Planned parenthood question

Hello all!
I'm new to this forum and thought I'd ask a question that is of interest to me! My husband and I are planning on having a baby this coming year (not pregnant yet!), this will be our first child. We have a puppy and a cat. Our puppy, Alexis, we are going to be taking to basic and intermediate obedience training along with a Canine Good Citizen course. Our cat, Abbigail, is going to be 16 yrs old in January (she was from an animal shelter, not sure how old she is exactly)...had her since 1990! Anyways, the baby's future bedroom is already off limits to both animals except for the occasional walk in there when we are in there then we all leave together My sister told me about a relative who put balloons in the crib to keep the cat from wanting to get into the crib. Is there any other things we can do to get our furry babies ready for a human baby?!!

If she is 16+ is she able to jump high? Seems to me that she would have a hard time getting from the floor to the crib.

Welcome to The Cat Site!

Here's an article that discusses babies and pets. I hope you find it helpful.
http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/in..._new_baby.html

you would be surprised!! She can jump high still, she jumps on top of our dinner table and onto our sleigh bed...although she used to jump super high when she was younger. She seems to figure out ways to get up on things, mainly b/c i think she is curious and wants to see what is up there and then if it is comfortable, well, she may just make herself at home! She used to not be allowed up on the table, but now we let her since it is another spot away from our puppy!

thank you for the link! I've heard of a few of those things beforehand, sounds like some sound advice!

I know a few alumni freinds of mine are dealing with new babies and cats.. .some just keep the nursery off limits, others use the screen door method (which I kinda like... although I'm not even college graduated yet, haha, I have thought about the fact that I will ALWAYS have pets and definitely have children at some point, lol) and I know one found some type of cap-thing for the crib... I'm not personally fond of the last idea as it makes me think I'd be putting the baby in a tupperwear dish! That site had a lot of great ideas though and I definitely agree with having friends/relatives with small children come to visit so your fur babies are used to a human baby running around! My parents had my first dog for 3 years before I was born and although she pretended not to be interested in me, she would guard my cradle in the living room when I was in it and wouldnt let anyone but my mom or dad take me out! Good luck with the pets and getting pregnant and congrats in advance!

Balloons? My cats LOVE balloons!!!
And you would`nt be able to have them on the crib when the baby gets very big. If they would pop that could be dangerous if the baby would get it`s hands on the deflated balloon and stick it in it`s mouth.

Originally Posted by touro1979

If she is 16+ is she able to jump high? Seems to me that she would have a hard time getting from the floor to the crib.

Click to expand...

My 17 yr old laughed at that remark and she evan has a touch of arthritis// sorry..

I like the screen method if you want to keep kitty and doggy out of babies room,,, I personally shared my space with my dog from six months on///

Yes, that is a good point...what if I didn't see a deflated balloon in the crib or diaper changer and our baby puts that in their mouth! ugh!!! I do like the screen door idea, since Abbigail can climb over a childs' gate I'm sure. We would have to find a screen door that doesn't bolt into the doorway or anything b/c we are in military gov't housing, husband is active duty Army...we are leasing a house thru the military lease program (we don't live near a base right now). We could try the childs' gate idea though b/c we already have one and have already used it for our puppy....I just think Abbigail will climb over it if she wants no problem. She knows I don't want her in that room already but she still tries to convince me she should be in there when she gets a chance!
We will take the advice from that website re:introducing the animals to the sounds, smells and other children. Alexis (our puppy) has been around babies already (well some toddlers) and she took to them immediately, she loves children! She also passed the test in puppy preschool when a baby was introduced in a stoller except she jumped up to kiss the baby on the face. But in person when introduced to a child in a stoller she only licked their fingers (gross!) so we'll have to teach her using a doll baby not to lick or jump on the baby. Abbigail has been around young children (my youngest sister is graduating from highschool this year and we have had Abbigail since 1990!). But, it has been a LONG time! lol So, using those ideas on the website you've given will probably be what we need.

thank you!

After you have the baby, take one of the blankets with the baby's scent home and let the dog/cat check it out.

Also any toys (squeeky or otherwise) let the pets hear them. And what you would use on the baby; powder, cleaning wipes, lotion.

While you don't want the animals to sleep in the crib, you should let them observe while you are taking care of the baby and sit in the room. Most pets don't like the high pitch crying and won't stick around in the room.

Also remember the pets were there first, greet them BEFORE you go to the baby - do not ignore the pets!

oh i have no experience in this but i remember reading some good advice from the net. they r as follows

toys - never let ur baby and ur pet play with the same toy, this will prevent them from fighting over toys and hurt each other.

names - when prasing your dog, say "good dog" instead of "good boy / good girl", becuz soon you r gonna say "good boy/girl" to ur baby, you dont' want them to be confused.

tolerance - gently pull ur dog's tail / ears, prasie him for tolerating. so if you baby do pull the dog's tail / ears in the future, he won't turn aggressive.