How to keep the cats out of the baby room?

[felixrosbergen]

So...not really HA related but wanted to get some input from you bright minds anyway.

The wife and I have a baby coming in a month or 2 and we also have 2 cats.

Our cats LOVE to lay on us while sitting, watching,tv and sleeping This is obviously a cause for concern wrt to the upcoming little one.

However we also don't necessarily want to keep the baby's room door closed all the time.

Somebody at some point had mentioned a screen door in addition to the regular door...which sounded good except...
- it would be pretty ugly
- the solid door swing into the bay room, so the screened door would need to swing out...

Altogether not a very attractive situation.

Somebody else had mentioned some sort of retractable screen which rollls up/in sideways and supposedly you can mount these inside the jam.so at least when we're not using it it wouldnt be in the way like a screen door would.

I'm starting to investigate this option, but wanted to see what other possible ideas there could be short of killing the cats, high voltage tasers, etc as i'm sure are about to be suggested.

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[electron]

While you can train cats to do a lot of things, one day, they might decide to ignore that training (instinct kicks in when hearing noise, etc.), so you really would need a physical barrier. If you do figure something out, let us know, it's a common problem that usually forces the owner to give up the cat.

 

[BraveSirRobbin]

Proximity shock collar?

 

[Ridgeline]

How about a dog?

 

[Steve]

Maybe you can import some of Dan's mice and have them multiply, then maybe that will keep your cats preoccupied and away from the baby?

 

[Lagerhead]

A "baby gate" (accordion type) works for keeping dogs out and is only a slight inconvenience. Cats are less polite than dogs, however, and they may go over the gate, ignoring your wishes.

 

[Digger]

Even if you close the door the cat may scratch at it all night trying to get in if it is curious. Lived through that and its a PIA when you are trying to get a few hours sleep between feedings.

You may want to temporarily relocate the cats to another part of the house where they may not feel the need to investigate a babies presence. At one point we kicked the one cat out of the house at night so we could sleep (he was the one scratching at the door to the babies room).

I heard of a mat that can be put on a couch or counter top that the cats would not want to walk on. I think I also heard of one that made a noise if a cat walked on it to scare the cat away. Not sure if you could that in place now to train the cat to stay out of the babies room.

 

[FaderJockey]

I heard of a mat that can be put on a couch or counter top that the cats would not want to walk on.

Maybe duct tape folded back on itself laid side by side to cover a foot or so into the room?

The cats would likely despise the stickiness, but you could simply step over it.

 

[drozwood90]

How about a dog?

+1

 

[pete_c]

I purchased a dog when my children were about 3-5. My children and the dog always got along. They are older now and have gen II of the same dog.

The parrot (the other pet) was always around (33 now). She stayed in her cage but I used to leave the door open. The parrot was older when the kids were born and the bird never caused any issues with the kids or the kids with the parrot. They would talk to her and she would talk back to them all the time.

When the dog was a bit older he would bark at the parrot. One day the parrot flew down to the dog (the parrot would seldom fly). Pounced on the dog and nipped it in the snout (blood everywhere). Dog went to a corner in the house and whined a bit. The injury was minor but I believe the dogs feelings were hurt. He never barked at the parrot again after that.

 

[Vycor]

What about something that is a motion detector down low... if it goes off it maybe turns on some type of compressed air shooter? Which will scare the cat away.

 

[wuench]

Personally I wouldn't trust any type of automation to protect a child. You could get one of those anti-static mats with the spikes on the bottom and cut it up and turn it spike side up. That would probably deter them.

But it might be simplest/best just to keep the door closed. If the cats do decide to scratch at the trim or door you can fix it in a few years when the child is older and you don't need to keep that cats out. It is worth a little damage to your door/trim to have the peace of mind that your child is safe.

 

[nov0798]

What about a canopy that goes over the crib? The baby could still get air, because the sides of the crib are open, but not large enough for a car to get through. Otherwise, an indoor type of dog fence that uses a colar. When they approach the door, they get shocked. The will get the picture rather quickly.

 

[troymt]

I had a wonderful Siamese but he was dumb as a box of rocks. He would constantly do a few things that I wished he wouldn't so I took a spray bottle with water and anytime he would try and scratch a particular piece of furniture I would give a quick shot of the water. It only took about two months and he got the message.

Spray the cat when he gets near the baby's room.

 

[Neurorad]

A baby gate might work if the cats are not agile. It worked well for our aging cat.

If you have a crib, and not much next to it (changing table, dresser), may be enough. A crib would be a much greater challenge for a cat than a baby gate.

A potentially more difficult problem will be napping in the bouncy chair, outside of the child's room.

In each of my houses, over the last 7 years, we had areas of the first floor cordoned off with baby gates - mostly to keep toddlers away from stairs, top and bottom, but also worked well for keeping the baby separated from other kids.

I'm guessing your cats will learn quickly to stay away from the baby.

We used this hinged type at the top of stairs:

Hang it so it swings away from the stairs.

I like this style for wide, cased openings, available in white or dark, with extensions on one or both sides for a good fit. I prefer the hand latch over the foot pedal, but mom may prefer the pedal release.

We used this style around the bottom of a staircase that jutted out beyond the stairwell:

That retractable screen door may be good, if you can try it out in the store or elsewhere; really needs to be 1 handed operation.