What to do with cats & baby in house at same time?

[etwahl]

Well now that I'm feeling a little more confident and soon to be all alone at home for the first time, what do I do with Lauren when I want to do stuff around the house?

Let's say I'm on the sofa watching tv and want to have her with me obviously...say in the moses basket. Well I want to then either go to the bathroom, do something in the kitchen, go to the computer, do a load of laundry, etc. What do I do with her then, without having to worry about the cats?

The cats have looked at her and they seem sort of interested, but I'm terrified of leaving her alone in a room for even a second while they are on the prowl. I know it sounds horrible, but at this moment, I wish I didn't have cats...or I feel like I want to lock them up in a bedroom so that I can put Lauren down for a bit without totally panicking they're going to come and scratch or bite her.

What do I do?

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[cara1]

In the beginning, you take her with you everywhere you go. Sometimes in the beginning when DS was in his bassinet, we actually put laundry baskets over him to keep the cats out. We have never had a problem, but I still wouldn't have left DS anywhere on the floor without being around. Keep her in a carrier or stroller when you do laundry. Take her into the bathroom with you. Eventually, you'll feel more comfortable. But by then, you probably can't leave her anyway because she'll be more mobile anyway!

[mama2be]

Tammy,

I know so little about cats (yet have two...). But mine stay kind of clear of Tristan. They do come around him but I have not worried about them for a second (but know all cats are different). But honestly that never crossed my mind. I guess I put Tristan in his Amby Hammock which keeps the cats away, they do sit on the chair near by and look in. But at night Tristan recently has slept between us and the cats are at our feet. Many times Tristan is propped in his Boppy on the sofa with us and one of the cats will sit on the arm rest. I do know the first few nights with Tristan the cats did not even want to sleep in the room with him (I think he disturbed their sleep)...but they have come back into the room and "blessed us with their presence" (you know that is what THEY think :))...

I wonder if both your moses basket and your carry cot with your mountain buggy could be a good place to put Lauren while you do things around the home.

I be bop Tristan amoungst laying in the Boppy in the middle of our bed (clear of the sides)...

Laying him in the Amby Hammock that I roll from room to room

Laying him in the Boppy on the sofa (BUT WE LEARNED TO REMOVE THE BACK CUSHION AFTER HE DID SLIDE OFF THE SOFA AND WAS THANK GOD FINE BUT DADDY CRIED)...

Laying him in the Boppy on the floor

Laying him on a mat on the floor

Placing him in a swing

Placing him in his vibrating bouncy chair

Placing him in his crib with the mobile on

I rotate him arund in these places so he gets used to it. BUT can tell you lately (today) he cries and cries to be held and I go running to hold him)...

[egoldber]

Maybe I'm a horrible mommy, but I never worried about the cats. At least my cats (who are also getting older) were not then and are still not at all interested in Sarah (except to stay away from her!). Have your cats shown any agression? Are they aggressive in general? If not, then I really wouldn't worry about it.

If you need the peace of mind, a crib tent may work.

My dog is a different story... but again, no problems until DD was mobile.

[Momof3Labs]

My cat has not been a problem (he keeps a safe distance) but I do avoid putting Colin on the floor because of our dogs. They get clumsy! I felt like I gained a lot of freedom (to go to the bathroom, answer the door, do a load of laundry LOL) when we set up the PNP in our family room. Now I can just set Colin in there with some toys for a few minutes and not worry about our pets at all.

The stroller is a good idea, too - you can just wheel her around the house. Or if you are moving around a lot, try a sling instead.

[etwahl]

My 1.5 year old siamese is VERY aggressive towards our older cat. Really, I don't worry at all about our older cat, but Jinx is a different story. He literally beats the CRAP out of our older cat, and I do mean LITERALLY. He is also VERY, VERY jealous. Like if he hears me talking to our older cat, he runs into the room within seconds. He is just very jealous. That's why I'm worried.

I'm not worried about her nursery, because I keep her door shut at all times and don't allow them in there (a crib tent actually doesn't fit our crib anyway)...but mostly just worried about when I have her downstairs with me, e.g. the moses basket or car seat, or whatever. I just don't feel comfortable leaving her alone. BUT, you cannot carry the baby around in the moses basket - you have to carry them separately. The moses basket just isn't meant for that (to be used as a carrier).

Btw Beth, I don't think that's being a bad mother at all. You know your cats and that they would never harm your child, but I just don't have that sense of confidense at ALL with my little siamese. I'm really worried about him.

Tammy,
Mom-to-be Mar 8, 2003!

[egoldber]

Ah! Siamese are a world unto themselves. I have always loved Siamese, but am now perhaps glad I went with my animal shelter "domestic short hairs". :)

A PackNPlay with a crib tent would also work. We used the crib tent on ours to keep the cats out of the bassinet. Our cats did LOVE the PNP (when Sarah wasn't in it!).

[Rachels]

I let my cats have LOTS of sniff time with my baby when I was there to supervise, and eventually the curiosity wore off. I used to let Abigail nap in her stroller, fully reclined, and then I could push it into whatever room I was in at the time.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[JulieL]

I have three cats and the first time I had any problems with one of them was a month ago, and my DS will be 12 months on sunday. And I think that problem is no resolved. I find that animals are curious but wary. If you have had your cats for a while and they seem tame I wouldn't go crazy. Plus I doubt they would do anything for than sniff the baby. All those new smells to explore!!! If you have a young cat who is full of energy, then I would watch his/her playing around the baby. Young cats sometimes don't pay attention as well. But I would say watch their interaction with Lauren. If they seem distant, which they probably will, I wouldn't worry excessively. Though monitoring is always good. Make sure you give your cats lots of love so they don't feel left out. They were your babys first , in their minds! Hope that helps. I think a quick bathroom break would be ok. But only you can really judge your cats. Call your vet about any behavior questions. I called mine about my problems and she was soo much help. And gave me peace of mind.

-JulieL
mama to Anthony 3/23/02

[jojo2324]

Oh Tammy, I hope you don't mind me laughing, but I am just picturing your cat beating the crap out of your other cat. LITERALLY. The poor thing!! :D And poor you for having to clean that up. :(

We have three (!!!) cats. One is definitely the alpha male, struts around and picks fights with the other two. He's the type of cat who goes outside and brings home wildlife (or wildnolongerlife by the time it gets to our doorstep). He also pinned my mother's German shepherd in a corner once. One is my little fluffy girl, and the other nearly crapped himself one day when the toaster popped. He is extremely skittish. Anyway, we were concerned about the alpha male originally. When we got home there were a few sniffs, and now he typically just walks away from the baby. Now that the baby can chase after him, Boots has been running non-stop.

You may find that after time the cats will just become indifferent to Lauren. We would also wheel Gannon around. I don't know if you have an infant car seat, but we used that and a swing as places for him to rest during the day. (I know, I know, there are all the warnings about infant seats.) We also had a PNP downstairs; that was a wonderful place to deposit him when I had to run out of the room for a minute.

[Zansu]

Tammy,

Is your Siamese afraid of the vacuum cleaner or the broom, or some other household item? If so, just place it near the baby a few times after threatening him with it (roll the vacuum at him or shake the broom, etc.). He'll get the idea that he doesn't want to mess with Lauren.

My four cats just think of Benjamin as another warm lump taking up space in my lap. :)

[Magda]

We have two cats and I was terrified about what they would do. Given they never did a thing, but there was no way to know that. We put Connor in the bouncy seat, the swing, crib, or PNP with the tent zipped. Later we didn' zip it.

Elaine

[mamahill]

We have 2 part siamese/tabby cats (brothers) who have been great cats. But the moment I walked in the door from the hospital with Ainsleigh, I pointed at them and said, "I want them GONE!" Ooooh, I'm so mean. I think I hurt their feelings, because they have been wonderful ever since. Occasionally they'd come over and sniff her. Once she began crying, they'd run away. But then, my cats are completely babied. They are indoor cats and pretty much get whatever they want. If you said, "DOWN" (or whatever command you use) when they got near the basket, would that teach them?

Don't worry - you'll get used to them being with her soon, and they'll get used to it too. And pretty soon everyone will be fine. DH and I used to joke when we'd come back from somewhere (because our cats always greet us at the door - they're more like dogs. cogs, we call them) you could almost SEE their face fall at the sight of the infant carrier and thinking, "You STILL have that thing?!" Haha. But now she crawls after them and pulls their hair and while they don't welcome it, I don't think they hate it, either.

[jojo2324]

Sarah made me think of something! SPRAY BOTTLE!!! Fill it with water and squirt the little buggers (the cats of course, but do save the bottle for later down the road with Lauren :P) if they start hopping up on the baby's furniture. We use it here to discourage them from scratching the chairs/couch or climbing up on the counters. At this point we don't even have to squirt them...They only need to catch a glimpse of it before they scram! :D

[Thatchermom]

I was worried what my little spoiled cat would do when we brought DS home...but I never expected what we got! For the first 6 weeks, Banshee would bite me every time he cried. She'd stop as soon as I picked him up. Guess her mom instincts kicked in and she wanted to be sure I knew when he needed me! We covered the PNP for the first few days, then realized she wasn't even interested in hanging out with that noisy thing. You know your cats best, watch them and follow your instincts.

[gour0]

And you can put vinegar in the water. They hate the taste when they clean it off.

[Karenn]

We have two cats. One has just kept to herself. The other has always been a little fiesty, and is also Colin's new best friend. He LOVES this kitty, and she loves him too. The only problem we've ever had is with his "best friend" being a little too friendly. When he was 8 weeks old, I had him under the Gymini and stepped into the kitchen for just a minute. When I came back, the kitty was LICKING his head! I nearly had a fit, but it turned out to be fine. Looking back, I think she was just trying to take care of him. Now that Colin is older, this cat will let him get away with anything. He 'pats' ( translate: hits) her and pulls her tail, and all she ever does is rub up against him and purr. The claws never come out. After the licking incident, I did supervise her very closely for a while, (and as Rachel said, gave her lots of sniffing time) but we never had any trouble.