Advice needed - cat problem!!!!

[Lyndsey]

Hello

I wasn't sure where to post this.. I hope I am in the right place!

Today I had a bit of a fright.. I have 2 cats one neutered tom (a moggy cat) and 1 neutered queen ( Birman - she was a show cat and was used for breeding). I went into the nursery to put some clean washing in there and I went into my bedroom for something else. When I returned to the nursery ( A matter of about 10 seconds) The queen was in the cot! She was curled up "asleep!" I shouted at her and pulled her out to find that she has clawed the new fleece we have just put in there ( it now has pull marks all over it!) My big concern is that she will now try and jump into the cot when the baby is there and that though petrifies me.....

I am now seriously thinking about getting rid of this cat ( She is a house cat and never goes outside!) I have heard loads of stories about cats smothering babies and thought I would be ok as I have kept the door shut to the nursery but now I am really worried.... My tom cat is always outside and only ever comes in for food so I don't think he will be a problem......

Does anyone else have any experience of cats with newborns or any advice they can give me to stop this from happeneing again.. if not does anyone know where I can rehome a Birman!!!

 

[Bagpuss17]

Oooohh please don't get rid of your cat because of this. I volunteer for the Cats Protection it really saddens me when people with newborns rehome their cats. They can live in harmony together.

I have 4 cats and a 4.5 month old baby and I haven't had any problems. Yes I've found two of my cats asleep in the cot at various intervals but Isaac isn't sleeping in his cot at the moment, he's in with us in the moses basket. We just get them out if we see them in there.

We made sure that we let the cats into the nursery whilst we were setting things up so that they could be included in everything and have a good sniff etc....We put a cat net on the cot once it was put up. They love curling under the cot top changer for a snooze.

This is going to be a big change for your cats, they don't know they're doing wrong. it would be such a shame to rehome them.

When we were out at work before Isaac was born we shut the nursery door so that they knew it was out of bounds.

Once Isaac moves into his cot which is iminent, the door will be closed during the night so there will be no risks of the cat getting in the room.

Currently, the cats sleep in our bedroom at night if they choose to and they've never attempted to get in the moses basket whilst Isaac is in there.

Incidently, by including them from the start, they were absolutely fine with our newborn once he came home from hospital. They all had a good sniff of him and accepted him.

Just take precautions and keep the door shut when you are not in the room but don't isolate them from the room totally, I think this will make things worse for you in the long run.

 

[Urchin]

When I was pregnant we started getting into the habit of not allowing Mackerel (our cat) upstairs. She soon learned not to go up there.

 

[bagpuss]

I can only echo what bagpuss17 has said,I have 9 cats,6 of which are house cats,and have had no problems with them jumping in anything that is Finn's.They have got into his pram when he isn't in there,but we just get them out.They all live in harmony with him.Please don't rehome your Birman just for this reason - you can get cot nets of ebay to put your mind at rest

 

[Lyndsey]

Thank you for your responses, please don't think I would throw my cats out on the street! We actually rescued Ellie from her Breeders so I am very keen not to rehome her again if possible... I am concerned though at the amount of hair that she sheds and I do not want her in or on anything that is the baby's....... I will have to look for the cot nets that you have all suggested..... The room is currently closed off and they do not go in there but I think I was more concerned with them jumping into the moses basket etc when the baby was in there.............

We also have a 3 yr old Bullmastiff and we have already recieved advice on how to introduce a new baby into the house, I guess the same principles apply to introducing baby to the cats...

Once again thanks for your responses...

Lyndsey

 

[lauramumof2]

I had 4 cats when Jessica was born and they were so wary of her that they never went within a certain radius of her for a while. Eventually, one started sleeping in the same room as her but on the sofa bed at the other end of the room. They never went in her cot when she was there and I never encouraged it.

Sadly, I had to rehome 3 of the 4 because Jessica had an allergy to the long fur of 2 of the big cats and the third went to my mums because he was ferral and she has more outside room. The 4th is still here and keeps himself to himself a lot of the tim except when he wants fed.

I voluntered for cats protection and it broke my heart to have to have 2 of my own rehomed.

Dont worry, it will work out.

 

[missac]

what was the doggy advice Lyndsay? I've got two and would love to know what to do. When the baby is born we will bring him/her home and have the dogs there anyway so that they know they are not being replaced but any other advice would be welcome!

 

[cassi]

Hopefully this thread has persuaded you to keep you're lovely birman. I have 4 cats and since i have put the crib ready in the room yes they have been jumping in and trying to go to sleep, I have just been taking them out, telling them no and putting them on our bed instead and they are slowly but surely starting to understand, sorry they have clawed at the fleece my little bleeders have clawed at the new sleepbag and kaloo dou dou i have in there aswell!! I have taken them out now.

Dont worry too much about the fur unless baby is allergic is shouldnt pose too much of a problem my smudge is a furry little fella and can shed loads but tbh I just vac often and its not a problem. And hopefully they will have gotten into a routine of not going in the crib or cot ever so they shouldnt get fur in there at all but if they do then just keep a lint brush in the room and wash the sheets and covers regularily...as someone else said let them in the nursery to explore and when she goes in the cot take her out, say no and put her down and just keep doing this, cats are smart (well i sometimes doubt mine ) and she will understand in the end.

Hope it works out for you...

Cas x

 

[Bagpuss17]

That's good advice Cassi.

I'm sure the RSPCA and other dog rescue sites have info on introducing babies and dogs.

As for losing fur, I think it's just a case of keeping on top of the hoovering. We have to regardless of having a baby with our fur plus I lose a lot of hair too. It's a right pain between us all. It's got worse after having a baby which they say it does around 3-6 months after having a baby.

I'm sure everything will work out fine for you in the end as it has for us.

 

[budge]

When I was pregnant we started getting into the habit of not allowing Mackerel (our cat) upstairs. She soon learned not to go up there.

Mackerel!!!!!

 

[Kas]

Hi my cat Elvis was the same most cats just want to put their scent on the things that are new, we allowed Elvis to do this to Kaidens stuff except the cot or crib, but theres only a handful of times hes tried to get into it, all of which Kaiden wasnt in it, he jumped in tryin to get away from our English bullterrier Diva, when Kaiden arrived he looked at kaiden as if he was an alien and rarely went near him, now their both inseperable and the cuddle on the couch watching tv, i tend to groom Elvis more and hoover often to cut back on the hair shedding. Now the problem we face is stopping Kaiden strangleing Elvis with his collar as hes 8 months now, If your cat is adamant she wants in the crib then the net thing is great advise, but if you do catch her in the crib get a small water gun and skoosh her and make alot of noise and shoo her off, then shel get the message its a no go area XkelX

 

[Jade89]

My cats have never been allowed upstairs, due to them going out and coming in and bringing god knows what, whatever gets stuck to/in their fur with them...

They either go downstairs or outside, I find cats can be rather selfish though and do what they want...But they are only allowed downstairs because of hard flooring, god knows what they could bring in with them and take upstairs and what little creatures could be breeding in the carpets etc...

Thats really the best thing to do, keep doors shut to where you don't want the cats to be, but you'll also find they will still try to sneak in there...try rubbing some orange peel on the cot bars, my OH said cats don't like it.

 

[cassi]

Cats arnt selfish they are very smart and you will find just the same as any other animal, which is curious. If you dont want cats to do something then teach them not too.

 

[Lyndsey]

The doggy advice that I have had is as follows :

Take a blanket with you into the hospital - wrap baby in it then allow someone ( Partner) to take it home and allow doggy to sniff it.

Upon your return home with your new bundle of joy allow your dog to greet you ( keep baby in car seat and put in front room with an adult!)

The introduce doggy to baby by allowing doggy to sniff at baby''s feet....

The most important thing is to allow the dog to be curious and to keep them as part of the family, do not exclude them as they can become very jealous... I am part of a bullmastiff forum and I have been told that the dogs accept your new baby as being part of the pack and as it is the Alpha's "puppy" is higher up the social structure than the dog is.... although your dog may try to challenge this in the future...

It is obvious that you should never leave a baby in a room alone with any animal. I hope this helps

As for the advice given regarding the cat.. I am still not happy that the cats are going into the cot and I will have to teach them that this is a no no... they do bring things in with them ( mice etc) and I this worries me too.... We will see how we get on...

Lyndsey

 

[missac]

thanks for the advice, I hope I can remember that in 6 months time!

 

[Lyndsey]

I am sure you will missac I think a lot of it is common sense... but then that goes when we are pregnant doesn't it! lololol

 

[Jade89]

Cats arnt selfish they are very smart and you will find just the same as any other animal, which is curious. If you dont want cats to do something then teach them not too.

Must just be my cats then, they only want me when they are hungry which is why i think they r pretty selfish plus my cat will sit and claw at my mums sofa and ive tried almost everything to stop her...loud noises, picking her claws out, telling her not to even though she looks at me like she doesn't know what i'm on about and you can tell she knows what she's doing wrong. Teaching cats I find is not as easy as teaching dogs.

 

[cassi]

You're cats sound the same as any other cat....it dosnt make them selfish, just what normal cats do...they need to claw things its in their nature, hence you can get spray to spray on things you dont want clawed. And when they are hungy of course they will be around begging for food, my cats dont sit and cuddle me and are straight to me when i put food out, but thats because cats are generally independant animals. They also claw the sofa, but they are just normal moggies.

You're right you cant teach a cat like you can a dog.

 

[Minxy]

You're right you cant teach a cat like you can a dog.

I like to think that's because they won't be taught! You know what they say, dogs have owners, cats have staff!

 

[Jade89]

damn right mixy, i feel like they try to take over alot lol.

The first cat was a stray cat I gave a female name to coz I though it was a pregnant female (it had no nuts) and it was huge...but one day it's lipstick popped out and freaked me out And he wasn't so bad he often jumped on your knee for a fuss, but then I had my other cat who I gave a male name to because the breeder told me it was male, idiot.....til it had kittens! It's hard to tell with cats isnt it lol, trying to look at their bits whilst being clawed! ouch!

But when I had my second cat they both started just doing what they liked, sneaking upstairs, clawing everything...fair enough it's in their nature but thats why I bought scratching posts, but thats not enough, my mums brand new leather sofa seems to forfill their scratchy needs just fine tho And cat beds arent good enough for them, they seem to like human beds better...you shoo them away and they are back 5 minutes later looking at you with a glare as if to say 'HA HA' Which is the reason why I think cats are selfish...you buy them this stuff especially made for them but it never seems good enough, people can think what they like about cats but thats my opinion. I could never get rid of them...even though sometimes they get treated better than me lol.

I have never heard of the cot nets, thats a good idea, but where do you actually put the net? surely a cat can fit through bars of a cot so the net couldn't just go over the top?

The smothering stories scare me alot too, I think they are atracted to the smell of milk on a baby, I don't think they do it intentionally but it's still dangerous. Introduce your cat to some of your baby things and introduce it to your baby when he/she arrives so your cats are less curious of the noises etc...Sometimes pets just don't bother with babies, but it's not worth taking the risk. My cats live with my Mum so I don't have this problem and they have never bothered with my neices or nephews either, just had a little sniff and walked away.