Cat in Crib

Put a mousetrap under a hand towel in the crib. When the cat springs it, it will frighten, not harm.

I was concerned about the cat getting in the crib when my grandson (now 4) was born. I bought a crib cover that was a type of netting that you tied to the crib posts. It has worked very well for my son and his wife and their 2 younger children too.

If the sticky tape doesn't work - this sounds harsh, but push some tacks through construction paper and lay the sheets of paper in the crib so the cat will learn that he steps on spikes when he jumps in.

or spray the cat with a water gun when you see him getting in there. (set him up so you can catch him in the act!)

I kept the door to the nursery closed all the time before my first baby came, even when I was in there I went in without the cats with me. When we brought my daughter home from the hospital, I was very intentional about how I introduced her to the cats and the cats to her and her room. I let my husband bring her in the house (since they are more attached to me). I came in after him. He had already brought home a blanket that she had been with the hospital for them to get used to her smell. Then, we put her in the nursery in her bed and let the cats in. They explored and, of course, they wanted to go in the crib. But, once we picked them up and let them sniff her in the crib, they pretty much left it alone. The first time after that that I found one of the cats in the crib was when she was 3 months old. My female cat jumped up in the crib and was sleeping curled up at her feet. I removed her, but I didn't scold her because I didn't want her to associate the baby with being disciplined. She only went in her crib a handful of times after that and it was never at night - both cats always came to sleep in our bed at night and left her alone. Now, when my son was born, we were much more laid back (haha). We had the bassinet in our room so we couldn't close doors or anything like that. The cats were constantly in the bassinet before he came home, but once he was home, they left it alone entirely. I never found either of the cats in the bassinet, both when it was empty and when he was asleep. So, having said all that, I think cats are pretty smart and will treat your baby like a part of the family and not hurt the baby, AS LONG AS you show your cat that he/she is also still part of the family. I think that is extremely important. Cats respond to praise and love more than they do discipline and being ignored. Show them love and they will respond lovingly to your child. Hope that helps you!

Just close the door - simple at that. For safety in a fire the door should be closed anyway. You will hear your child and if you are concerned you can use a monitor on all the time. My husbands fire is was a fire chief and he tells me all the time that it is essential to keep the bedroom doors closed - SCREEN DOORS OFFER NO PROTECTION FROM SMOKE OR FIRE.

Otherwise I would be extremely surprised if your cat should get in there with the baby. The crib will smell like your baby and your baby and if your cats are anything like mine they will stay away from the screaming flailing thing you bring home.

I'm not positive, but I think they sell netting that you can put over the crib, but check on the safety of that. Also, you could put a latch on the door so the cat can't get in. You are right in wanting to keep the cat out of the crib.

CATS CAN'T OPEN DOORS! close the door :)

Hi, I'm a cat owner and have two kids. Honestly, I chaes the cat out the first couple time I found her in there - I yelled and shook something at her. That seemed to do the trick. After the babies came, she seemed to realize tha twas off limits - that's where the screaming smelly bundle goes.

Is there anything your cat doesn't like? I read something once about soda cans rattling and making noise, - maybe something like that would help. YOu could also tent the crib until the baby comes or keep the door closed. I really think that the cat will stay out once the baby is here and certainly when thae baby is in the crib. I would just strongly discourage it and the cat should get the message. You could ask your vet too.

Well me personally have no problem with it. The good thing is cats are very protective and if something goes on with your baby your cat will react and will indicate to you there is something wrong. BUT i had a cat when my daughter was a baby and NEVER had a problem with it. He slept in there before she was born and slept at the bottom when she came. I didn't mind it at all. They have a really tight bond now. He follows her around even outside...lol

We had the same problem! We would just spray her with water anytime she got near the crib. It became a yucky place to hang out. They also now have these sheets of sticky tape double sided, you can put down. Cats HATE tape too! You are going to just have to make it a bad place for the kitty to be. Maybe put some cat nip on something else you are okay with her sleeping on...entice her away. Best of luck! We are a Navy family too, btw! Congrats with the baby!

We used a tall baby gate rather than closing the door, since his room got stuffy when the door was always shut. The older cats shouldn't be able to jump over the extra tall ones. Good luck.

Crib tent. Not only will it keep the cat out of the crib, but when your little one starts climbing, he/she can't climb out of the crib with the tent on.

Good luck
Jules

You could either keep the door to the nursery closed or get a crib tent. The crib tent has many functions including keeping bigger kids from falling out but also it keeps animals from getting in. There is even a picture on the side of the box of a cat trying to get in on it! :) Good luck!

I keep a (big) piece of tinfoil on things when I'm trying to train the cat to stay off things. When they jump onto it, it makes an unappealing noise. Mine liked the crib, too, before it was used by a baby. Now she doesn't bother it.

Hi J.,
We replaced the nursery door with a wood screen door (one you might use on a screened porch). The doors can be found at home improvement stores and are inexpensive. We attached a hook & eye lock system to the door/door frame. It worked perfectly. It kept the cat out, but we were still able to hear the baby if she cried. The overall appearance wasn't bad either.

I had the same concern with our sweetie. We bought a crib tent to keep her out but never used it. She just wanted to check it out for herself. Once Riley came she realized whose bed it was and made herself comfy under the crib instead. We still look for her under there before bed!

There's something called a crib tent that may be helpful to keep the cat out. Rather pricey though. Something like this:
http://www.securebaby.com/sbct01.html

I think you can also find it in Walmart.

Before our first daughter was born, I put a large piece of cardboard in the crib, big enough to cover the entire mattress. Then I put double sided taped across it so that when the cat jumped in, his feet stuck to it and he didn't like it. It only took a couple of times and he stayed out. Once we brought the baby home, he wouldn't go anywhere near her! The baby noised were enough to keep him away. Good luck!

Our cat did the same. We just gave her a few squirts of water and that worked keeping her out, but not from walking around the edges of the crib. Once the baby was born, she never stepped foot in/on the crib again!

they sell net tents to go over cribs get it now and maybe he'll learn not to jump in there early.

Although baby stores sell crib tents that cover the crib to keep cats out, I also wanted something to keep cat hair out of the whole room. Luckily my older sister had the same problem a few years earlier when she had a cat with her first born. She and I both removed the doors to the nursery and installed a screen door. By keeping it closed we kept the cat out but by having it be screen door we could see and hear in without worrying about the baby being behind a closed door. I also liked the fact the room would get better air circulation and it was easier to deal with than fusssing with a crib tent. Christine

I found a screen tint that I just sat up on the crib. I was afraid the cat hair would get on her face. It worked great and I never had the issue of the cat or the hair in the crib.
T.

I know a woman who put a screen door up at the baby's room to keep her cat out. The door worked well for her because she could still see and hear the baby while she was in the crib, but the cat couldn't enter. Think of it as a full-length baby-gate. Good luck.

My cat likes the crib and sleeps in there during the day, but he has never gone in there let alone slept in there when the baby was in there.

As for keeping the cat out, tell the cat to get out and remove him if necessary. My cat understood the hierarchy without much reinforcement.

Well, the crib tent thing should work; however, keep in mind that it doesn't fit all cribs. I thought that the tent would be a good idea for us because our cat was doing the same thing (before the baby was born, she was sleeping in the crib). But, when we bought the tent, it wouldn't work on our crib. We bought the crib that converts from a crib to a toddler bed then to a headboard for a double bed. It is because of this last part (it was a solid piece of wood with no slats in it in the back part of the crib) that it would not work. You have to tie it around the railings of the crib and since there were none on the back part...well, you get the picture.

So, what I did was I returned the crib tent and bought one of those "mosquito netting" things that hang over the bed in a decorative manner and it served the same purpose as the tent. It was a lot cheaper and it kept the cat out. I think maybe in the beginning, I found her maybe once sleeping on top of the netting still in the crib but I think what happened was it was her first time jumping up there with the netting on and she "fell into" the crib and figured, what they hay. But, I found her in there and chased her out and she didn't do it again.

Just another idea. Good luck!