Cats and new babies

[Alexa1981]

Im expecting my first child in late September and I have three cats. I've read all about the crib tent recall and I was so sad because I was hoping that would be my savior! I'm not so concerned once the baby is sleeping in the crib bc I will be closing the nursery room door when he is in there, but what am I supposed to do while I have him in the pack n play in my bedroom?

The way my house is set up their litter boxes are in the master bath and their food is in my bedroom, so I can't lock them out of my room and I don't have any other good places to put them.

Any suggestions?

[TxCat]

I'll be curious if anyone else has suggestions/experiences, but I'm happy to share mine for now.

I have three cats, and I was surprised to find that it was a total non-issue. The first few weeks, I did lock the cats out of my room at night - it was a pain, but I couldn't sleep well, worrying about the cats possibly jumping into the bassinet. However, my cats are sort of freaked out by DD, so they've never wanted to really be anywhere near her. It's only now that 2 of them are even allowing her to come near enough to pet them. And these were cats that loved trying to sleep in the crib, bassinet, stroller, and the diaper changing pad before DD arrived.

Maybe put the cat food in the kitchen and the litter box in a guest bath for the first few weeks, until you see how the cats react to the baby. My guess is they will want nothing to do with the new little human, and you can all return to your old routine quickly.

[Philly Mom]

My cats also want nothing to do with DD. I would be more concerned about the cats not wanting to use their litter box or eat because the baby is in your room. For my DH as a child, his cats slept at the foot of his crib and were very protective. Never was a concern. my brother also has cats and even with the more friendly cat, the cat would cuddle around DN but only when DN was lying with my brother or SIL, not when she was in her pack and play.

[SnuggleBuggles]

My cat hated ds1 and ds2 so it was never an issue. I'd wait and see how your cat does before worrying.

[Alexa1981]

Thank you for calming my fears! I may move their litter boxes and food out of the master a few weeks prior to the baby coming home and see how they do with the baby before I move them back in the master.

I'm really only nervous about my youngest cat who is rather curious and has no fear of anything. I may also set up the PnP a little early so they can get used to it.

I hope they are scared out of their minds about him and want nothing to do with him for a while!

I will keep you updated on how the cats do!

Thanks so much!

[Philly Mom]

On recommendation from my brother, DH took the clothes and blankets DD wore each day while we were in the hospital home for the cats to get used to the smell. Also, my brother's cats prefer my SIL so when they got home, she went in the house first and bonded with the cats before bringing DN in the house. We did not have that problem as our cats prefer DH so he just spent time with them while I was in the hospital.

[Momit]

On recommendation from my brother, DH took the clothes and blankets DD wore each day while we were in the hospital home for the cats to get used to the smell. Also, my brother's cats prefer my SIL so when they got home, she went in the house first and bonded with the cats before bringing DN in the house.

We did this exactly, with the blankets and me going in first to say hello when we came home from the hospital. The dog and cat each gave DS a sniff and then they pretty much ignored him until he started crawling after them.

[mommylamb]

My cats tend to stay away from anything that DS2 actually uses. However, we have a baby seat that he isn't in frequently and one of my cats has decided it is her bed. She sleeps in it and even plays with the hanging toys. Unfortunately, that means it always has cat hair in it, so now DS2 never sits in it.

For that reason, I wouldn't set up the pack and play early. If they don't associate it with a baby, they're likely to make it a bed for themselves. If they understand that it belongs to the baby, maybe they won't bother with it. Just my experience.

[Alexa1981]

Thanks for the great advice

I will let you all know how the cats react if the adoption goes through and I get to bring DS home after his birth in September!