ladies, guidance needed.... anyone got indoor cats??

Replies

• morello

  Aug 23, 2010 7:24AM

  We didn't really prepare our cat tbh, she had a lot of attention before baby came and when we bought baby home we made sure whilst I held bubba my hubby held and petted the cat.
  
  In addition all we did was make sure that she had a good sniff of bubba and that if she approached her we didn't shoo her away. The cat was scared of the baby when she first came along and wouldn't go near her anyway, now she lets bubba (who is 6 months) grab her fur, bubba finds it hilarious, the cat is her favourite toy, she laughs just watching her lie on the floor!!
  
  Also I would le the cat in my bedroom a lot when I was pregnant and she would sleep on the bed with me, naughty me, it did take her a bit of getting used to not coming into the bedroom anymore, bit of whining at night for a while.

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• mummabear-72331

  Aug 23, 2010 7:29AM

  I only have the one, a big (7.8kg!) male Birman who rules our house and he is definately our baby too! I had a homebirth so he was there straight up when my son arrived. We introduced them straight away and he sat on the bed where my son lay and just observed. The first week he often sat in the room near him in his moses cot (always supervised), or even underneath it. I went with the thinking that it was best to have him get used to my son as opposed to keep him away as that would have only served him to be more curious and want to get to him.
  Although he never hopped into his moses basket, we did have a few probs later on (and still now my son is 9 months!!) where he will make himself cosy in his cot. He knows how to break into his room unless the door is securely latched and we've found him lying in his cot at his feet (also hearing my son murmur on the monitor when he does cos he is a heavy lump!!). So we make sure the door is latched properly.
  We also had probs in the beginning where he would keep going and lying on the change mat. No matter what we did, he would keep going back. So we ended up buying him his own to put next to it!! (Sad, but it worked!!)
  
  Now that my son is 9 mnths they are the best of mates. My son is a bit rough with him (pulling his fur or tail or hitting him but it's just his way of being affectionate and not realising his actions) but he is learning to be more gentle this week. My cat always goes back for more though. I sometimes have to call time out!! I never leave them alone together though as my cat will take a nip when he has had enough and I have seen him go to bite my son's head playfully but Ive been there to interfere.
  
  Not sure if any of that helps. You can have your partner bring home a muslin or something with your baby's scent on from the hospital before you get home with the baby for your cats to get used to (same works for dogs).
  
  Oh and your cats will know you are going in to labour before you do so watch their behaviour! They will probably give you a wide berth! (excuse the pun!)
  
  

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• LuckyStars

  Aug 23, 2010 8:44AM

  thanks ladies, mumma bear that change mat story made me lol, literally.... mine are all like that.... lol i find it mad how they just instinctively know your having a baby and going into labour.... its really mental xx
  
  thank you xx

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• KayeCee_And_Co

  Aug 23, 2010 10:33AM

  My cat has steered well clear - tbh, the opposite of what we thought would happen. It's only now (4 months in) that he's started coming over for a bit of an investigation x

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• xxLadybirdxx

  Aug 23, 2010 2:14PM

  I have two cats and we never really prepared them either. We just shut the door to the nursery (which used to be their room!) and kept them downstairs at night for about a month before lo came.
  
  They tend to stay out of her way but she loves them so much! She giggles manically and frantically waves her arms to get to them when she sees them! My older cat (3) will sit and let her clap her but my younger cat (1) will stay for a little while before running away. He is a big sook though but he would prefer cuddles from us than Emily! We did find that if we didn't pay him enough attention during the day he would get jealous and pee on anything that was left lying at night! However as long as we give him a cuddle he is fine
  
  Lx

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• willibelucky

  Aug 23, 2010 4:33PM

  We tried to get our cat used to all of the baby stuff before his arrival. We had the moses basket out for about 3 weeks before our son was born and made it clear that she was not to go in it!
  
  Also we allowed her into the nursery for a look when we were in there so that she didn't think we were hiding something from her as she has a bit of a thing about shut doors (she always wants to know whats going on in that room and why she isn't involved in it).
  
  She has coped relatively well, pretty much ignores the baby and walks out the room in disgust when he cries!!

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• 3girlywhirlys

  Aug 23, 2010 7:41PM

  i had 3 cats when both dds were born and when 2nd dd was 5 months we got a kitten, we had to but an extra babygym as they loved it lol but they were all very good and the one that was most scared of other people was the best with them when they arrived and once the kitten settled in she lay next to dd2 by her feet while she was sleeping (never left them alone) but now dd1 is nearly 3 and dd2 1 and a half they are all the best of friends and love each other i also found if baby cries they either looked at me to see what i would do or walked off if they were fed up of the noise. i had cat nets for moses basket and cot and have never had any problems

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