HELP....practical advice wanted

[mercman]

once again we turn to the MSE forum in a bid to help us get some practical advice from people.

wife is now only 5 wks from giving birth to our 1st born, but we have this to worry about

We have a v v spoilt cat who we have had for 15yrs (he has and always will be 'the baby') We are a little concerned that he may inadvertantly jump in with the baby during the night (while hopefully we grab some sleep)!

We are trying to think of practical solutions to this. Baby will be in with us in a moses basket, how can we give it some protection from tigger wanting to cuddle her?

Ideas we have had thus far are

1. Buy an enclosed fire guard to put around the moses basket
2. Buy a cot instead of a cotbed (cotbed is too big for our bedroom) and place moses basket into that
3. Buy a travel cot and place moses basket in that (height isnt very good so may struggle getting her in/out of moses basket) and then making some sort of wood & chicken wire framing to go over the top


Anybody else out there have had babies whilst owning a 'HOUSE CAT'?

your help would be greatly appreciated


Regards


P&P

[bigmuffins]

Hi
Congrats - hope birth goes smoothly for you both!
I think you can get anti cat/insect cot & pram covers - they should be in all the stores (mothercare etc) or try the great little trading co - I remember seeing them there.
My friend's cat was the same - v jealous of new baby and kept peeing in the baby's car seat & bouncer. Was fascinated by baby's eyes and would have scratched him had they not had a cover on!
All the best

[Edinburghlass]

Easiest and cheapest method would be to lock the cat out of the bedroom, at night anyway?

You may well find, as I did, that the cat hated the baby anyway and stayed well away from it ;)

[Bun]

We have four cats, all of whom used to sleep on the bed before mini-bun arrived. We stopped them sleeping on the bed a few weeks before arrival. We bought cat nets but never actually had to use them as they were a bit freaked out by him at first. Let your cat get used to the baby gradually. My husband used to bring back the t-shirts he cuddled the baby in while we were in hospital so they knew the scent. As long as you fuss the cat as much as you can then hopefully you shouldn't have too many problems. Best not to leave anything on the floor (baby bags etc) just in case of weeing though. The cats were allowed in the bedroom the rest of the time, and also unless min-bun is in his bedroom they can go in there too (we put a heavy toy in the cot though to keep them out) It stops it becoming a place of intrigue and is good for allergies too. The cats protection league does a leaflet, alternatively you can ask at the vets for advice.

Congratulations and good luck by the way!

[mentaljessie]

I trained as a Nursery Nurse and it was always rammed down our throats by my tutors that a cat net (I think you can can get them from Mothercare) is to be recommended, As an owner of 5 cats myself, it's something i would get. The reason being for this that a particular tutor whom was previously a health visitor, had to deal with an incident involving the family moggie and the new baby fortunately all was ok in the end. Congratulations!

[katglasgow]

Hi I was in a similar situation with my beloved cat before my son was born and I just wanted to let you know it had all worked out fine!
We started shutting cat out of our bedroom about a month before I was due so that the cat would get used to this before the baby actually came home. We bought a special cat bed from Argos and to my surprise my cat actually uses it now every night!
I had an insect net for the car seat that fitted the moses basket well but actually, once at the very beginning I found my cat asleep in the empty pram and I gave him a massive row, and he has never ever done it again since.
It is probably a good idea to gwet into the bahit of stroking your cat a lot less now as well so again he gets used to it before the baby comes home.
When m,y son was tiny, the cat was not interested in being anywhere near him - way too noisy! As he has got older, they have become great friends and Ewan loves to stroke the cat and Felix responds by gently head buitting him. They love each other to bits and I am very proud of my cat!
Good luck x

[rchddap1]

My sister has 2 cats (one is extremely large and soppy). She hasn't had a problem with her cats & her son when he was born. I would also suggest shutting the cat out of the bedroom in which 'sprog' is going to sleep.

[maggie1976]

Either a cat net, or I've also heard that putting a baking tray (quite a deep one) filled with water inside the moses basket and/or cot is a good idea, so that if the cat jumps up, it gets a nasty wet shock and doesn't do it again.

Obviously that's only when the baby's not in there! You could try it now to get the cat used to where it is and isn't allowed to be and see how you get on.

Good luck - we're going to have the same dilemmas in a few months - we have 3 cats, and baby no. 1 due in December!

[Savvy_Sue]

You may need catnets of different sizes, for example for the moses basket and the cot when you get it and the pram if you have one. A little insect net might be sufficient for that if you put the cover and hood on, if that's not too hot.

I'd say the main thing would be to make sure there's always one over anything you don't want the cat in, from as soon as possible. But I'm not sure I'd be convinced that a cat net would keep a cat out of a moses basket, and once the baby's wriggling I guess there's a risk of fingers getting caught?

Lots of other good tips from cat owners, which I'm not, but I have seen several happy families with spoilt cats transformed by the arrival of sprogs!

PS I babysat for my friend's 3 kids once and found the cat was more trouble than the rest of them!

[Zziggi]

We have 2 overly-pampered cats. I was very worried about how cats and babies would mix when ds arrived as i was going to be a first-time-mum. We bought cat nets and used one over the moses basket and had one for the cot. During the day i just used the cat net over the moses basket that was in the lounge as i was in and out the room all the time. At night i still used a cat net over the cot just to be sure but also shut the door completely so the cats couldn't get in while i was asleep. I can honestly say i never ever found the cats anywhere near the moses basket or the cot. When we brought ds home the cats had a little sniff of his feet while i was cuddling him, then from then on they made gave him a wide berth and basically ignored him. Now ds is aged 3 they love him and sleep on the floor of his bedroom.

Good luck and hope your cats are as amenable as ours were.

[mercman]

Thanks for all the responses, please keep them coming


Regards

Pete

[carolskianne]

Hello

We have a 12 week old kitten. We have had her for just under 3 weeks. When she arrived she had diarrhoea and was on a medication from the vets. With the meds she improved until it ran out and the diarrhoea came bac. I took her to the vets who said it could be aids or cat flu or she could have an ‘allergy’ to having tried to eat one of our dogs complete food biscuits!

She would have put her down as she was so skinny and clearly not doing too well. I asked if we could try one more thing. She gave her some stronger medicine that she takes orally and some special food. She seemed to be doing ok but now 4 days on she seems to be incontinent again. poor little thing is restricted to the bathroom. She seems very perky though but I am at a loss as to what to do, should we ‘put her out of her misery’ or what else can we try?

I can’t believe that licking a few dog biscuits has done this. She had been out till 3a.m. in the morning the night before she came to us and has not had any injections.

Please help!

Carolyn Morris



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[essexhoney]

mercman i went through exactly the same thing with my son 6years ago i had 2 cats that came from a rescue home when i got them they were a right mess and i admit that i spolit them rotten! I was petrified how they were going to react when i had my son and i went out and bought cat nets for the moses basket and pram etc tbh i think i used them for the first few weeks and that was it the cats never went close enough to him for me to worry but woe betide anyone who tried to go near my son who wasnt me or his dad they would go for everyone else that went to close to hm for their liking, they both became extremly protective over him and my son grew up to have 2 great playmates :)

Unfourtunatly neither of them are still with us and i jsut couldnt bare to replace them :(

Best of luck to you both and i hope you find what works best for you xx

[november]

I had 2 cats and a dog and a small baby once many years ago :D

My advice is the same as everyone else's - get a cat net. We had one for the pram.

The main thing IMHO is never to leave an animal alone (or when you are asleep as its the same thing) in the same room as a baby or small child. Its not fair on either.

I started off single sleeping with all my beloved pets (no longer with me) and got them used to sleeping elsewhere while pregnant. I also got them used to having doors closed occasionally.

I was told that cats like warmth and may creep onto a baby bed but actually mine never tried it apart from when the cot was empty. So I used to shut the door then as well to keep them out ......... cat hairs!

The cats we have now are allowed to sleep on the kids beds now they are teenagers ;) The dog we have now sleeps downstairs with the door shut :)

Best wishes for baby merc :)

[seven-day-weekend]

Hello

We have a 12 week old kitten. We have had her for just under 3 weeks. When she arrived she had diarrhoea and was on a medication from the vets. With the meds she improved until it ran out and the diarrhoea came bac. I took her to the vets who said it could be aids or cat flu or she could have an ‘allergy’ to having tried to eat one of our dogs complete food biscuits!

She would have put her down as she was so skinny and clearly not doing too well. I asked if we could try one more thing. She gave her some stronger medicine that she takes orally and some special food. She seemed to be doing ok but now 4 days on she seems to be incontinent again. poor little thing is restricted to the bathroom. She seems very perky though but I am at a loss as to what to do, should we ‘put her out of her misery’ or what else can we try?

I can’t believe that licking a few dog biscuits has done this. She had been out till 3a.m. in the morning the night before she came to us and has not had any injections.

Please help!

Carolyn Morris



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You would be better starting a separate thread on this, you will get more replies.

I think it says Start New Thread near the top of the page.

[hobo28]

I was worried when my daughter was born about our cat. We got the cat net stuff but to be honest it was all a waste of money. The cat avoided the baby and would happily jump over her or go around her. Never ever tried anything at all.

We have another cat now and whenever we have our friends twins round, again the cat doesn't bat an eyelid.

Personally I wouldn't worry about it. I agree with the others, shut the cat out of the room, cheap effective.

[BlondieE]

I would start shutting the cat out of room now - before the baby arrives. Buy a cat net anyway they are always handy. Good luck with the birth of your first child. Any get plenty of sleep now - you'll need it!!

[Fran]

You would be better starting a separate thread on this, you will get more replies.

I think it says Start New Thread near the top of the page.Yes, and a better place would be The Discussion Board (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.html?f=57). If you go there you will then see "New Thread" on the top left.

[ailuro2]

My old boy stayed away from the baby for a good few weeks, I felt so guilty too, as he had always been number one son.

After a while we found if a blanket was left on the floor he would tread it because it was woolly and he loved anything woolly, but still stayed well away from baby stuff until she was mobile- go figure that one! He loved her when she was at that dangerous fur grabbing stage but he was used to her bythen.:D

[kal25]

I was told that cats like warmth and may creep onto a baby bed but actually mine never tried it apart from when the cot was empty. So I used to shut the door then as well to keep them out ......... cat hairs!

I was also told this or read it somewhere when preg with 1st ds. At the time we lived with in-laws who had a rather spoilt kitten, she was allowed anywhere in the house until I fell preg. At about 25 wks I started shutting her out of our part of the house so she knew she was not allowed in. My SIL & MIL thought I was being cruel until explained that she could jump on baby and suffocate him. They both laughed at me:eek: as SIL said she'd never heard of a cat killing a baby. However when ds was born was forever having to move the cat away and at one point she scratched my ds (when MIL allowed her to sit by ds in bouncer after me telling her not to):mad: .
I think the cat felt pushed out as inlaws had brought a dog that year and then having ds. I think she was just jealous that she was no longer number 1. I would take advice of the other posters and keep doors shut, allow your cat/s to know now where they are/not allowed that way it makes it easier when baby comes and they are not seen as being pushed out by baby that has suddenly appeared.

[bumpybecky]

before posting check the date - mercman posted in July 2005 - his baby will be crawling around pulling the cats tail by now and quite big enough to fight off the cat :)

[kal25]

before posting check the date - mercman posted in July 2005 - his baby will be crawling around pulling the cats tail by now and quite big enough to fight off the cat :)
:rotfl: didn't see the date of op, sorry. :o Only excuse didn't have my glasses on:rotfl: :rotfl:

[achtunglady]

I was also told this or read it somewhere when preg with 1st ds. At the time we lived with in-laws who had a rather spoilt kitten, she was allowed anywhere in the house until I fell preg. At about 25 wks I started shutting her out of our part of the house so she knew she was not allowed in. My SIL & MIL thought I was being cruel until explained that she could jump on baby and suffocate him. They both laughed at me:eek: as SIL said she'd never heard of a cat killing a baby. However when ds was born was forever having to move the cat away and at one point she scratched my ds (when MIL allowed her to sit by ds in bouncer after me telling her not to):mad:

When my OH was a baby, his mum lived in shared accomodation and one of the cats jumped in his cot and settled down nicely on his face, lucky for him his mum came into the room and swiftly removed the cat. All animals are different and some will seek a warm object to settle down on, just exercise caution and use common sense. By the way, i'm not sure if it connected, but he hates cats with a passion, was wondering if he remembered that cat when he was a baby??