newborns and cats

[Magenta]

I've started to think about what life will be like once the baby's born and my three cats are starting to worry me

I don't want to have to take bubs with me every time I leave the room to go to the loo, go into the kitchen etc, but I think I might have to because of the cats - don't want them climbing on him etc

does anyone else have cats and had/have the same worries as me? we live in a 2 bedroom flat and the cats basically have the run of the place - although we have decided to use a baby gate on our bedroom door at night as the youngest cat cannot abide a closed door and will jump up and open it giving us the fright of our lives

ideally, they'd all be shut in the kitchen and stuff, but that's not practical

do you think I'm worrying over nothing and the cats will not go anywhere near the baby?

sorry for the waffle!

 

[Vickie]

I have two cats and I understand your worries. One of our cats has been completely fine with the baby, the other a little jealous. Neither have deliberately tried to hurt her and I don't hesitate to run to the loo or into the bedroom for something if needed while she's in the living area but I still don't leave her alone for long or at least check back quite often to see how she's doing. We don't let the cats into either bedroom so we have had no issues with the crib etc.

 

[redberry3]

possibly worrying over nothing. My concern has always been them in the nusery with the baby and how much i will have to focus on keeping them away.

for the most part cats are pretty independant and will probably either be really scared of the little one and more curious when you are with it. To actually jump on the LO, i doubt that will happen. Just watch them for the first couple of days and see what they do.

I have 2 cats and a dog. I worry more about the dog than they cats.

 

[Magenta]

thanks Vickie

when we move house, they'll be banned from bedrooms and upstairs in general anyway. I guess I'll just have to play it by ear and try and make sure I hoover every day to keep the little blighters' hair down to a minimum!

 

[Magenta]

cheers Jaylene

Jasper (youngest one) is scared of allsorts although he acts all tough indoors lol! the other two are too fat and lazy to do much I guess as that will involve having to move off the sofa!

 

[FEDup1981]

yeah we have a cat, and when my DS was born i NEVER left them in the same room togther while baby was so little, it was only when he started being an older baby that i could leave the room for a short time. We also kept the cats out of the bedroom at all times, even during the day, which at first the cat hated but they get used to it.

Sometimes cats dont do it to be jealous or malicious, they just want to find a warm place to curl up, and if that happens to baby in babys crib, or on baby, its just not worth it. You have to set boundaries for them xxx

 

[reallytinyamy]

i am the cat queen. I have 5 cats. they share a bedroom with us and Chloe, they have run of the house, we have a cat net on the moses basket, other than that no measures in place. I leave Chloe in rooms with the cats, they dont care, poppy is very protective of the baby and doesnt like people having her!

When we first brought her home they were wary for a few days and had a good luck but didnt go near her, now they take no notice of her.

one thing i will say is a new baby can make cats ill, can cause stress, 2 weeks after chloe was born one of them ended up at the vets because of it. He is fine now but i think that is a bigger worry than the cats hurting the baby

 

[Vickie]

I haven't even really worried about the hair And Hannah stays in the living area with me a lot during the day (one bedroom condo with a solarium which was converted into her nursery). If they are in the bedroom I think you can find cat covers for the crib--a net mesh type thing that goes over the crib to keep cats from jumping in

 

[Vickie]

I would say if planning to keep the cats out of the bedroom when the baby arrives it's probably best to start now--so they don't associate being locked of the bedroom with the baby.

 

[reallytinyamy]

I haven't even really worried about the hair And Hannah stays in the living area with me a lot during the day (one bedroom condo with a solarium which was converted into her nursery). If they are in the bedroom I think you can find cat covers for the crib--a net mesh type thing that goes over the crib to keep cats from jumping in

because of what they are made of the cats are scared of the nets

 

[Vickie]

I didn't know that

 

[Magenta]

I'll see how it goes - I reckon they'll just ignore the baby (hopefully!)

 

[PitBullMommy]

I've got 4 cats and was a little worried, but it was all for nothing. The cats pretty much ignore Charlotte. Once in awhile they'll come up and smell her, or if she's crying they'll go look at her. Before she was born they liked to sleep in her crib, then after and before she was using it they did too. Now that she sleeps in there they NEVER go in it...it's like they just know.

 

[nikky0907]

Honestly...my cat is extremely jelaous.

I think it's down to the cats personality,so to speak
I don't let my cat in the bedrooms,only in the spare bedroom where she sleeps.
When Lola-Rose is in the living room or in the kitchen I lock Dinky(the cat) on the terrace.
I hate to do it but I just don't trust her,she ate two of my hamsters...

 

[kiwimama]

Hope everything turns out ok for us with the baby/cat situation. We have 4 cats that have been our babies for the last 4 years, hopefully they adapt smoothly to the big changes coming up!