My cats keep climbing in the baby crib, does anyone have ideas to keep them out?
Wednesday, September 1st, 2010 at
9:28 pm
My husband and I just finished setting up the nursery, and our two cats will not stay out of the crib! We used a water bottle to teach them to stay off the counters, but it is not working for the crib. Does anyone have any ideas? Also, we want to make sure that the cats will be ok with the new baby, is there anything we can do now to help prepare them? Thanks!
Filed under: Cat Furniture
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Well you have to options here. One. Keep the door closed or Two sorry to say this but get rid of the cat. Too many babies have died due to cats jumping in a babies crib because they smell milk and cats love milk. My best friend just lost her 2 month old son due to the cat smuggling him because he smelt the milk off the baby. And the saddest part to this story is the babies father told my best friend to get rid of the cat before the baby was born because he heard that cats could attack a baby due to the milk. And guess what it unfortunately happened. Also people say that this is an old wives tale. Ummm no it’s not. Its a serious thing. My OBGYN in the start of my pregnancy asked me if I had cats. I said no. He said good because cats can smother a baby to get the milk out of the babies breath.
you could have your husband install a screen door on the baby’s room so that you can see and hear the baby but keep the cats out. after you deliver the baby and before you bring him or her home, have your husband take home a blanket the baby was wrapped in so they can smell it. DO NOT let the cats run your house. This is your home, and your baby and the baby comes first now…if that means the cats get locked in the basement then so be it. I have heard of cats clawing up baby stuff and pissing everywhere including the crib because they are jealous.
I would just close the door so the cats can’t get to the crib, which is what I currently do. Even if you can prevent the cats from getting into the crib, they will meow a lot a wake the baby up while the baby is sleeping. What’s worse, cats have a curious mind, and they will try to find another way to get into the crib. You really would not want the cats finding another way into the crib when you are not near the crib, because the cat can sleep near the newborn baby’s nose and suffocate the baby since newborns can’t move their head. You can always take the baby out of the crib when he/she is awake and show the baby to the cat.
For some reason this worked for my cat and she actually quite like the baby since day 1. Now my baby loves the cat and they are always patting/purring each other lol.
Close the bedroom door to keep them out. I have a 8 1/2 month old baby girl and we also have a kitten. we make sure to close her door to keep the kitten out as he like s to sleep near your face.
Close the door to the nursery when it is empty. Or they sell this clear mesh that fits over the crib so pets can’t jump in it.
And there is nothing you can do to prepare your cats for the arrival. They would need to be able to smell the baby in order to familiarize themselves with the baby. No baby means no smell. They will have to adjust after the baby is born.
Also, it is NOT dangerous to have a cat and a baby in the same house. We have had 3 cats here since our daughter was born. She will be 2 next month and the cats never tried to lay on her face because they smelled milk on her breath. That is an old wives tale. Most cats are freaked out by babies and want nothing to do with them actually.
But, they can become territorial and hostile towards the baby. If they do, your best bet would be to rehome the cat/s that become hostile.
You may want to try something like a tent over the crib. Also have you tried anything like wax paper or tin foil in the crib, it should make some noise that may scare them out. The biggest concern is if they sleep to close to the babies face they can suffocate them.
Here’s a link for the tent.
http://www.amazon.com/Tots-Mind-Cozy-Crib-White/dp/B00014PLAY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1283050492&sr=8-1
Try to keep the bedroom door shut, Your cat’s are already attracted to the cot.
Wait till the baby arrives.. they will be attracted to the babys breath and want to lay ON the baby, Which can cause suffocation.
My cat was a Kitten when our first daughter was born, And we used to smack him if he went near the baby.
He’s was 24 month’s old when my 2nd daughter was born.
And he knew not to go near her, He has always kept his distance, at least 1 mtr away at all times.
We used a spray bottle too when he was a kitten
Most people advise you not to have cat’s while expecting, But it’s hard to give up your much loved pet’s as well. Keep the nursery door shut.. If they do get in throw them out and wet them.
Smacking a cat is not against the law, Just a little smack. They learn.
(The reason cat’s get attracted to crib’s, Rocker’s, Pram’s is because it smell’s like the baby and cat’s attract to that smell.. Just like baby’s breath!)
They sell a clear mesh tent that goes over the top fo the crib. Honestly just keep the door closed. My cats went into the cribs b4 the baby was born…I just changed the sheet wehn I brought my daughter home and kept the door closed to try to keep them out…didnt work they slept in everything baby related…loved the bouncy chair. My son slept in a cosleeper in my room and the cat slept with him from birth.
Just keep the cats brushed and there wont be much hair.
When the baby is born send someone to your house with a blanket the baby has been in and an article of clothing to let them get used to the smell. I have had cats and dogs when both kids were born and the dogs were fine with them from the start and only 1 cat hissed at my son and was fine the next day.
Having a cat and a baby together is NOT unsafe. The only problem is if the cat tries to sleep too close to the babies face but owning 4 cats I have never had that happen.
the only way u can do is close the baby door so the cat will not climb in the crib because it;s not rice to have the cat hair in the crib because it can make the baby itch
My best advice would be to keep them out of the room the crib is in, if they aren’t learning to stay out of the crib itself then they just need to stay out of the room it’s in altogether.
Their is nothing you can do to prepare an animal for the arrival of a baby, they are just a stupid animal and they do not know what is going on.
Honestly I would be very careful with having the cats anywhere around the baby as cats can hurt a baby without even meaning too. Never leave the baby anywhere alone with either of the cats, no matter how good they seem with with the baby they still could accidentally hurt him/her.
If you can’t get the cats to stay out of the crib or they become hostile towards the baby then my best advice would be to get rid of the cats, because otherwise the cats could seriously hurt or even kill the baby.
- Amy
screen or metal mesh cut to fit and place over top, that would my first thought.
To prepare them for the baby, so the scent of something completely new does not freak them out bath them in baby shampoo. and sprinkle a tiny bit of baby powder where they sleep. They will become use to the scent so when baby comes home they will not be too freaked out. My cats still were afraid of my new born. She is not 2 months five days and still both cats do not bother her. They for the longest time would not even come near us if we had her. Now they will come near us and sit near us but if we put our daughter towards them the both will run off lol We new our cats would be good with a young child cause we had a two year old drag our male around and he just took it, and purred. our female just ran away. As for keeping them out of the crib, we just do not even allow the cats in the room. if they sneak in there i clap my hands real loud and they run out quickly. They use to jump in my daughters bassinet all the time. I had a fear they would do it when she was born and in there. I put it in the nursery for a month til she was born and the cats never tried to use it after she did. They just dont like her, she scares them lol i thought they would try to sleep in the bouncer and swing, but they have not tried even once, im guessing cause it does smell like her lol. I would not worry, if you trust them than you are probably right. Just keep the door shut til the baby is here and spank their little butt right above the tail if they try to sneak in the room when you go in.
ALSO when I wanted her door open and she was in there I put up a baby gate, the bottom one actually put firmly in the door and thean another setting on top of that but not secured so i could quickly take it off it needed and climb over the low one. Because its so high my cats would not try to jump over it. If you have baby gates try it now and see how they react to it.