Cats & babies!

Oh we are exactly the same! Our little boy (cat) has slept in our room since he came home at 8 weeks old and we’ve just started to lock him out at night. It was SO hard at first, but we started by moving his bed into the room where we want him to sleep, making sure he has plenty of toys etc and Iv plugged a feliway in to try and relax him. Don’t get me wrong it’s hard and we’ve been doing it for weeks now and some nights we let him in (baby isn’t here yet) but I can’t risk it. He’s been ok though!

2 out of 3 of my cats slept with me every night. We started to lock them out a couple months before, and honestly I’d hear meowing occasionally but they seemed to take to it just fine. I miss them being in bed with me and I know my one cat really misses it too . I can’t wait until my baby is 6 months and in his own room with the door shut so they can join me in our bedroom again haha

Well I don't believe the not having a cat around a baby I've been around cats nd dogs I have a 5 month old nd a cat now my cat doesn't bother my son nor be all in his face he would come see the baby and then that's that lol I think cats know what a baby is and they won't harm them

I think it’s really important to not change to much for your cat. As so much is going to be changing anyway. Our little boy is in his own room now but when he was in with us we never changed anything the cat still slept in with us. That being said it does depend on the temperament of your cat. And see how they are with the baby when they come. Our cat is affectionate but won’t go near the baby. If anything he would just sit close ish and guard him. We used to put our boy to bed in the evening and sit in the livingroom with a baby monitor (we live in a flat) we always have the door open of our bedroom and our cat used to sleep on the bed or in his own bed while baby was asleep. It does really depend on the cat. I found having the crib out for a few weeks helped because then every time he went to get in it we would tell him no and put him in his own bed. I’ve grown up with dogs so he’s trained like at dog 😂

I'm pretty sure my cats will be scared of the baby but I'm getting this.

Inovi Cocoon Folding Moses Crib Travel Cot Grey https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01HHCHXWG/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_i_3MP93V6ERQ14F5XMHMY1

Just curious, why don’t you want your cat around the baby? I can’t wait for my cats reaction and i want them to become friends asap 🤩

Following! I’m dealing with this right now too and it’s breaking my heart! I can’t stand the thought of locking my first baby out of our room! But she’s been obsessed with laying in the bassinet so I feel like it may become our only option 😔

Our three cats always used to sleep on our bed and I was quite worried about how they would feel about baby arriving.

When we are at home during the day we all hang out together and the cats seem to have spent more time in the house and ignore our little one when she does occasionally scream. They currently seem to have a good relationship.

We chose to start shutting the cats downstairs at night a few weeks before baby arrived. I’m glad we did because whilst two of them may have been ok, one of the cats loves snuggling up with baby when she is on my lap and also has found her way into the next to me crib when we have accidentally left the door open during the day.

They have been fine being shut downstairs overnight. One of them gets a bit fussy when we go to bed so we let him come in while we get ready for bed and read in bed and then take him downstairs before we go to sleep.

My cat isn’t bothered by my son one bit, she’s pretty nervous anyway and is still wary of him, happy to be stroked but generally moves away from him. We didn’t shut her out of our bedroom when my son was born - when my son was in his crib next to the bed she would sleep on our bed and she would never try and get in his crib as she knew it was his. Same with his room now, we don’t shut his door, if she goes in there she has a little peak at his cot, almost to make sure he’s there 😂 and then leaves and sleeps with us x

We sleep in seperate rooms. I’m with the baby and my partner with our cat baby! 😆 once we get her sleeping independently she’ll be in her own room anyway. The cat WILL go everywhere it shouldn’t though.. cot,, play pen, scratching up the play mat etc.. and having to sweep constantly as he’s in and out. it’s a nightmare, but love him regardless! 😆

Both of our cats used to sleep with us, but when we brought our baby from the hospital they both sniffed him from the distance and stayed away for a good few months and found different places to sleep. When our boy started showing socialising and smiling signs he used to look and giggle at them, it was beautiful to see, now he’s a year old they’re all used to each other, just need make sure he strokes them gently and doesn’t pull on their bits. We never had any concerns about sleeping, but every cat is different.

My parents had 3 cats with me as a baby and never had any issues with the cats sleeping on our faces or anything.

We’re not due to have baby until July but we have started training them to stay out of our room at night. I’ll be fine having them near baby in the day when supervised but at night if we are all sleeping will be different.
We do still get door scratching but it’s less now they are getting used to it. We bought some new radiator beds to place around the house and put their donut bed outside our bedroom. I’ve sprayed them with catnip spray on occasion to encourage them to use them and now they always go on them.
If your cat is indoors in an evening and may have a lot of energy I would suggest playing with them before bed so they are less likely to scratch in the middle of the night.

I’m also going to start playing sounds of babies laughing and crying for them to get used to as I don’t want them to be anxious when we bring baby home. I’ve also read about putting new things for baby in a place where they can see and get used to them.

We didn't do any preperation before baby came because the cat went missing for 2 months so when we found her I was reluctant to add more change into her life.
She didn't sleep in our room at night but spent most of the daytime sleeping on the bed next to me.
Since we've had our baby the cat has been banned from the bedroom which she doesn't seem to mind, no scratching or meowing or trying to get in there when the doors open.
However, she is terrified of our baby and now avoids me like the plauge. I used to be her favourite but roles have reversed and now my partner is. My cat was my first baby so I'm really sad about it.

I didn’t lock my cat out when baby was born, she was in a Moses basket next to me and I just stuck a little bell on my cats collar of a night time so if I was asleep I would hear him if he tried to climb in with her, never once did though he’s too lazy😂 xx

Our cat has been fine, she might have a quick look in the cot but other than that she’s really not bothered by her 😂 I thought it was going to stress her out having a baby around but she’s not interested. I would see how the cat is when the baby is here first and then you can see if you need to change things x

We have 2 cats and kept them out of our room a couple months before baby was born and until he moved to his own room. Now his room door is shut. They adjusted well and still sleep happily in the living room most of the time.
We had one incident of the little cat peeing in the crib while I was pregnant. I ended up buying a new crib mattress and sheets and putting a feliway in the hall outside he bedrooms and that solved our issue.
When we brought him home they were curious. Our big cat has always liked to lay beside him and check him out. The little cat was super stressed and scared of him and has only recently (4.5mo) started to come around to being in the same space as the baby.

We have 2 kitties that sleep with us at night and when we brought the baby home we had to close the door just in case they would jump in the bassinet. They would scratch at the door and make a bunch of noise so what we did was get a bassinet with a net cover! And that’s been working prefectly so we can keep the door open.
My kitties love the baby and always want to cuddle.

My cat always slept on our bed then when my son arrived he’s nearly 4 now he’s never came near our room again …. Cats choice he found a nice quiet place elsewhere to snooze x

Omg! My cats go crazy when we don’t let them in. I would suggest getting one of those bassinets that zip and close at the top. For your sanity and your sleep!

I have a cat and had the same worries as you. Obviously all cats are different but I shouldn't have worried to be honest. We decided no to lock the cat out and stress her out more and I'm glad I didn't. My cat couldn't give 2 shits about the baby, in fact the further away the better haha

My little one is now 9 months old and the cat still goes wherever she wants x

I would do night feedings in the livingroom so our cat loved when my little girl was newborn. He got so much love and affection in the middle of the night when I was nursing. He seemed to adjust really well to not sleeping in the bedroom with us since he got so much extra nighttime affection

We had considered shutting our cat out the bedroom at night but had read that they would resent the baby as it’s stealing all the attention. Never bothered to shut the cat out in the end and he either sleeps at my feet or curled up under the covers, never goes near the next to me but doesn’t hate our daughter either 😊 Hope it all goes well for you 🤞🏼

We had felliway plugged in 2 weeks before to keep him calm. So far he's not showed any interest in snuggling baby, he's gone into a strange protector mode (runs over everytime baby cries) and I think has been a little jealous of the attention (he followed me to bed when I had a nap earlier and won't leave my side). I'd say see how they are together but we've had no issues with them both being with us

I had a suisation very similar to yours and I heard if you get an old t shirt wear it a few times don't wash it and if you have a nice cat bed leave the t shirt on the cat bed and if your cat is feeling lonely they will feel your sent on the t shirt, I also heard off one of my friends that you can use cbd oil as well I'll have to check the cbd one, cats can be a tricky subject as I find there very sensitive and they fear rejection so its important to show your cat some effection and love and they don't like rejection, cats will usually feel off humans what humans are feeling so they usually know what the story is, cats like to be reminded that there still loved so keep the balance with love so it prevents jelliosey, its come back to me now about the cbd, if your cat has anxiety or stress the cbd is good for that, I hope this helps you, I could have went off the beaten track there small bit on what I said

I have 2 cats and I stopped them coming in a few months before I gave birth. You can buy cat calmer drops they help

(2 Pack) Beaphar - Calming Cat Spot On https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00VKG9U86/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_PAY3RZJ6YRZ30PQNTFJ0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

Our 2 cats have always had complete access to the whole house. When our LG was born, she spent the first month sleeping downstairs with 1 of us (we did baby shifts at night) as she refused to be put down. This allowed the other to go upstairs and get some sleep. The cats just continued to sleep where they wanted. When she moved up to our room, they cleared out themselves for a bit as they were wary of her. The door was still left open. They've slowly got used to her but they don't fall asleep with her as she's too jumpy in her movements. She's 1 now. If your cats are anything like ours, they'll be curious but very wary for a long time and even when they accept her/him they'll keep a respectful distance x

Yeh we have a cat who used to sleep in bed with us. Once baby came he didn't want to be anywhere near the screaming creature 🤣

I have a indoor cat and i did the same. One month before my due date i stopped having my cat inside the room and sleeping with us. He felt lonely but i guess he got used to it. When the baby arrived he had some depression for about two weeks and wasnt very happy because the attention went to my son and not him anymore. 5 months later and he knows my son and is used to him however he still doesnt sleep in our room 😩

Our cats continued to sleep in our bed and all was fine. In general it will be just keep an eye on them for a bit. Cats are generally quite protective and will follow your lead

We did get a Bassinet with a cover but we didn't really use the cover as they didn't go anywhere near apart from an occasional sniff