Hi
My twins will be here next week but will be in hospital for a few weeks. We also have a 10 year old cat who is an affectionate old chap, but has been used to just me since he's been little (and Hubby in the past few years). He's not aggressive at all, more overly affectionate - loves to snuggle up with anyone who'll have him! We're a bit worried how he'll take to the new little ones & dangers such as him getting into the cots/moses baskets etc. We're keeping him out of various rooms to try and get him used to the new arrangements, but he does try and sneak in when you're not looking. I'm worried I may leave the door open inadvertently when dealing with one twin and he sneaks into the cot of the other.... How have other pet owners dealt with this? I'd hate to rehome him since he is a family member as well - the flip side of the problem is also that we don't want to be unfair to him and have him sitting outside all the time feeling distressed as he can't get into the nice warm house he's used to!

Long post - any tips welcome!

Thx

I'm pretty sure you can get cat nets to cover the cots just in case you did forget, but tbh, I don't think you will - they're your new babies and you'll probably be checking on them every 5 seconds! Is there any chance you could keep him in the kitchen? We've always done that with our cat as the cat flap is there so he can get out as well (and he has a tendency to poo on the carpet if you let him anywhere else!) We have his bed & food in there too. Having said that tho he is a very lazy cat, I know some like to roam around more. xxx

I am in same situation with my cat although he does like going outside. I have bought cat nets and banned him from upstairs (which he will obey now after 6 months of training!!!). My house isn't big so I can keep tabs on where Simba is but I will not be leaving him in the room with the baby at anytime. I'm taking no risks!

Sorry, dont have any advice but at least he's an affectionate puss!

My moggy likes to give a good old nip now and then (and sometimes he can really bite and it bloody hurts!). I dont know what to do with him once baby comes apart from he will have to stay outside more (he is a young cat and likes to go out hunting!) plus we have a shed in which he has a cat basket so its not too bad. I couldnt give him up though as i do love him!

xx

Hi, I started to keep my cat outside about halfway through my pg to get him used to the idea. I bought him a little moulded plastic shelter from the pet shop (its like a mini doghouse) and put loads of straw in it and placed it in a secluded, sheltered place. I also started to feen him by his new house so he associated it with grub. He has been fine and has actually put on weight since moving out! He does sneak in now and then, but I have never had a problem with him going in the cots etc, he tends to curl up under the stairs

If this is not an option for you, then maybe get him a cosy bed somewhere warm and peaceful, and put stair gates in place. Then Im sure he would chose his bed rather than struggle to jump over the gates and search out the cots? You will also have the bonus of closing stairgates being second nature by the time your lo's are mobile! x

Thanks all. I've seen the cat nets in mothercare so will get some of those. We've also got a cat bed in the garage - fancy thing which looks like a round barrel but is insulated so keeps him warm. We don't have a cat flap into the kitchen but do into the garage & he does use it, so hopefully he'll be fine with that. We've already started keeping the doors shut upstairs which he doesn't like but has (almost) got the hint. Although I've just left our bedroom door open and he snuck in and is currently sat under the bed refusing to come out. He knows a 7.5 month pregnant lady can't get to him - he's not daft. I guess I'll just have to have eyes in the back of my head and make sure I always know where he is.
So I think we've done as much as we can, although I am still feeding him in the kitchen. I'll take your tip babybump3 and start putting his food near his outside bed. I only feed him inside as too lazy to waddle out to the garage....:lol:

My own fault for mollycoddling him I suppose - he's been my substitute baby for the past 10 years so it'll be a bit of a shock for him when the 2 new interlopers arrive! I agree though - couldn't get rid of him, I'd feel awful. I think we'll just have to see how it goes.

Thanks!

hi your cat sounds very much like mine- very friendly! my lo is now 4 months and i have had no problems. when was pregnant we banned him from upstairs and kept the nursery door closed at all times, now he occasionally sneaks onto our bed but never goes in nursery. our cat sleeps and is fed in the kitchen so if i am leaving the room i put him in there. once he jumped in the pram (lo not in it) and i shouted at him and put him in the kitchen must of realised not allowed as has never done it since. i am sure your cat will be fine and you will have no problems and twins will love him my lo does! x

Just thought that those of you worrying about your cats might like to hear how we got on with ours. Tigger is a fairly antisocial sod who will drape himself all over you when it suits him but hates visitors and has a habit of nipping and scratching (particularly your feet) if he is bored. I was worried sick about how he would react with Millie, I was fairly convinced that at some point he would either try to sit on her or go for her because she had pulled his hair. As it happened my fears were totaly unfounded, when she was tiny he hated the noise she made and just used to hide at the other end of the house. Now she is bigger he is more patient than you could imagine, she chases him around the house, pulls his fur (if we don't get to her quick enough) and gives him VERY enthusiastic hugs. Despite all the provacation he has never so much as snapped at her! The other day he went under our bed to get away and didn't quite go far enough, before I realised what she was doing she grabbed his tail and tried to pull him out by it. I am fairly sure that if I tried that I would loose a hand but he still didn't snap. I can only assume that he knows she is a baby and can't help it!

we have 2 cats (we did have 3 when DS was born) We got the first 2 when DD was 7 months old so they grew up used to little children. When we had DS I did buy a cat net for the cot but never really used it as we just kept the door shut. They are very tolerant, and poppy, the littlest cat even let DS put crayon lipstick on her, LOL, she could have moved but she didn't!! both allow the kids to 'play' with them. At night we shut the hall door to keep them down stairs, took them a while to get used to it, but their fine now, forgot to shut the door the other night and they still stayed down.

This is something I have been thinking about as we have a cat who is a little bit on the wild side & i've been worrying about how she will react when the baby is here. We know there's no way she could be re-homed as she is just too mad but at the same time it's not her fault that the baby is coming along so I think i'm going to get a cat net & just have to be extra vigilant in not letting her upstairs although she loves sleeping in the hotpress!
Lauren (35+3) xox

Hiya, was thinking the same thing...we have 3 cats, who we do keep out during the day and in at night! If we close our bedroom door, they used to scratch the hell out or the carpet, but we've been slowly getting them used to only being allowed in certain places. Luckily, we have 3 bedrooms, so the 3rd is now theirs....spoilt little brat-cats!!!
Sarah xx
PS: I'm also going to get the cat nets, just in case!