re: Pets. HLEP!

we have a cat, and he's pretty good. just really dumb. he knows when he's doing something he shouldn't. before i got pregnant we argued about declawing our cat, but once we found out we decided it was in the best interest. he likes to play rough, and we were worried he might hurt the girls.
i've also heard a few people say that once the baby arrives, then cats at leaast tend to stay away alot. i think babies make alot of them nervous and unsure. others i've noticed try and protect the baby. the only problem with that though is they try and stay close in which case a crib tent is a good idea.

Quoting ♥sharon:“ cats are weird sometimes though. i had a cat with an attitude and sometimes, if she was in the mood, she would let you touch her and other times she would attack lol i miss her!”

My nephew was visiting from Hawaii and he is only 3 months, and my sister was holding him and he started crying and the cat attacked my sister! It was nuts, he has never done anything like that before, and he is so old lol, but my mom has never had a baby in the house like that before either.

My vet did not recommend declawing our cat Missy because if she ever got out she would need to defend herself. But I know about the running away when she is doing something she has no business doing it actually is quite annoying. because she knew what she was doing was wrong, but do it anyway. My vet said to spray vinegar on the cords and where I did not want her to be, but the idea of vinegar in my baby's crib, I did not like it. Besides that stuff stinks. So I went to Petsmart and talked to the puppy preschool teacher about how to stop bad behaviors in a cat and she told me to buy this stuff called Bitter Apple Spray it is in this white and green bottleto stop her from not only getting on my baby's things but biting the telephone cord, my husband's ties, and sharping her claws in our carpet and shoes. I did the water bottle first and that only worked when she knew I had the bottle with me. She would see it and run. But this stuff has some kind of odor they don't like and she won't even go in the nursery anymore. I just sprayed in front of her nose and said no and she would go running in the other direction. It took two weeks for her to get the idea. So now all I have to say is no when she is doing something bad and she will go running the other direction. Hope it works for you.

Thank you thank you for all the advice. Unfortunately we tried locking her out of the room but she's digging up the carpet and I dont want to pay $800 to replace the carpet when we move out.She seems very dependant. Haha.

There are alot of great ideas here!! Im def going to try the stuff from Petsmart, and a crib tent we tried water bottles when she was younger and she likes water! She'll jump into a full bathtub, so maybe the odor will help.I know she is just in the crib smelling but it irritates mebecause it's not her bed! She shouldnt be inthere, plus her feet drag litter and I dont want litter in the crib. She also claws the side of the crib, my bumper is getting snags on it and I havent even used the crib yet.   She also torn up a crib sheet that i hadnt even gotten out of the package. Grrrrr. I love her to death but the stuff she does just makes me upset.

awww declawing is sooo mean, and expensive! i bought these little hot pink rubber/plastic tips for my cats' nails. they just glue on the ends, and will grow out after a few months and then you put new ones on. they're cute, and you only have to do the front paws.

NO don't declaw kitty - owie zowie. It would be better to give kitty away to a good home than to declaw. I have 2 cats with PhD's in scratching. Once we put up the crib, they became obsessed with it. I have to keep the door closed to the room (which I hate, because the room is so damn cute) because NOTHING will keep my cats out. They get in there every single chance they get, and I swear I've tried everything (but the crib tent).We are simply keeping the door closedas our #1 cat deterrent. We have a bassinett too, but my catswon't go in there because itMOVES(rocks back andforth) and it creeps them out. I figured we would have some issues with the cats, and this isn't TOO bad. I just hope there are no problems once the baby is born. Good Luck.

Quoting CourtneyC22:“ So, we have a cat and we're expecting our first child in 5 weeks (or less!). We have the crib all set ... [snip!] ... room at night, but we cant do that until she gets declawed cause she tore a hole in our carpet! Im so frustrated....   Help.”

I doubt that the cat will climb in the crib once the baby is in there. They make too much noise and are usually a bother to the cat. My cat never bothered with either of my children. And in fact hid from them until they were about 3-4 years old.

I would definitely NOT declaw - there's other ways to stop them from scratching. Declawing is basically the equivalent of amputating the fingersof a person & yes, it is very painful to the cat physically & emotionally. When I was a kid my parents got our cat declawed &they said never again after seeing what that poor cat went through pain-wise. My husband's cat came to him as a stray already declawed - poor guy - his front feet looked all disfigured.

Do you have enough scratching posts around?We currently have 3 cats, all indoor only, none of whom are declawed, & I have four different scratching posts around the house for their use, two carpet, one cardboard & one sisal rope. They use them religiously & stay away from our furniture & carpets. I periodically rub catnip on the scratching posts to reward them.

As for keeping them out of the crib, I "2nd" the aluminum foil suggestion. Cats hate the feel & sound of it so if you lay a big sheet or two in the crib they will never go back!

I have 4 cats and only my female is declawed. had another female years ago and had them both doen back when they were 4 mts. Had them declawed for the carpet and furnature destroying. Well my boys were not declawed due to they went outside and never bothered things in the house when they came in. Well now we live in town (which I hate) they cannot go outside and they are now 11 yrs old for the boys and 12 yrs. for the girl. Well, they have decided to attack my girl. Well the vet has told me the reason they attack her is because she is declawed and the boys know this and take advantage of this weakness. They litterly try to kill her I believe. So I have to guard her. I myself well NEVER declaw again! But I didn't know back then. Good luck with you problem.

I also say pls don't declaw!!

I have 9 cats and 3 ferrets. Everyone has their claws.  

We have a crib tent II (the one that goes all the way down the mattress, crib tent I only covers the top of the crib). They're great. The cat might try to balance on top of the tent just to check out what's going on, but b/c it's wobbly, s/he will quickly stop that.

Our cats also scratch a lot, but my husband hates carpet and is replacing everything w/ hardwood.

We have a few cats who pee. BUT, they've been doing this long before I was pregnant. One stays in our master bathroom b/c she can't play nice with the two youngest cats. One is convinced she's "wild" and will spray (yes, a girl who sprays!!!) her territory and sometimes squat. And a 3rd cat is on Prozac b/c of inappropriate urination. The Prozac stopped the peeing, but it's also a med she'll have to be on permenantly.  

Quoting Our little miracle:“ I have 4 cats and only my female is declawed. had another female years ago and had them both doen back ... [snip!] ... I believe. So I have to guard her. I myself well NEVER declaw again! But I didn't know back then. Good luck with you problem.”

I wonder if they also starting attacking her b/c they have to be around her all the time now? Perhaps the boys being able to go outside was concession enough to leave the girl alone...

Quoting THJ:“ I would definitely NOT declaw - there's other ways to stop them from scratching. Declawing is basically ... [snip!] ... foil suggestion. Cats hate the feel & sound of it so if you lay a big sheet or two in the crib they will never go back!”

Some of ours don't mind the foil b/c they also know we use foil for food! So they risk touching it to see if there are any yummy leftovers for them! ha!

Cat trees are wonderful. We have a 8 ft, almost 6 ft, and 3.5 ft tree. One is all carpet and the other two are carpet & sissal rope.

Quoting Momma_x3:“ I doubt that the cat will climb in the crib once the baby is in there. They make too much noise and are ... [snip!] ... to the cat. My cat never bothered with either of my children. And in fact hid from them until they were about 3-4 years old.”

yes! and the first time the unaware cat gets some fur pulled by a tot trying to "pet it" will teach the cat that this thing has no control yet!  

Quoting flirtychick84:“ awww declawing is sooo mean, and expensive! i bought these little hot pink rubber/plastic tips for my ... [snip!] ... ends, and will grow out after a few months and then you put new ones on. they're cute, and you only have to do the front paws.”

I had clear ones glued on to one back foot by our vet to keep a kitten from scratching a hot spot on her neck. the outer two stayed on & grew out but she somehow got the middle two claw caps off and still scratched her boo-boo.