We rehomed Sox around 18 months ago and shes now aroun 5 years old.

I have a few questions if anyone would be able to help?, we are due to have our first baby anyday now and my obvious concern is the cat around the baby.

Currently Sox has access to everywhere including our bedroom, we have had the moses basket out for a few days and she continually gets in there despite us shooing her straight out. The only way I can get her to stay off it is to fill it with a bag or something. Is there a way I can get her to learn its off limits as at the moment she doesnt seem to be getting it?

From tonight we are going to move her bed into the kitchen and shut her in there at night just for peace of mind when the baby is here that she wont be sneaking into the babies moses basket. In the kitchen she will have her food, water, bed and cat flap. My other problem is every few weeks she refuses to use her bed,we buy her a bed and she sleeps in there all the time, then suddenly she just stops using it, I have washed it, moved it somewhere else but nothing until we get her another, is this anything anyone else has experienced with their cat?

She is currently bedless as she is refusing her current bed again but I dont really want to keep replacing it, any tips?

Thanks

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Hi

I had cats when my babies were born, many years ago though. I gave the cats lots and lots of love before and after the baby and always made sure they had lots of treats, I also let them come to me when I was holding the baby but always let them know not to get to close. Cats don't tend to scratch or harm babies, in fact the opposite, she is more likely to want a cuddle with him/her, hence your'e fears I assume.

I used a net to cover the babies Moses basket/pram/cot which I bought from Mothercare but I would think that most baby shops would sell them even now.

The worst thing you can do is make her feel left out, which is very easy to do as understanderbly you will be caught up with the new arrival, have you tried getting more than one bed in different rooms for her and put in a sweatop or blanket that she likes and has your'e smells on, that way she will still think you are close, cats are very intelligent and I think she is already sensing changes and is probably a bit nervous.

Just be very vigilant with her and the new baby, Probably not much help but good luck with your'e new arrival and remember, before long you will be in a reverse situation where you are having to protect the cat from the toddler. lol

Thanks for your reply.

I was wondering if maybe the change in her behaviour is partly because of her sensing a change. She is definately not 'normal' lately and pretty much refuses to sleep anywhere else, She has her usual bed in the usual place, I put down a pillow on our bedroom floor which she would nearly always opt for but last night she slept on the side of the pillow on the floor and then eventually on the bottom of the bed?

She tried to get in the moses basket once again last night and within seconds I got her out and told her  'no' etc and she hasnt attempted it since and its empty now, instead shes lying on the bottom of our bed (her usual place) or near me when im on the sofa etc

I think your right though and im going to make sure she has as much attention as possible now and when the baby is here and im sure we can all live together quite nicely! x

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Hiya

I am sure it will all be fine as long as she has lots of love, cats do get very insecure.

Do have think about the idea of a net over the basket/cot etc as I think it will also give you peace of mind that she won't try to climb in with the baby if you have to leave the room even for a short period of time.

My boy cat is obviously not feeling too well tonight, he has tried to climb onto DP's lap when he was on-line and ended up really scratching his leg as he is wearing shorts so Mork had nothing to cling onto, lol and it's taken ages to type this as he was sitting on my hand. feeling sorry for himself at the moment.

Good luck with both your babies, hope all goes well. x

My son is now 4 months old and our 4 cats tolerate him. We deliberately got swinging bed (amby nature nest) and a tall chair that the cats don't like.

One of the cats has tried to sit on him a couple of times when he was in the bed with us but we moved the cat, and since DS has become more kicky, the cats are more wary of him. However we often get a cat on our lap or next to us while DS is having a cuddle.

They don't like the crying but have got used to it and dont leave the room anymore. It probably took 3 months for DS to notice the cats and for the cats to get used to the new arrival. I am sure it will change once DS is crawling after them.

K