Trouble with Cat in Nursery

not sure if you own your house but if you do put a wooden screen door on her room. A friend of mine did this because of her cats curiousity about the baby and it worked great. I found one at Lowes website for $20 which is much cheaper than any baby gate you might find and you know that cat can't open a door.
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&p...

1 mom found this helpful

S.,
You have gotten several great responses regarding what to do about the cats so I won't go there but please, please, please get that blanket out of the crib. It is a safety hazard since babies can reach them and pull them down onto their faces and suffocate themselves. I too was not aware of this until I read it in a book saying what a safety hazard it was. I also have a decorative quilt that I don't want to just stow away until my son needs it so instead of draping it over the crib, I folded it in thirds and hung it over the side of the armoire in his room. You are obviously worried about your baby's safety so I just wanted to let you know about this hazard as well.
B.

1 mom found this helpful

I second the crib tent, we got it crib tent from Walmart.com. And now it's really good because it keeps her from climbing out. For a longer term solution (like when she's out of the crib), you can try installing a pull down screen door on her bedroom door. We got one, but the cat figured it out. But it may work for yours. http://www.secretscreen.com/

Just put a crib tent on the crib and problem solved. Then you'll already have when for when your baby gets to the age when she tries to climb out.

S.,
Have you tried locking the cats up? Not necessarily in a cage but in a garage or laundry room, with their litter box and food and water and toys. Just from late night til morning. Unless they can get out, I had a cat that could open the door, so I had to lock it. I am sure they are curious as to what is taking up so much of your time, and maybe even a little jealous. Good luck, V.

My brother and sis-in-law just put two gates up one on top of the other. It was definitly to high for the cats to jump up. hope this helps!

put up a screen door (like you would put on your front or back door).

A friend had a similar problem and solved it with a decorative screen door. She got one of those pretty wooden ones, painted it white and installed on the outside of the nursery door. That way she could leave the door open for air and to hear, but her crazy cat would stay out. It was a quick easy solution that worked for them. Good luck.

get a spray bottle and fill it with vinegar. whenever you catch the cat in or going near her room, spray it and tell it no. that's how we trained our beagle pup not to jump on people. animals don't like the smell and cats especially don't like being wet so it should work. but closing the door and having a good monitor system has worked for us.

S., as one cat person to another, I knnow how you feel about the situation. A couple of ideas come to mind. You could try a dutch door for your daughters room. You know, the split door. That way you could close the bottom and leave the top open. Another idea is to put up a screen door on the room. That way the door is not closed and the cat can not get in. Good luck with whatever you deside.

Get a crib tent. It attaches to the crib and zips closed. It is made of mesh. They are available at Babies R Us.

I never hung anything on the wall oveer the crib because I was afraid of it falling. Don't hang the blanket on the crib either because if it falls on the baby it could suffocate her.

If you really like the cat, just shut the baby's door at night and buy a monitor so you can keep track of her.

we have two cats. A gate won't keep them out if they want in - they can jump high. You can purchase a mesh 'tent' that goes over the baby's crib to keep out cats or other critters. I've seen them at WalMart around the $40 range or you can order them online.
good luck - I hope you don't have to get rid of your babies (the kitties!)

Is it possible to put him in a cellar or outside at nite? U r right in not putting the baby in danger, I have 3 cats, and if there was a baby,I wouldnt put up with this.When I had a problem with one, I had a water spray bottle. Anytime he went in there at all, he'd get sprayed with water. This means he wont be allowed in the room ever.Keep the bottle by the door, he will soon decide that its not worth getting wet to go in there.Hope this helps.

We also had a cat and wanted to keep him out of the nursery. My husband bought a screen door and put it on the outside of the door frame. The door opens out, so that as the baby gets older, she can push open the door to get out. The cat can push on the screen, but it won't open in, since the door opens out. This completely solved our problem. Hope it helps you.

Hi S.,

Babys'r'us sells a tent made out of netting that goes over the crib. It is advertised for keeping pets out as well as keeping climbing babies in. If you don't like the idea of that i would just keep your daughters door shut, you must have a monitor-right? You'll be able to hear what's going on in there...and as days turn into weeks and weeks into months you'll definitely feel comfortable with the door shut. Goodluck! I hope you don't have to get rid of the cat!
J.

We have two large cats and used a tall gate when we initially brought our son home. If the cats got in the nursery, we sprayed them with water and they immediately left. Our son is now a year old and we stopped using the gate around the three month mark; we haven't had any problems since we began using a spray bottle. You may want to check out www.totsinmind.com. The make a crib tent that might be just what you need. Good luck!

You could always change the door to a screen door. That's what my parents did 30 years ago for my little brother. They could still see in but it kept the cat out. They just bought the cheap kind with the unfinished wood trim and painted it to match the trim in the house. They put a hook lock on it on the outside so it would stay shut. It ended up helping out when he was older too because he learned to climb out of his crib at 18 months so it kept him from roaming the house.

get a baby monitor and close the door only when shes in there sleeping

You can buy a crib "tent" they are about $60(I think) and they form a "tent" over the top of the baby's crib that you zip open and shut. I believe they are made for exactly what you are having trouble with!!

Try a scat mat. They are sort of pricey ($45 or so?) and you can buy them at PetSmart or PetSmart.com. I got the smallest one and put it at the doorway to my daughter's nursery before she was born. If the cat (or person!) steps on it, it sends a harmless shock (my vet confirmed this). My cats stepped on it exactly once and haven't tried it again! You can also use it on furniture, etc to keep them away. Our daughter is 9 months old now and the cats are very loving and tolerant of her "rough love" but they never go in her room. Good luck!

My husband and I bought an exterior screen door (the kind you'd put on a porch) and put it up in the doorway of our daughter's room. We took the regular door off and stored it for a year. It worked great, and didn't look bad at all. Our cat could have jumped anything, but couldn't go through the screen covering the entire doorway.

The absolute last thing you should do is get rid of it- I'm sure the cat would rather be closed up in an extra bedroom, master bath or laundry room with a cozy bed and a scratching post + a few toys for evenings and naps remaining in it's current loving home and getting to be with you during the day than to enter into the system of homeless cats. I would put both cats "to bed" together. They don't need to have the run of the house at night.

Congratulations on your daughter. It's changed my life, I LOVE being a mom. I used to rescue animals but now am spending my time with a 21 month old daugther. It gets more and more fun once they start to move around.

I happen to have a severely well mannered cat. I trained her to completely stay out of the kitchen and she also does not get onto the countertops, kitchen table, or any area that she is not wanted. I did this with a water bottle. Everytime she would walk into the kitchen or jump on something I did not want her on, I would squirt her with it. Even though she loves baths and playing in water, she caught on VERY quickly that she was not wanted in these areas. She is four and I haven't used the water bottle in LONG time.

Hope this can work for you and good luck!

There is something that you can put over the crib to prevent the cat from getting on there. it is domelike mesh netting that unzips so you can get her out without taking it off. i have one but i but inever used it. my inlaws got it for me but i never got the cat. research it on the net, i dont know what you would use as a keyword, but i think if you went o babies r us website or one step up they would have info on it

S.,
I know nothing about a gate to attach to the other one. However, here is a trick I use all the time with my cats. Get a skwirt-gun!!!!! Believe me this little device works!!! Everytime, your cat nears the gate...skwirt him and do not stop until he runs away from the gate.
This is NOT mean. Your other cat has respected your wishes, to stay out of the babies room when the gate is up!
You must never leave your cats to roam free and your baby unattended. Never while he is sleeping. Put them outside or in the bathroom or other(room with the kitty box) at nap time and at night.
This is the way I have always done it and we have always had LOTS of pets! Dogs, cats lizzards(large ones), hamsters, birds...you name it with 5 daughters all grown nowand 8 grandchildren.
I still have 5 dogs and about as many cats all outside: with a daily visit to be pampered inside.
LaDonna

A friend had the same problem, and they took off the normal door to the room and put up a screen door with a wood frame. As they had a beach theme in the nursery it actually looked pretty cool. That way the cats stayed out and you could keep an eye and ear out for her.

HI there. I also have two cats with an infant... They are curious little things. But, there is a cover you can purchase for your crib that is net material and is almost tent shaped. This will allow you to see, very clearly, your baby while preventing the cats from getting into the crib. And, some of them you can hang mobiles from the center of the cover. It's a great alternative to putting your cats outside for good, or worse, getting rid of them. By the way, my cats love to sleep next to my baby, almost in a protective way, but it's probably just the warmth. They have NEVER hurt him in anyway. Now he is getting to the grabby stage and they just keep there distance now. Good luck.

Close the door and use a monitor. Simplest solution! If you absolutely can't bring yourself to close the door, maybe try a second baby gate above the first. This would probably keep your cat out, although it would make for more of a hassle when YOU want to get into the room to soothe a crying baby, etc. Really, you ought to just close the door and rely on your baby monitor. Baby will be fine, and safe from your cat's curious exploring. It seems clear that your cat is not trying to hurt your baby. Please don't get rid of him simply because he is exploring the new changes to his home. Maybe you could spend time with your baby and cat in the room together during the day. That might allow your kitty to satisfy his curiosity while you have a protective eye on your baby. Best of luck to you!

We have 4 cats and we decided having the door closed with a really good monitor was best because cats tend to sleep on heat and our babies are hot when they sleep so there is danger of suffocation.
I also liked the suggestion you got for a screen door if you really don't want the door closed all the time, that would be a great option.
If you're afraid to close the door you can also buy a video monitor and you'll be able to see everything, we went with a normal monitor and it worked out just fine. Today my girls are 4 and almost 6 and they sleep with their door closed and I like this because I clean at night and don't want my noise waking them (we have a small house).
I hope you find a solution, I'm also an animal lover so I understand your wanting to find a solution rather than get rid of the cat.
Best of luck

E.

Hello! My friend had the same problem and she came up with quite a unique solution...she installed a screen door. The kind that you would use at a front or back door. This way her cats could see into the nursery but they could not get in. With this, you can in a sense, keep her door open. I hope this helps! Good luck!

when we moved my daughter from the bassinet in our room, to her crib in her room, we did close the door when she was sleeping in there. we had one cat (which we still have!) and one st. bernard (not anymore!). our daughter is 3 years old now and her door still gets closed at night. not sure if this might be an option for you. the only other thing i can think of might be one of those nets that go over the crib? is there a reason why you don't want her door closed?

I knew a family with dogs - big dogs that would not respect the baby gate boundary. So, they put a screen door up in their baby daughter's doorway! You know, one of those that is totally screen with no actual glass. The dogs understood the door idea, so they left the room alone, but for Mom and Dad it was as good as having the door open to the bedroom.

S.,

I am a animal lover and have to get rid of one cat a few months ago. I am 7 months now and have 1 cat and 2 dogs and tis has worried me. I dont think a baby gate will do it but there is something called an invisible screen. My girl friend has it on her back door and it rolls into itself when not in use and you cna not even tell it it is there.

I am thinking about putting one on my nursery door to keep the cat out. This way i can see in and the baby can see out and i can be at ease. I think it cost about 100 and can be found at Home depot or Lowes.

It is a metal peice that is alligned with the for on one side then you oull the tab to pull the screen over to the other side. It is so neat and i am not doing it justice trying to explain it.

Hope this works.

When my four year old was an infant, we had to get something to keep her IN the crib, and we found something called a crib tent. I am not sure if they still make them. but if they do, it would keep the cat off of her crib. I have no idea where it came from, only that we got it from online. Here is a link to the exact one that we had for her: http://www.amazon.com/Tots-Mind-Cozy-Crib-White/dp/B00014...

once you see this one you have a better idea of what it was. It really worked, and there was no way that she could get out of it, even if she tried. I was skeptical when we first put it on her crib, but she had already climbed out of her crib and fallen to the floor once (even though she was not sitting up, pulling up, or even walking) so we had to do something. When we first got it and took it out of the box, I was like heck no, but then we put her in there and saw that there was no way that she could do anything to get out of there. All of the zippers and attachments are out of their reach and the tent is down inside the crib. It is a little hard to explain. It would definately keep the cat off of her, and anything that fell would definately stay out of the crib with her, too. I put a search in for crib tent in the search field, and several popped up. I didn't look at any of the others, so I can't vouch for them. I just know that this one was a little confusing at first, but once we figured it out we were golden and it was awesome until she was three! Hope this helps.

I had the same trouble with my cat when I brought my baby home. She was a very jealous cat. (I think they all are). When I caught her trying to sleep on my baby I go rid of her. I don't know if it was a loving gesture or not, either way it's not good for the baby so she had to go.
There's an old wives tale that says cats will suffocate a baby by sleeping on their chests and face. I don't know if that's their intentions, but we didn't chance it once the cat started trying to stay in the baby's crib whether he was in it or not. No cat is worth my baby's health.
If you are set on keeping the cat, try a dog carrier at night. There are actually large cages made for keeping cats too. An aquaintance of mine uses one. It's huge!
Since putting up with that cat, I swore never to have another one as long as there was a baby in the house.
Guess I'm not a cat person.
Good luck!
L.

I had to end up getting rid of my cat after my daughter was born, b/c the cat would not stay away from my daughter's things. At first I passed it off as the cat just being curious and assumed she'd get past it, but when she peed in my daughter's pack n play that was the last straw.

I doubt they make a gate that your cat couldn't jump if it wanted, so I really have no good suggestion other than keeping the door closed. Even if you decide to keep the door open during the day, I'd give some thought to keeping it closed while your baby is sleeping. Then you won't even have to consider whether either cat has entered the room, and the baby definitely won't be at risk. Plus, it'll help block out other unexpected household sounds like the phone or doorbell ringing.

I'm so glad your an animal lover and willing to try and resolve the situation. My son is just shy of 11 weeks old, and I have always been more nervous about the cat than our two dogs. I think it's amazing that a mere baby gate is keeping one cat out of the room...but I'm wondering why you can't shut the door and invest in a monitor?

Our son is still sleeping near or with us, but I think once we move him downstairs, we'll have to shut the door to make sure the cat stays out...for now, I just find him sprawled on the changing table from time to time...good luck, I hope you get to keep both of your cats!

Try a crib tent which I think they sell at Toys r us. It is a netted canopy that is made just for this reason. I thin kit just attaches onto the sides of the crib. I went through a similar thing with my cat and ended up having to find aanother home for him b/c he he then started to urinate in my daughters toddler bed. It was hard but I couldnt live like that.
Hopefully the crib tent will help.

Hi S.,

Another idea is to have your husband install a half-door. You've seen those, haven't you? Some businesses have those. It could be high enough to keep out the cats, but you can hear fine. This way you don't have to worry about the cats scratching at the screen (I couldn't tolerate the sound myself - like fingernails on a blackboard! Yikes!) This is also good for helping an older child understand they have to stay in their own room during the middle of the night, if you end up having that particular issue.

Just make sure that your hubbie sands the top of the door well so that you don't get splinters. Since the doors are all uniform, you wouldn't have to change anything in the door jams - you just wouldn't have a bolt in the top.

Good luck!
D.

This may sound wierd but my friend had the same problem with her cat she bought a cheap screen door. It was just a wood frame with screen. I think it cost under $100. I also think they make a mesh door covering that covers the whole door because I had another friend that had a toddler that would climb out of his crib, climb the gate and wander at night. My cat used to get in my daughters baby crib and it used to scare me to death so I just shut the door. They are best buds now and my cat always goes in her room to say goodnight and most nights she will sleep with her. I was so worried about my cat but it turned out fine.

I have never personally known anyone who had a child that was smothered by a kitty, but I would get another gate and just put two of them up in the same door, one on top of the other. The pressure gate would stay in place fine and the kitty couldn't get in the room.

K. A.

Can you put the cat(s) in another part of the house with their door shut? That's what I had to do when we brought our son home. We put the cats in the laundry room with all their stuff. Then, during the day when they tried to get near the baby, we would use the squirt bottle technique to dissuade them from going near the baby when we didn't want them there.

You could get a second pressure gate and just stack them in the doorway. Not sure what else, other than lock him somewhere at night.

None of my cats ever cared for the baby at all and never paid him any attention. I do have a cat I have to lock in the garage at night cause she started pee-ing in my house at night for some weird reason. Could you do something like that?

If you really don't want the cat to leave, then I would shut her door, but have a baby monitor in her room, so you can hear her if she cries etc.
If the cat persists, then I would remove the cat.

There are nets that go over the top of the crib to keep cats out. I have one on my pack & play to keep our cat away. There are 2 types a Babies R Us. One isa hard anopy type which cost about $70 and the other is a soft mosquito net type that costs about $14. I have the $14 one on my pack & play.
Good Luck!

HI S.,
I have a friend who had the same problem. She bought a screen door and put it up. She could see the baby, hear him etc...The cat couldn't get in-I had never thought of that, but it worked out great for them. She bought the white Pvc?? one that didn't look bad at all. Good Luck

S., I would get the cats spayed or neutered and make both cats outdoor cats if they aren't declawed. If they are declawed and can't live outdoors, I'd give them away. Someone may have a better idea with gates or whatever, but that was a close call with the mobile and the blanket. A cat could also lay on the baby causing her to suffocate. It's just not worth he risk. I had to make my cat an outdoor cat, too, when my son was born. They will be fine. Best wishes!

You can get a tent like thing to put over the crib. They are made just for this too! Here is a link to one: http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2404625 I think the cost is worth your peace of mind. Good luck!

Get a spray bottle and fill it with water, wait and watch, spray him good, as he walks toward the room. He sounds very smart, and is only interested, as all cats are. You just want to keep him out of the room.

I saw this in another response, but wanted to let you know we do it and it's worked out great. We put out cat in the laundry room at night. Her litter box, bed, food, water and a night light are in there. Actually we started keeping her in there long before our son was born because she would wake us up at the crack of dawn every morning crying to be fed (we don't keep her bowl full because she doesn't ration herself). Now she just knows that's her room. We feed her a little at night before we go to bed, she goes running in and we just shut the door.

S.,
Check out the crib tent - i just purchased one to keep my 2 year old in, but in the reviews I read prior to purchasing - several people talked about its ability to keep pets out. I am out of town so I don't remember the brand - but if you google it - it will come up. I have the original one that does not enclose the sides of the crib - but I believe there is an "updated" version of it that has messh along the sides that may be better for keeping kitty at bay.

Hope this helps.
T.

Hello,

I understand loving cats as I do myself, however there is NO Gate that is going to keep the cat out. Just keep your daughters door shut at night while she sleeps. That is what I did with my children.

Of course if the problem persists you may just have to throw the cat outside. If that is not an option fill a water bottle up and when he goes near her room squirt him with the water. He'll get the idea after a while.

Just put the determined cat into a carrier overnight until you're up the next morning. ;-)

Can you just shut the door to the nursery? YOu can put a monitor in there to keep track of the baby. Other option, you can spray him with water everytime he goes into the nursery or you can get an alarm (pet magazine) that will scare him when he enters the room.

http://www.lowguys.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD...

You're right to want to keep the kitties out :o) I cannot think of a gate alternative, my first thought would be to close the door and have a sensitive baby monitor in there with her so you can hear every peep. Plus each day as your baby gets older you'll have less reservations about closing the door, when she's out of the 'new' stage. I think that's what I did with all of mine and I didn't have the cat issue. I know how hard it would be to give away your cat, it's family too! Good luck...

CLOSE THE DOOR! I had the same trouble. I was afraid of the cat getting in my son's room and jumping in his crib. I closed the door while he was sleeping (night and naptimes) your daughter will be totally fine if you close the door. You've got a baby monitor right? I'm totally neurotic about what goes on in my so'ns room and I have to hear everything. The monitor we have is so sensitive if I turn it up loudly, I can hear him breathing :) There is no reason a cat and baby can't coexist but you have to respect the nature of both. A cat will be curious and doen'st understand the boundaries of a baby. It's more harmful to her to leave her door open than to close it.

I do'nt mean to sound harsh or anything, but close the door. It will feel weird for the first night. Practice at naptime just keeping the door closed. I had to sit outside his door until I felt comfortable, but it's the best way. The cats can explore while the baby is awake and playing. She'll love to watch them walk all over, but I'm sure won't apprecitae waking up to a cat staring at her at night :)

It is natural for a cat to be drawn to a baby that smells of milk. I know you dont want to keep the door shut all the time but at night when you are not there to monitor the situation I would keep the door closed. You could use monitoring system in yours and the babys room. The closed door will keep the cat out and is also will best incase there is a fire. My mother always told me that a cat will suffocate a child trying to get the last bit of milk out of a babys throat. How true it is I dont know but better safe then sorry.

Put up a temperary screen door. Just a thought. R.

I can only think of one of two things. The first is closing the door. You said that you do not want to close the door though. We close our children's doors every night. We started doing it b/c it allows us to make noise w/ out waking them or if the phone rings, doorbells rings, etc They sleep much better with it closed and that is all they know. They each have a night light in their room and the monitor so we hear every move. You could keep the monitor with you at all times, they have a mobile one and then one that plugs in that you could put next to your bed. I absolutely would close the door to keep the cat out. I have heard some talk that cats can smother babies, not to mention the blanket smothering if it fell on the baby. My 2nd idea would be to get one of the hook and eye locks. The kind that is on public bathroom doors. It is a hook on the door and the eye part that the hook goes into is on the door frame. You can put it at the top of the door and place it where the door does not close all the way but will not open more than an inch. That way you can keep it cracked but the cat could not squeeze in. Those are great for front doors too later so your child cannot sneak out w/ out you knowing. I would serioulsy reconsider closing the baby's door, it will help in more ways than just the cat.

Good luck! W.

Go to Lowe's or Home Depot and get a cheap wooden screen door - it is only like $20.00. It is screen from top to bottom. That way, you can see and hear your baby, but the cats cannot get it. If you don't want to install it with hinges, use velcro to attach it to the door.

Get rid of that cat! now before something happens to your child!

S., you have got to let the cats go. Maybe once your daughter gets a little older you can bring cats back into your life but right your daughter comes first.

A crib net, could maybe help? I believe you can order them online. Try One Step Ahead or something like this. Even Babies R Us.
Truly cats are curious, but when destructive it could be something else? Are they getting the attention they did before? Are they being fed around the same time? Etc. Animals are creatures of habit. So if they're acting up, it could be just an unbalance since baby is new. Our cats have gotten back on track. They really just loved being near our newborns, so we just really tried to give them a lot of attention before bedtime. I hope it all works out. I would just hate for you to let a cat go only for the short season of adjustment.
Best wishes with your kitties and your baby.

Sounds like the cat needs some strategic training (although I'm not an expert on HOW to do it! I just ordered a dog-training course, though, and I expect there are some for cats as well). Also sounds as if the cat might even be a little jealous, so give him/her (the cat) lots of positive attention when possible. I've never known of a cat really hurting a baby (& I'm almost 51 -- 'Mom' to 4 & 'Mom-Mom' to 3), but the knocking things down could be a real problem, huh?

I would just put both cats in another room for night time and shut the door to keep them in there.

Most likely the cat will get bored with it after exploring a few times. You might remove all of the extra decoration in the meantime.

We get a catalog from a company called one step ahead. They make a stretchy mesh cover you can put over the crib to keep things from falling in. They also make a wide variety of gates. I believe their web site is the same name.

Congratulations on the baby!

you could stack 2 gates. my cats went in my son's nursery, but they only got in his crib once-that i caught them! they were in big trouble! good luck

Since you dont want to shut babies door..then shut the cats up at night.You could also get...if you dont have one already a baby monitor so you can shut the babies door and still hear her at nite..good luck..
S. B

Let me tell you what we did. We installed a screen door in the nursery. It kept the cats (we had 7 at the time!) out, but we could see and hear our son. Some of them picked at the screen, but that's no big deal. It wasn't a storm door, so we could hear just fine. When our son got older we removed it and put the real door back on.

Why don't you want to keep the door shut? That seems safest. Whatever you need to do to keep the cat out - your baby could be seriously hurt.

I developed allergys to my cats and I could not allow them in my bedroom. I also had the cat in the baby's crib because I would not let him in my bedroom. I found the only way to keep him out was a screen door. They sell woodframe inexpencive doors at low's and home depot and it worked well. They mount easy and keep everything out.

S.,

First, I have to ask if the baby's room has been off limits to the cats even before she was born? If that is the case, the cats are going to explore this new territory that they haven't explored before. I had a siamese cat who was a year old when my first baby was born. She was very interested in all the new things coming into the house before Kim was born and when Kim arrived she was very interested but cautious of the baby. By the time Kime was 2 weeks old, Ginger was sleeping at the foot of the crib..IF Kim woke up in the night and I didn't respond as fast and Ginger thought I should, she would come to my room and wake me. All that to say, that if the cats are part of the family, they need to be introduced to the baby and allowed to check her hout with supervision. It might be a good idea to close the baby's room door at night to keep the cats from making unsupervised visits to her room. When you are in the baby's room, allow the cats to be there with you. That way they will become accquainged with all the things there and not feel the need to explore so much..It might be a good idea to place things that can be easily knocked into the crib away from the crib until the baby is older. I hope this helps. I know that you want to keep your animal and human family intact. Ginger raised both of my kids and was with us for 17 years..I hope you have the same long lived family.

B. B

Hi S.,
You would be amazed that cats can jump over any gate! You could try putting another baby gate on top of the existing one, but it would probably be easier and safer for everyone to just keep the door to the nursery shut while your baby is sleeping. (If you have a monitor, you will be able to hear/see your baby perfectly and you will sleep well knowing the cat can't get in there.) I really like the Summer monitor I have where I can see my baby on the color monitor. I know many people want the door open at night for a little light to come in from a hallway etc. The best thing we did was get a dimmer switch to install in the nursery.

Also, I would hang your blanket somewhere that is out of your baby's reach. My baby is 6 mo old now and I was standing there when she reached up and pulled the blanket over her head. I have it across the room now :) I thought it was out of her reach before, but it wasn't.

My friend had to put up a screen door on the nursery, it was the only way to keep the cat out of the room. You have to be extremely careful with cats and children because they like to snuggle and sometimes even lay on top for warmth and we all know babies are warm bundles ...especially when they sleep. Good luck...and go buy a screen door asap!

We have 4 cats in the house...two of which are very adventurous...we installed a Kidco Extra Tall Center Gateway® Model G16...it is 42" high and we had one cat try to jump it...but it didn't make it...and none of them have tried it again. There website is www.kidco.com. It is pressure mounted...and works great...it is very sturdy and has never fallen. We have it installed to block off the hallway to the bedrooms. I was a little unsure if it would keep our cats out...but has worked great!

I am an animal lover also. Would have one of every kind if I could but there is a time when you have to put your priorities straight. Your child should come first and the animals aren't good to have when they are very little because of allergies plus the claws will scratch her and the animals don't mean to, they don't understand. I would get rid of the cats and all animals for a couple of years until she can enjoy them. PLUS, think of it this way, you will be able to get something small and young to grow up with her then and it will be more like hers and be more special. Don't put yourself through the hassel. Just find them a good home and then don't worry about them. Concentrate on your daughter.
About the bedroom being shut. I had to do that to my daughter everytime I put her to bed. Not because of animals but because of older brothers that were noisy. It turned out ok, it didn't hurt her.

I had a similar problem, and I made sure that there was nothing near the crib that the cats could climb on to get inside her crib. I had to move everything to the other side of the room, but it worked. Hope this helps.

My daughter's friend put a back door screen door on the bedroom door along with the regular door. It has worked for two babies so far. L.

I have found that this solution has worked for me : I purchase plastic window/door screening [from any do-it-yourself/handyman store]. Cut it 10 inches longer than the door opening. Fold over and baste in a 4" top hem. Get a springloaded curtainrod with which to hang the screening. Baste the bottom long enough to slightly touch the floor in the doorway. Insert a 3/4" to 1" dowel in the bottom hem and your baby's room should remain "a cat-free zone".

I heard that a screen door, the inexpensive kind you can buy in a home improvement store, can be easily attached in the doorway to keep cats out. Good luck.

As much as I love cats, I would either put them out, put up a screen door, (as previously suggested) or put them in a closed room. My babies safety would come first before I let a cat in the room. Good Luck!