Training a Cat with My New Born Babies

My gut reaction was, get rid of the cat, sounds like a PITA. But clearly, I am not a cat person.
Good luck.

I am sure it will all work out and tell your family to stop worrying about the old wives tales (my mom initially did the same thing to me). When my 1st was born, we had a bassinet that had a bottom area for storing things (like a hammock) - our cat would sleep there whenever the baby was in the top part - he would also run into her room if she ever started crying. No training necessary - for whatever reason, he became protective of her and it was very sweet. As she got older he was also extremely tolerant of her too.
When we had baby #2 we had 2 cats and both were never a problem.

Just give your cat a lot of attention when the baby arrives so that he doesn't feel like he is left out or replaced and he will do just fine. (btw, mine also likes to lay down at night on the sheets - but he waits to do it until no one else is on the bed). good luck all will be fine.

We had a similar concern with our three cats. We put a screen door on our daughter's room with a latch to lock it, and never had a problem.

Our one cat has only been in the crib twice, long after the baby was born. He likes to lay on beds and wanted to be where his person slept (she lays on him, he takes it, and always comes back for more). However, this was Not A Good Idea, so we sprayed him with a water bottle both times and he stopped doing it. Make the crib unpleasant and the cat won't get in there.

As far as the sheets thing, I think you need to decide if the cat can stay under the covers or has to stay out. If he would bang on or scratch your door, make that unpleasant. Put aluminum foil or sticky tape on the door. The aforementioned crib cat would bang on our door for breakfast til my husband got fed up. Some water and he eventually stopped doing it.

I also suggest that you give him lots of attention, his own bed (maybe sleep with it so it smells like you) and play with him or have someone else play with him. Reward him for being good around the babies. My big cat in particular wants to be where the people are, and would snuggle up nearly on top of the baby and I had to teach him that he could lay to one side, but not ON my lap.

I'd start the training immediately.

I had an older cat when my 2 girls came along. And my husband had taught the cat how to play "tag," so we worried abt what the cat would do with the babies, too. Actually, he was terrified of them. Would check them out occassionally and walk away. He never tried to get in the cribs or even to sleep with them when they were snuggled on the floor (my one daughter was forever getting up and sleeping in odd places). We always closed the bedroom door for the girls room, but mainly to keep noise out, not the cat. As they got older (the cat and the girls), we had MORE trouble teaching them to respect the cat's space and his signals about when he has had enough. In the 3 years before the cat passed away, I think that I can count the minor scratches on the hands of one girl or another on one hand. Usually he would bop their hands with his paw and keep his claws sheathed - like he was playing tag with my husband - and everyone would go their own way.

The point of this rambling narration is not to borrow trouble. We were so worried abt the cat, but our biggest problem was figuring out how to keep his litter box accessable to him, but not 2 toddlers :o) See how it plays out before you start talking about getting rid of an important member of your family.

S.

sometimes having the baby is the only way to show a cat that things are different now. get a crib tent if you are worrid about him getting into the crib or just keep babies door shut. if baby will be sleeping where the cat usually does i am thinking the cat will see this and move over or out. just keep showing the cat love and show him that the babies are a good thing and he should adapt well.

J.,
Ahh the family and cat horror stories. One of my biggest pet peeves. They are just that, false stories. I have had cats since before my now 13 yr old son was born. Yes, my cats did also sleep under the covers next to me and they all hated closed doors. We are a family that did co-sleep. Yes, just like many cultures all through the world and my son did transition into his own bed just fine. And the cats did get it when my son arrived(born @ home) and didn't smother him, or get in the cradle with him or ever scratch him. My one cat actually alerted me out of sleep when my labor started! I did use flower remedies with my cats. Just put some into their water bowl to help with transition of a new person into the family. These remedies can be ordered on line. Feel free to contact me if you want more info. on this.
L. M

I wouldn't have a cat sleeping in a bed while co-sleeping. The cat doesn't understand not laying on a baby. So I wouldn't think that falls under the safe sleeping environment. I also wouldn't get a crib tent because those really aren't considered a safe item if there was a fire or an emergency where you had to get the baby out fast.

Does your cat have favorite places to sleep? We have made sure that each of our cats has their own super comfy bed/basket and that's where they settle each night. Just make sure that when the babies are old enough they don't mess with that space. I think for safetys sake you may have to sacrifice your doors. After enough time the cat will get the point that it's not going to get in. We have also used a squirt bottle for the really bad nights where one of our cats would just sit outside DS room and howl. Usually one little squirt sent her downstairs to her bed.

I think the best solution would be to shut him out. To keep him from messing with the doors, pet stores sell this double-sided, clear 'tape' for lack of a better word. I've used it and it didn't take long to get the cats to stop. They don't like the sticky surface. It comes in sheets that you can cut to fit. You could put it on the crib rails--by the time your baby starts standing, you won't need the stick stuff because the cat will be trained or gone ;).
It's called 'sticky paws' and is available at pet smart (here's a link to one of the 2 products).

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2755193

The sticky stuff doesn't hurt the wood or paint.
Of Course, the cat may start crying/whining if he is locked out. In that case, I would try the approach of rewarding good behavior (works with kids, too). everyone gets into bed, then place the cat on the bed where you think he is out of the way and won't be competing the the baby for space. Then give him some affection, petting, scratching, etc. If he moves, just put him back in his place and give a quick pet. If this keeps going, you may need ask your vet for tips.

Good luck!

B.

Cats are very tactile creatures, which means that they are sensitive to textures and touch. So anywhere that you don't want him hanging out (like in the baby's crib), here's what you do: Cut a piece of cardboard the size of the surface, cover it with criss crosses of double sided tape and lay it on the surface. When he jumps up and his feet stick to the tape, he will quickly learn that being on that surface is uncomfortable for him and will stop jumping up onto it. Replace the tape as it gets covered with fur or stops sticking. This is a good passive way to train a cat to stay off certain surfaces. You could also try the squirt bottle training method where you squirt him with a water bottle when he does something you don't want him to do.

Hi J.,

I have two cats and a 15m old son. My family was very worried about how the cats would handle it. Before my son was born the cats wanted to sleep in the crib and co-sleeper. We didn't put our son in our bed we put him right next to our bed in an arms reach mini cosleeper which was wonderful. I was worried about the cats sleeping in it. After my son was born they would never go in his crib or co sleeper when my son was in it. His smell was strange and he made fussy noises and the cats pretty much ignored him unless they thought he was crying for too long and then they would cry at me to tend him. Never mind that I was already trying to calm him when they got fed up.... So even though I couldn't get them to stay out of the crib until I brought my son home they had no problem staying out of it for at least the first 6 months. By that time my son could roll over and I would throw him in the crib and watch them and he would pet their fur.

But it is not safe to leave the cat and the baby unattended in the same room, even if you are in there sleeping. So you are going to have to get your cat used to sleeping without you at least as long as the baby does. If you are worried about the cat destroying the door you may want to get one of the super tall pet gates. They are too high for cats to jump over. That way your cat wont be destroying the door. Or if you have stairs you could just block the cat out of the upstairs. When we moved to a townhouse thats what we did with the cats and they weren't happy at first but got over it. Now things go well and my son really loves my cats and will go over and snuggle with them its really cute.

Good luck!

you really can't trick or train a cat, as i'm sure you know. he probably won't get in the crib with the babies, but you can get a crib tent if he seems too interested. i would be careful about shutting the door when the babies are in there and making sure kitty isn't, but even if he does sneak in with 'em once and while the chances of him hurting a baby are minimal. i'm a little confused as to where the babies will sleep. will they be in a crib or in bed with you? if they're in a crib, can't kitty continue to sleep with you where he's happy? if you're doing a family bed, you can probably encourage the cat to sleep on the other side of you and everyone wins.
i had a 'baby' cat when my first son arrived who didn't take well to the competition and began peeing everywhere. when it became clear there wasn't going to be a solution, we sadly found a wonderful home for my kittygirl where she was back to being the center of attention as she wanted to be. but most cats and babies find acceptable solutions more easily than this. good luck!
khairete
S.