Who’s My Sweet Baby?
Jodi Webb
When my husband and I brought home Simon as a kitten when I was six months pregnant and elderly neighbor predicted doom and gloom. The jealous cat would suck the breath right out of the baby. On a hormonal roller coaster I quickly called my vet who assured me that, “No, cats are not out roaming the world looking for infants to attack.”
Despite the dire predictions Simon loved the baby. Correction: Simon loved the baby stuff. The bassinet, the stroller, the baby seat, the high chair. We always knew where to find him now. He was curled up in one of the tiny pieces of baby equipment that seemed made just for him—they were tiny, they were soft, and they were often pushed out of the way in quiet corners of the room. Well, you can only wash the soft cushions that line the baby stuff so many times. Not to mention the one time he jumped up into the already occupied bassinet and began snuggling up to the baby. Then we became determined to keep Simon out of the baby stuff.
If you have trouble with your cat thinking you bought a whole lot of cool beds for him here’s our advice:
1. Clear out a closet and designate it the “baby stuff” closet. You can also try having one room as the “baby room” but babies and their stuff tend to spread through every room
2. If you can’t put things out of reach, fold up whatever you can—stroller, high chair, etc. when not in use.
3. Make the baby stuff really uncomfortable. We tossed slight scrunched pieces of aluminum foil into the baby pieces when they weren’t in use. Others have tried balloons or aluminum cans tied to the sides. They’re very discouraging to a cat in search of a quiet, comfy spot to sleep.
It worked. Simon gave up on the baby stuff. But cats are not elephants—they forget. When the next baby arrived we had to go through the whole process again.
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