what in the world should i do about my cat?

Question

my cat is a night owl. she sleeps all day long and comes out around 8 o'clock every night and disappears around 7 o'clock in the morning. i am 33 weeks pregnant and just set up a play yard in the living room. i put a cover over it hoping that my cat wouldn't climb in there to take her cat naps in it. well i keep on finding her there. i spray her with a water bottle and tell her no but she keeps on getting in it. i am scared to death that once the baby comes that she will work her way into the baby's bed and end up laying on him. is there anyway i can get her to become a "day" cat? or do you have any suggestions on what i should do?

she is scared of the out doors i have tired that. if i even walk to the back door with her she goes into a fit and jumps out of my arms

Answer 1

I cannot believe some of the uneducated, terrible advice that has been given to you on here. There has been some good advice, but there has also been a lot of bad.

I have 3 cats and a nine month old baby. As far as the baby's room is concerned, we installed a screen door so that when he's in his room the cats can't get in there. However, when he's not in there the cats are allowed in. This is because cats are naturally curious, and the more you try to prevent them from something the more likely they are to try to get at it. Let your cat explore the new baby stuff - that way it won't be so enticing.

As for when the baby comes home, introduce the baby to the cat slowly and in a positive way. You are going to need to relax while you do this because if you don't your baby and the cat will pick up on your tension. A best case scenario would be if someone could bring home something of the baby's (ie: a receiving blanket) with the baby's scent on it before you two come home so the kitty can get used to at least a little of the baby's new scent. I've included links at the bottom of this answer as to how to best prepare your pet for your baby's homecoming.

What has been my experience? Yes my cats were curious when we brought my son home, but truly I tell you that they wanted nothing to do with the strange new crying, squirming, weird thing that entered their house. Now that we're all used to each other the cats do not try to sleep on him, "steal his breath", claw him (no, my cats are NOT declawed), or do anything bad to him. They actually kind of give him a wide berth now that he's crawling (the cats, by the way, were a great motivator for my son to start crawling. I call him "feline motivated"), but when we're cuddling on the couch the cats join us and it's really nice. We also have a play gym set up in the living room. One of my cats does sleep in it. I've just decided that there are more important things to worry about in life and just lint brush off the cat hair before I lay my son in it. It's really not a problem.

Research has actually shown that babies exposed to animal dander as babies are actually healthier with fewer allergies. My son is exposed to dogs and cats on a daily basis and has even met a horse. I do not leave him unattended with any animal (it's just common sense) and he does not meet any animal until I am 100% sure that the situation is safe and the introduction is done in a very controlled manner. One of the things I really want to teach him is to be respectful of animals, not afraid of them.

Finally, take your cat's feelings into consideration. Your cat's domain is going to be usurped. This is going to be a very stressful time for your cat, so do everything you can to make him/her comfortable and do what you can to make the situation as smooth as possible. Hitting a cat is not only unacceptable but is usually ineffective. Turning your cat into an outdoor cat is not only unacceptable but is dangerous and terribly neglectful. Remember your cat is a member of your family who's needs should be listened to.

Sorry to lecture, but this is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. My final advice? Relax. I know it's hard right now because you don't know what your life is going to be like with a new baby. However, it will work out. Just be smart & prepared, and stop sweating the small stuff. 'And get that screen door!

If you have any further questions, please consult a veterinarian. You can find one at http://www.aafponline.org/

Good luck!

Answer 2

Give the cat a room of its own to sleep in. Failing that, get a really nice cat bed (there are new ones that heat up when the cat is in them) and put catnip in it. Get several and put them in different places in the house. Constantly put the cat into them.
If the cat is sleeping all day, and up all night, then why worry that the cat will sleep with the baby and hurt him? The baby will sleep at night while the cat is awake. If the baby's sleeping during the day, you'll be right there to make sure the cat stays away.
You are not going to be able to change the cat's biorhythms. You can try to keep the cat away and playing during the day but to me it seems like the situation you have is better, for the reason I just outlined.

Answer 3

Do not try to force your cat outdoors, the cat would be better off being rehomed than that.

things to train he cat away fro the pay yard - citrus smells or commercial "cat away" products (spray them on a cottonball to put in or near it), tinfoil, double sided tape. Maybe give the kitty a new bed/condo with some catnip so she's distracted from "her" new structure.

It is pretty unlikely that the cat will try to lay on your baby. mine wouldn't get near the baby until he was several months old and by then the issue was stopping baby from hurting kitty. *wink*

This article mght help too - http://www.thesunchronicle.com/articles/2005/10/21/feature/feature62.txt As a bonus, check out that cute baby and pug! (ignore the confused looking mommy.)

Answer 4

Cat's are nocturnal by nature and you really shouldn't worry about it. I had a cat who was my spoiled baby when I had my first son. I was worried about her being jealous and possibly trying to hurt my son when he was born. Stupid of me I know now. She ended up taking to him like he was her baby. She'd guard his bassinet and not let the ferret around him and would come and meow at me about 10 seconds before he'd start crying.
She'll probably check the baby out on her own good time and you should let her. Keep an eye on the baby for sneezing or runny nose, watery eyes.. in case he's allergic to the cat but other then that, you shouldn't worry to much about the cat as long as you're right there with the cat and the baby.

Answer 5

I have four cats and each one have a mind of there own, the last cat that we had gotten was a stray and I had put it in a pet taxi at night because I didn't want to be awakened by the cats fighting, This cat is now up and playing during the day and sleeping at night. so you might want to try that.

Answer 6

the cat can lay on the baby, there is what some people call, stealing the babies breathe. they try tolick the milk smell out of the babies mouth and can suffocate the baby. so try to talkto the vet and see if they have any suggestions on what smells cats dont like that will repel them from the play yard. is there something your cats does not like? like a stuffed animal or something? Maybe if he sees it in there he wont jump in. but becareful, my mom told me about the suffocating of the baby, it happened to my brother. and he actually had some brain damage due to the lack of oxygen.

Answer 7

Cats are more so nocturnal animals by nature. So to cure the method of sleeping will take alot of work..Give the cat more stimuli during day.

However to get them to stop sleeping somewhere use the following..
Water bottle not working... its not a serve enough punishment. If you really want them to stop... I know this sounds cruel and spanking is an old method but swat their butt three strong but not love patt times whenever you catch them and say really loud NO!!!!.

My wife and I have two cats, one of which liked to lay ontop of the head board at night when we were sleeping.. After implementing this corpral punishment she no longer goes on the headboard of the bed.

Good Luck

Answer 8

put aluminum foil on on the surface cats cant stand the feeling of foil on the fur. if you have a nusery for the baby, put a screen door up that way the cat cant enter but you can still see and her the baby. good luck!

Answer 9

Baby wont be in the play yard at night so let the cat do what she wants.

Answer 10

Cats are basically nocturnal hunters, sleep during day and hunt at night. try adding citronella to your spray bottle that definitely deters cats.