniture as it will be around for awhile but I don't want her to think it's okay to just sleep there whenever cause when my lil boy gets here, I don't want her smothering him!

Has anyone else had to deal with this? What have you done to keep the animals off?

 

[Chaos]

My cats were exactly the same. They were in it all the time when I was pregnant. I really didn't feel like battling them with it then.

For the first 3 weeks we didn't need to worry cause they went in to hiding the first time she cried lol.

Now we just shut our bedroom door at night so they don't come in. During the day I either keep the bedroom door shut, or just shove a pillow or some books in the bassinet so it's not attractive to them.

I think the more you shout and tell them NO the more inquisitive they become about the item. I let mine have a good sniff and explore of her bedroom for a couple of days when it was finished and let them get it out of their system. They barely go in there now (not that she sleeps in there at the moment anyways lol)

I will say this for them, since Autumn has been here, they've been very respectful of her and kept their distance. It was only yesterday, after 16 weeks, that Murphy actually laid near her on the sofa lol.. I think he's starting to think she's "ok"

 

[MiissMuffet]

I just put mine up and opened the door coz i would rather her jump on them now so i can teach her not to, but she hasn't even bothered about them at all. She goes in for a wee nosey and walks around but hasn't jumped in the bassinet or the change table. then again i do keep the door closed at night i might leave it open tonight and see if she sleeps in there x

 

[CocoaOne]

The problem with cats is that they don't understand punishment the same way dogs do. So if you shout at the cats for getting in the crib they'll think 'why is she shouting at me?' and not link it to the fact that they are in the crib.
The only way is to let them get used to the new stuff and hope they get bored after a while, buy cat nets for the basket/pram/cot or just shut the door so they access the baby's stuff.

I'm so glad my cat isn't fussed by snuggling up in the baby's stuff- I really hope she stays uninterested when baby gets here!

 

[digs]

Water pistol! We are using it at the mo. x

 

[Esque]

Water pistol! We are using it at the mo. x

I kinda wouldn't do that. My aunt did this when she was pregnant with her first, the cat just got angrier and angrier and then suddenly there was a new baby and it turned into such a vicious little thing, and then it ran off. And then they found it a couple of weeks later dead at the side of the road.
Obviously all cats are different but just saying

 

[mrsneish2b]

we have two cats and the same problem with the cot and the crib, we put tin foil down (baking foil) and the dont come near it now!!! they jumped in once and jumped right back out, i know they dont like the feel under thier paws, so now they sleep underneath! x

 

[jackie.d]

id put half cut lemons and oranges in and on things then they dont go near lol, i'd wash everything again. my cats havnt been to bad.. they keep going back to my bed though and the youngest wont take a telling but im persistant with them and she is learning. xx

 

[sm1x09x]

Whack it LOL

 

[sm1x09x]

P.S I hate cats so I would say that lol

 

[2bananas]

A water spray is actually not a bad idea - they do not like it and although yes they do not respond in exactly the same way as dogs with training they do eventually learn.

Our elder cat will try to sleep on anything thats new or high up. Now we have just had to keep both cats downstairs and wont allow them upstairs at all, they have never been allowed upstairs at night anyway so its easy enough to keep them separated from things you dont want them near.

Just keep doors closed - they are little buggers sometimes!! x

 

[dani_tinks]

Water spray wouldn't work on our cat, he'd think it's a new game plus he has a fascination with water - haha, odd boy!
Anyway Pangur tried sleeping in the babys bed when we first put it up, I initially screamed at him, to which he looked at me as if I was insane. Then I picked him up and shouted ''No''. This obviously didn't work the first time, but 3rd or 4th time it started to register. I guess it depends on the cat, ours is very sensitive to bad feelings and hates being told off, so a very strong no worked for us.

 

[curlykate]

My friend had this problem with her cat.
She used the tin foil trick. She lined the baby's crib, bassinet, change table, etc with tin foil. One jump in was all it took, and the cat never went back. Apparently they hate the feeling of it, as well as the noise it makes.

 

[LillyTame]

I would suggest Tin Foil as it is a training tool that can be used when you are NOT around....otherwise they'll just learn to do certain things only when you arent around. It's also cheap and easy to clean up.

 

[loulou1979]

I've been worried about this with our cat. As soon as I go in the nursery she's in the cot! Luckily its not made up yet as the baby will be in the moses basket initally, but its still a worry. Will be giving the tin foil idea a try - thanks to all those who suggested it! xx

 

[bonniebluesky]

Yeah, I've been wondering about this too, our 2 cats have been pretty good so far, they sleep on the bed with us and they did jump into the cot a few times in the first week it was there, but we shouted No and took them back out.It seems to have worked,since then we've kept it covered with a sheet taught across it so we'd be able to tell whether they were going in there when we were out,but obviously when baby arrives the sheets' going to have to come off -am so going to put tin foil in there, my cats hate it, that'll totally put them off jumping in there! Fab idea, thank you!

 

[littlestar]

tin foil works as does plastic bags. my cats hate the crinkling

 

[LillyTame]

That's funny because my two LIKE bags, so I have to keep them put away otherwise they chew and nibble on them.

 

[bexie1985]

i actually got rid of my cats when i got pregnant, i know it sounds mean and it was very sad at the time, but i wouldnt want cat hair everywhere, or a cat near my new baby, plus when they get to the crawling stage u have to be careful they dont touch the cat food and cat tray, just a nightmare!! I have heard squritiing them with water is a great way to get them to stop tho good luck, xx

 

[Kitty23]

I had the same problem with my naughty cats lol. But now the babies room is off limits, the door is always shut, I don't want cat hair everywhere and the door will stay shut when the babies are here. I might try the tin foil but they are such odd cats I bet they would like it lol xxx