Parents, I need some advice regarding my cat and my newborn son.. Can you help?

[brownie1996]

Me and my wife just had a baby and I have a 5 year old cat who I love (almost as much as my son) xP. My cat and I have been best buds for 5 years now and well every night he comes to sleep on me.

Since we have a small apartment, our baby sleeps next to us in our crib. Well my wife loves cats too but doesnt want him in at night when we go to sleep because of the off chance he plays with the baby and hurts him accidentally. Plus he likes to jump in the babies' bed when he is not there.

This of course hasn't made my cat jealous or aggressive. He is neither. He looks at the baby but doesnt do anything. He never playfully bites me or has never tried with the baby but sometimes with my wife when she knits or writes letters.

I miss having my cat in bed with me. So I thought about buying a insect net or something to go over the bed so the cat if by any chance cant do something to our baby.

And as Ive said, my cat was never jealous of the baby nor is he an aggressive cat.

Basically I want my cat to be able to sleep on the bed with me and not have me or more so my wife worry about the cat and the baby.

Does anyone have any experience with this kind of thing or a possible solution?

Thank you

 

[katrina2017]

@brownie1996 Do not put anything over babies bed. This is a strangulation risk and a cat could quite easily get around any net. Animals may seem perfectly content around baby, but they are still animals and may react in unpredictable ways. Pets really should not be with children unsupervised while they're still too young to understand how to act around an animal and you asleep is unsupervised. Definitely work in extra cuddles for kitty but unless you plan on cosleeping, it won't be too long before baby can be in their own room (cat free) and you can resume your normal nightly snuggle with kitty.

 

[brownie1996]

@katrina2017 Alright thanks for the advice. Wont put anything over the bed. Question, if the net has holes and is high and out of reach of his arms is it still a strangulation risk? Ok i wont take a chnce but still bust asking? I mean a baby cant get out of his crib he cant stand (not yet) and then net WOULD have been atleast 10 inches above hIm.

 

[katrina2017]

@brownie1996 Anything on the top of the crib is a strangulation hazard. Anything.

 

[katrina2017]

@brownie1996 It's just one of those better safe than sorry deals that likely wouldn't be recommended - besides, a cat can quite easily jump into a net (I used to have one on my bed and my cat loved to attack it) and if you're fast asleep you may not notice.

 

[facundo]

@brownie1996 Mycat slept in baby's bed all the time both before and after he was born. But he (my cat) definitely wanted nothing to do with the bed whenever there was a baby in it, babies are untrustworthy and might accidentally touch the cat. Worst that happened was the cat jumped in, saw the baby, and skedaddled.

Each cat is different, of course, but I've yet to run into an anecdote of the old wives' tale of cats and babies being true. And it sucks when people get rid of beloved (and well-behaved) pets because they've had a baby. Get a water bottle and squirt the cat whenever he is near the crib. He'll get the message. Good luck.

 

[sketchy]

@brownie1996 That's rough on everybody! I see why mom is anxious but if kitty hasn't shown any aggression/interest toward baby there is no reason to think he will. We continued to let our cats sleep in the room with us when baby was born. The most cuddly one actually slept next to my daughter in her bassinet at times - it was super cute. She doesn't do it now that baby isn't swaddled and can grab her though lol.

Does the cat wear a bell, so that you would hear if he jumped into the baby's bed? Could you try letting him in the room for naps first for a while and see what he does?

 

[brownie1996]

@sketchy He does naps during the day. Did you mean at night? Hes allowed in basically 24/7 just not when we sleep. Never seen him try to jump into the bed when the baby is there.

He can come in at night say we watching tv in bed. He can come in and lay with me but once tv is out he has to leave. Ill try perhaps watching him at night. 1 week i wont be sleeping good anyways.

 

[sketchy]

@brownie1996 Is kitty allowed in the room when baby is napping?

 

[brownie1996]

@sketchy Yes, he is. And we watch him. Hes never done anything remotely close to the baby. Usually when hea napping one of us is in the room.

 

[sketchy]

@brownie1996 Hnm. I hoped that knowing that would boost Mom's confidence.

 

[smartgirl2298]

@brownie1996 It's a cat, not a lion! It's not going to get into the bed with the baby at night and maul it to death! It probably just wants to be in bed with you!

Anyway, how are you even keeping the cat out? Doesn't it just scratch the door and keep you awake?

Even though I think keeping the cat out of the room is silly, I would still make the concession if it was me. New moms need to feel supported and they can be super protective. "Siding with the cat" would be counter-productive. Just find out how long she thinks this arrangement should go on. Six months? A year? Five??

And never, ever put anything over the crib. Now that is dangerous.