What am I supposed to do about this?

~Roo'sMama~ wrote: Last night our new kitten (whom I really love - I'm just a little ticked at her right now )discovered she can climb up into Andrew's crib, and she woke him up in the middle of the night. He woke up screaming, too, so I think she must have been playing and scratched or bit him. After I got him calmed down I shut the door so she couldn't get in there again but I really don't like having the door shut... especially since it's summer so we have loud fans blowing all night and I could barely hear him when he cried again later. If I had been sleeping harder I wouldn't have heard him at all.

I don't know what to do - I don't want to lock the cat in the bathroom at night or anything. We've had to do that with cats before and I hated it. The only solution I can come up with is to keep Roo's door closed, and I hate that. I can put the monitor back in there so I can hear him but I'd still rather have the door open. Oh well, I guess when she grows out of her playful kitten stage I can leave it open again.

moped replied: ummmm, I always have jacks door closed - that does seem to be the only solution to me.

~Roo'sMama~ replied:
Yeah I think you're right, I just still don't like it. I don't know why I prefer to leave his door open, but I like it to be at least open a crack. I guess I'll get used to it, and he'll probably be fine too. I'd better go dig out the baby monitor!

Kirstenmumof3 replied: My cats used to do the same thing when my kids were in the crib. They just thought it was another thing to play in. I guess you are going to have to weigh out locking the kitten in the bathroom or closing roo's door. That really is a tough one!

mysweetpeasWil&Wes replied: I would probably lock the cats in before closing Roo's door, but that's JMO. We do close Wil's door, but crack it as soon as he is sound asleep. I'm not a cat person though...so maybe I'm not a good person to ask.

A&A'smommy replied: I kinda know what your going through except its a puppy thats bothering my child anyway we use a baby gate if you have one that she can't climb over you could do that instead of closing the door!!

Boo&BugsMom replied: We declaw our cats. They still jump on the beds though (he's not in a crib), but it's usually US, not Tanner.

my2monkeyboys replied: A friend of mine had one of those mesh tents that went over the crib to keep her kitties out (she had 2 or 3). She said it worked great, and no one had to be shut-up in a room. I keep Will's door closed bc when he opens it, it wakes me up and I know he's up. Also, our house is small so it helps block noises that may wake him up when he's asleep. I used a monitor when he was in a crib, but after he moved to his big bed I just listen for the door.

Zoey replied: We tried the crib tent thingy, but it didn't fit our crib. We have four cats and came up with a great solution. We bought a cheap, light weight wooden screen door and installed it so you pull it open not push (cause kitties can push lol). The regular door is still there so we can close it if need be but, the screen is there, so air gets in etc and kitties stay out!

I hope this helps!
Zoey

MommyToAshley replied: If I am not mistaken, I think Di (Kaitlin'sMom) put a screen door on the bedroom door so that they could hear kaitlin but the cats couldn't get in.

coasterqueen replied:
ooh,that's a great idea.

We keep Megan's door closed anyways because she is too sensitive to noise, but there have been on ocassion that it got left open a bit and Smokey would sleep in her crib with her. She would wake up a bit freaked out, but that was about it.

I'd try the screen. I know there are velcro type ones you can buy to put on.

~Roo'sMama~ replied: A screen door or crib tent is a good idea, I'll have to think about that. Of course things that involve buying anything aren't happening very fast around here right now so I'll probably still end up with the door closed. I thought of a gate, but I know she'd just jump over it and if I stack two gates on top of each other I'd have too hard of a time getting to Andrew fast enough when he wakes in the middle of the night - not to mention it would be a big pain. I'm sure we'll end up getting her declawed eventually but she's too little for that still, and we can't afford it anyways. I wouldn't mind if the Smudge (the kitty) would just go in and sleep with him but she's just so playful! Thanks for the suggestions everyone! I'll look on ebay to see if I can find a cheap tent for the crib, and ask Dh about the screen door idea.

coasterqueen replied: I bet you could get the screen door thing a lot cheaper than the crib tent and a better option IMO. You could go to your local hardware store and get screen and velcro and do it yourself, or Dh if he's handy.