How to Keep a Cat Out of a Bassinet?

fill it up with blown up balloons until you are ready to use it.

N.,
I don't have a solution to this problem. However, we have two cats. One was scared of our daughter when she came home from the hospital. The other was very curious. He would sometimes sleep at the very end of the bassinet...he never touched the baby. It was almost as if he was watching over her. We were very careful to make sure that the cats did not feel replaced by the baby and that they remained a part of the family. We brought a baby blanket home from the hospital for the cats to explore and sleep on before the baby came home. When we entered the house with the baby. I immediately set the car seat on the floor and greeted the cats and let them investigate the baby. We have never had a problem with the cats and our little girl. I hope that this helps. I think putting a little extra effort into helping the cats acclimate to the new member of the family will make the whole situation good or everyone!

I'm not sure if they have them for bassinets or not, but we have one for our son's crib that we purchased from Babies 'R' Us. Good luck.

Babies R Us has the neeting, and you can order it online if there isn't one near you. Just do an internet search for bassinet netting, and it should pop up.
Congratulations on your upcoming marriage and baby-to-be!!

I've never seen them for a bassinet, but I did have a crib tent. I got mine at Burlington Baby Depot; however, I think they probably have them at any baby store or online. I got mine for my little climbers that climbed out at one year, but they are also marketed for keeping cats out. I've never had a problem with the cat in the baby's bed though. We didn't put them on the first year and didn't have a problem. I don't think they wanted anything to do with the babies; however, every cat is different! Keeping the door closed to keep the cat out is also effective. :)

Don't worry too much about it. It's be fine...

I had both my children in the bassinet by my bed and the cat wasn't interested in being in it due to it not having alot of room, but once they were in a crib he wanted to lay down at the bottom of the bed as if protecting them - my Mom used to tell me a story about my cat when I was a baby and how he would lye in the crib and cry to my Mom when I would wake up - she said he was really protective of me and I LOVED this cat - he was actually a real Tom Cat too - which surprised her that he was so sweet with me - cats and dogs can be a great addition with your baby - you will more than likely be very surprised how cautious they are with the baby - anyway, I wish you all the best with the "whole" family ;-)

Folks warned us the same thing about our dog. We made sure that she was part of everything we did to prepare for our baby. She never did anything questionable and was immediately protective of him.
I like the responders idea about the spiky shower mat. Great idea and I bet it does work well! Go for that and good luck.
Best thing I can suggest is the keep the cat part of the family....don't shun the cat. It's feelings will get hurt and then there could be problems.
Enjoy the rest of the pregnancy and good luck!

I know others have posted some great ideas, but one more can't hurt. We put the crib and bassinet up a few weeks before our son arrived and put aluminum foil over the mattress. Our cat didn't like the sound it made or feel. He tried one time before our son came and that was it. Good luck!

I had four cats when my son was born all of them took turns sleeping in the bassinet until my son came home from the hospital. Once he was home only one cat would jump in the bassinet. I didn't immediately remove her. The cat in question had been a mother and I was curious to see what she would do. I watched her, she just smelled my son. Once her curiosity was satisfied she jumped out and laid by the bassinet. The point is cats are very curious critters anything brought new that is brought home is grounds for investigation. I've never known cats to detered by nets. A squirt gun or a spray bottle works wonders but use sparingly. The cat will most likely very curious about the new arrival and will continually annoy you until they get to check out the new baby. After that the babies cries and jerky movements are enough to keep any cat at bay.

before my son was born we set the crib and bassinet up and put in those mats you get for the floor. The ones that are see through and have the points on the bottom to keep in place on your carpet. You cut to size and put it in with the spikes facing up so when the cat tried to jump in it will feel the little points and jump right out. It doesn't hurt the cat and it let's the cat know that the crib and bassinet are off limits. My cat got so tired of jumping on the points that when my son finally arrive he didn't even think about jumping in.

This may sound funny but it works.

Take a bunch of cleaned out soda cans, stack them up in the bassinet. Every time the cat jumps into the bassinet, he/she will be freaked out by the cans falling and crashing around him/her. Let this happen a few times. By the time your baby comes around the feline will have no interest in the bassinet anymore...

When I had both of my kids I set up their cribs and waited to see if one of the cats would try to make it a bed. When one of the did, I simply put two of the black trash bags on top of the mattress. They didn't care for the plastic at all. After my oldest was born, only one cat dared to try to sleep with her and he slept on the opposite side of the crib! Never did her any harm. Neither one of our two cats cared to try to sleep with our son but they found the pad I kept on his changing table comfy and in a sunny spot so they tried to sleep on that instead! My cats were always scared or startled by the babies (even all the babies I have baby sat over the years) and their cring tends to keep them away as well.

Good luck and congrats!
S.

My cat did the same thing when I was pregnant except he went as far as to pee on it too so my MIL bought me the net but unfortunately she lives in England but I know you can get them here but not sure where. Have you googled it? Try that because it was the only thing that kept him out and eventually left it alone. When the baby comes the screaming will keep them away usually. ;-)

I had the same concerns about my two cats. Someone advised me to lay aluminum foil in the bassinet (before baby arrives), so that if the cat tries to go in, the cat will likely be put off by the feeling of the foil under it's paws. This worked as a pretty good deteriant for us for a while after the baby arrived. Also, after the baby was home, my cats were so put off by this fidigity, crying thing that they didn't go anywher near her for months - even when she was sleeping. Now that my daughter is 3 months old, one of my more curious cats has lost her fear of the baby and is willing to get close....snuggles near us when I'm nursing. But I have seen the same cat in our daughter's crib on occassion...but never while she is in there. I imagine that in a few months when my daughter is really grabbing at things that the cat will not want to be so close anymore. That's been my experience. Hope you find something that works comfortably for you.