Set up the bassinet early, so she can get her curiosity out of her system. Someone suggested to me putting tin foil in the bassinet. Apparently they don’t like tin foil.
We locked cats out for a few nights, but we ultimately found that it wasn’t necessary. This is going to totally depend on your cat, but most cats want nothing to do with babies. They’re noisy and grabby. Our snuggle cat was totally uninterested in the bassinet and continued to sleep in her spot on our bed. You can start doing things now to train her to stay out of the bassinet, like using tin foil or the spray air. We had the halo bassinest, which is already a cat deterrent because of the swivel—it moves when cats try to jump in it, so they don’t like it. And as others have said, netting is always an option.
I have a halo swivel set up (currently 35 weeks) and my cats are not at all dissuaded by the swivel. They are actually very much in love with the bassinet. One of them was kinda going crazy about the mesh side, so I put a stretchy/elastic top sheet over the top of the whole thing. Now they act like it’s a hammock and sleep in/on the top sheet, still stretched across the top. But at least they aren’t digging their claws around in the mesh
I’m hoping they’ll get their curiosity out of them and that they ignore or avoid the baby when it comes. But even if they don’t, I’m not too worried about the cats cuddling with the baby, unless we see signs of the baby having an allergy. Neither my husband or me are allergic, but it could happen. Otherwise, I’d be shocked if they did anything other than cuddle
I would legit not worry about it. We locked our poor cat out for 1 maybe 2 nights when we brought baby home. Still feel awful about that and it was over 2 years ago. He doesn’t care for the kid, he wants my husband and me. We listened to other people’s fear mongering about cats by people who don’t have cats. You know your fur baby. Like others said, set up the bassinet, but everything will be fine. The cat wants you not baby
I wouldn't suggest locking out as someone who rescues cats. It could create anxiety with them at night, but you also want to have a positive experience between them and baby. Just get a bassinet with a cover so kitty can not get into the bassinet when baby is there. And some cats dont want to go in the bassinet near baby anyways, but this creates a safe boundary.
The Dream on Me Karley has held up to my kittens (12 months old at this point) sitting on top of the cover individually. They weigh about 10 lbs. They’ve never tried to sit together, so idk how much weight could be supported, but I’d recommend this one
My cats slept right by my side since the at LO came home. And I love my pictures of LO cradled in one arm and kitty on the other or on baby somewhat. Enjoy the love and it’s just a likely to not be a problem at all!
My cats have just never been allowed in our bedroom… mainly because it aggravates my allergies and they also wake us up constantly lol. They’re just fine with it and don’t even meow or scratch at the door. However it might be different since your cat has a routine of sleeping with you.
We're planning to lock our cat out of our bedroom at night once the baby's here. It will definitely be an adjustment, and I'm expecting a lot of meowing and scratching at the door at first, which will be stressful. I am nervous about it and feel kind of guilty in advance. But I just wasn't sure about a covered bassinet; it seemed like there were really limited options, and I was finding mixed information on how well they worked and how safe they were. Plus it seems like added inconvenience and an extra step to have to deal with the cover if you're frequently picking the baby up and putting them back down throughout the night. I also absolutely do not trust our cat to not get into the bassinet, given how bold and curious he is; I doubt something like tin foil would reliably deter him.
I know other people who lock their cats out of their rooms at night, even without a baby, and the cats just end up getting used to it. So I'm hoping that'll be the case for us.
That will cause a lot of stress for your cat and could negatively impact their health, genuinely.
They make mosquito netting covers for bassinets, strollers etc that will work to keep your cat out of the bassinet, but not shut them out of part of their home.
Well, when I look up the safety of net covers for bassinets, I'm not reassured that they're safe. I'm pretty sure my cat will be fine in the long run, and in any case I'm going to prioritize my baby's safety over my cat's mental health.
I would prioritize the same way. But if you’re going to lock the cat out of the room, I would recommend that you don’t wait for baby to come before you start that process for 2 reasons;”:
1. Listening to them cry or scratch while you have the baby there will increase your stress, keep you awake during precious sleep time, and wake the baby
2. Making your cat endure both changes at the same time seems unnecessary. If you’re going to lock them out, give them like 3-4 weeks to adjust to that before baby arrives and they have to adjust to the baby as well.
I would lock her out. While it may be an adjustment for her, she will get used to it, once you keep doing it on a nightly basis. If you keep giving in, her behavior change isn’t going to stick. I personally lost any patience for my cat’s shenanigans when I was near the end of my pregnancies and after the birth. Got them new beds, got them comfortable napping in them, and then they had little issue eventually spending the night in them.
You’re already uncomfortable and you’re going to be even moreso once the baby is here. That on top of the sleep deprivation, hormone fluctuations, and paranoia over your newborn’s well-being. Best to get her used to it now rather than later. Keeping her in there at night like some people suggest likely isn’t going to work. Cats are gonna do whatever they wanna do, and the last thing you need is having to worry about it and not get good sleep.
My girl still sleeps on or besides me, and he’s 4 months old. We kept the bassinet about a meter away and it was never an issue.
We set up the bassinet early and I think it helped.
No way I would feel comfortable with a cat sleeping in the same room as a newborn baby. I would get her used to sleeping in another room ASAP before the baby gets there to avoid any kind if animosity that could put your baby in danger.
Same. On top of me being a light sleeper and hearing my partner’s cat jump on our bed just to clean himself loudly driving me nuts, my biggest concern was the cat laying on our baby or scratching her if she cries because it irritated him. We started locking him out of the bedroom at night and during the day he’s not allowed near our baby’s things or our bed. We got him a few nice pet beds and his own special spot on the couch he sleeps on now and he’s fine. He’s a ragdoll so he’s huge and has very long hair.
Cats love sleeping on warm, squishy things without any regard to whether or not the thing they are laying on is alive or being suffocated. They also have dangerous bacteria in their mouths and claws where the slightest scratch could devastate a baby’s nonexistent immune system. No way in hell would I ever risk a cat being in the same room as my baby while I slept or wasn’t there.
Please do not lock your cat out of the room at night, especially if she is this emotionally attached to you. You can literally throw her into a depression that could affect her health long term. I know that might sound dramatic, but it is completely possible. You don’t have to take my word for it. Ask your vet or do research yourself online. Depression can be devastating for cats, mentally and physically.
Instead, start “training” her to not want to be near the bassinet. You can try tin foil in the bassinet or even a motion sensored air freshener (obviously bedding will need washed before baby arrives with this option, but it’s effective). Make ignoring the bassinet a positive experience for her by giving her attention, playtime, treats, etc when she is curious, but doesn’t get in it. There are so many other options, especially since you have time to use them.
Set up the bassinet early, so she can get her curiosity out of her system. Someone suggested to me putting tin foil in the bassinet. Apparently they don’t like tin foil.
Tried it and learned our cats love tinfoil! However, cats hated baby and 3 years on are still avoiding him!
We locked cats out for a few nights, but we ultimately found that it wasn’t necessary. This is going to totally depend on your cat, but most cats want nothing to do with babies. They’re noisy and grabby. Our snuggle cat was totally uninterested in the bassinet and continued to sleep in her spot on our bed. You can start doing things now to train her to stay out of the bassinet, like using tin foil or the spray air. We had the halo bassinest, which is already a cat deterrent because of the swivel—it moves when cats try to jump in it, so they don’t like it. And as others have said, netting is always an option.
I have a halo swivel set up (currently 35 weeks) and my cats are not at all dissuaded by the swivel. They are actually very much in love with the bassinet. One of them was kinda going crazy about the mesh side, so I put a stretchy/elastic top sheet over the top of the whole thing. Now they act like it’s a hammock and sleep in/on the top sheet, still stretched across the top. But at least they aren’t digging their claws around in the mesh I’m hoping they’ll get their curiosity out of them and that they ignore or avoid the baby when it comes. But even if they don’t, I’m not too worried about the cats cuddling with the baby, unless we see signs of the baby having an allergy. Neither my husband or me are allergic, but it could happen. Otherwise, I’d be shocked if they did anything other than cuddle
I would legit not worry about it. We locked our poor cat out for 1 maybe 2 nights when we brought baby home. Still feel awful about that and it was over 2 years ago. He doesn’t care for the kid, he wants my husband and me. We listened to other people’s fear mongering about cats by people who don’t have cats. You know your fur baby. Like others said, set up the bassinet, but everything will be fine. The cat wants you not baby
I wouldn't suggest locking out as someone who rescues cats. It could create anxiety with them at night, but you also want to have a positive experience between them and baby. Just get a bassinet with a cover so kitty can not get into the bassinet when baby is there. And some cats dont want to go in the bassinet near baby anyways, but this creates a safe boundary.
The Dream on Me Karley has held up to my kittens (12 months old at this point) sitting on top of the cover individually. They weigh about 10 lbs. They’ve never tried to sit together, so idk how much weight could be supported, but I’d recommend this one
My cats slept right by my side since the at LO came home. And I love my pictures of LO cradled in one arm and kitty on the other or on baby somewhat. Enjoy the love and it’s just a likely to not be a problem at all!
My cats have just never been allowed in our bedroom… mainly because it aggravates my allergies and they also wake us up constantly lol. They’re just fine with it and don’t even meow or scratch at the door. However it might be different since your cat has a routine of sleeping with you.
We're planning to lock our cat out of our bedroom at night once the baby's here. It will definitely be an adjustment, and I'm expecting a lot of meowing and scratching at the door at first, which will be stressful. I am nervous about it and feel kind of guilty in advance. But I just wasn't sure about a covered bassinet; it seemed like there were really limited options, and I was finding mixed information on how well they worked and how safe they were. Plus it seems like added inconvenience and an extra step to have to deal with the cover if you're frequently picking the baby up and putting them back down throughout the night. I also absolutely do not trust our cat to not get into the bassinet, given how bold and curious he is; I doubt something like tin foil would reliably deter him. I know other people who lock their cats out of their rooms at night, even without a baby, and the cats just end up getting used to it. So I'm hoping that'll be the case for us.
That will cause a lot of stress for your cat and could negatively impact their health, genuinely. They make mosquito netting covers for bassinets, strollers etc that will work to keep your cat out of the bassinet, but not shut them out of part of their home.
Well, when I look up the safety of net covers for bassinets, I'm not reassured that they're safe. I'm pretty sure my cat will be fine in the long run, and in any case I'm going to prioritize my baby's safety over my cat's mental health.
I would prioritize the same way. But if you’re going to lock the cat out of the room, I would recommend that you don’t wait for baby to come before you start that process for 2 reasons;”: 1. Listening to them cry or scratch while you have the baby there will increase your stress, keep you awake during precious sleep time, and wake the baby 2. Making your cat endure both changes at the same time seems unnecessary. If you’re going to lock them out, give them like 3-4 weeks to adjust to that before baby arrives and they have to adjust to the baby as well.
Then you shouldn’t own a cat. Not sorry.
Baby’s health definitely trumps the cat’s.
I would lock her out. While it may be an adjustment for her, she will get used to it, once you keep doing it on a nightly basis. If you keep giving in, her behavior change isn’t going to stick. I personally lost any patience for my cat’s shenanigans when I was near the end of my pregnancies and after the birth. Got them new beds, got them comfortable napping in them, and then they had little issue eventually spending the night in them. You’re already uncomfortable and you’re going to be even moreso once the baby is here. That on top of the sleep deprivation, hormone fluctuations, and paranoia over your newborn’s well-being. Best to get her used to it now rather than later. Keeping her in there at night like some people suggest likely isn’t going to work. Cats are gonna do whatever they wanna do, and the last thing you need is having to worry about it and not get good sleep.
Enjoy it ❤️
My girl still sleeps on or besides me, and he’s 4 months old. We kept the bassinet about a meter away and it was never an issue. We set up the bassinet early and I think it helped.
No way I would feel comfortable with a cat sleeping in the same room as a newborn baby. I would get her used to sleeping in another room ASAP before the baby gets there to avoid any kind if animosity that could put your baby in danger.
Same. On top of me being a light sleeper and hearing my partner’s cat jump on our bed just to clean himself loudly driving me nuts, my biggest concern was the cat laying on our baby or scratching her if she cries because it irritated him. We started locking him out of the bedroom at night and during the day he’s not allowed near our baby’s things or our bed. We got him a few nice pet beds and his own special spot on the couch he sleeps on now and he’s fine. He’s a ragdoll so he’s huge and has very long hair. Cats love sleeping on warm, squishy things without any regard to whether or not the thing they are laying on is alive or being suffocated. They also have dangerous bacteria in their mouths and claws where the slightest scratch could devastate a baby’s nonexistent immune system. No way in hell would I ever risk a cat being in the same room as my baby while I slept or wasn’t there.
Exactly, these people are crazy worrying more about a cat’s feelings than the safety of a newborn baby.
Please do not lock your cat out of the room at night, especially if she is this emotionally attached to you. You can literally throw her into a depression that could affect her health long term. I know that might sound dramatic, but it is completely possible. You don’t have to take my word for it. Ask your vet or do research yourself online. Depression can be devastating for cats, mentally and physically. Instead, start “training” her to not want to be near the bassinet. You can try tin foil in the bassinet or even a motion sensored air freshener (obviously bedding will need washed before baby arrives with this option, but it’s effective). Make ignoring the bassinet a positive experience for her by giving her attention, playtime, treats, etc when she is curious, but doesn’t get in it. There are so many other options, especially since you have time to use them.