Our cat hates our baby

Hi girls,

I know this is only loosely baby related, and more cat related but I've seen quite a few people talk about cats before so wondered is anyone had any words of wisdom!

Our cat (female tabby, 10 yrs) seems to hate Isla. When Isla was tiny she would hang around in the same room and we thought all was fine, even though she'd never come near her, but as Isla got bigger, louder and more mobile she's got more and more odd. She skulks past her (only when essential to get past her, like she could pounce any minute) which has worried me and I've kept a close eye, but for the most part she bolts out the house as soon as Isla makes a noise (even if it's a shriek of excitement cos she seems to love the cat!).

I've tried approaching the baby holding the cat, and approaching the cat holding the baby but I just don't seem to be able to integrate them.

A few weeks ago it then got to the point where the cat started peeing all over our fitted doormat in the hallway (this was at the same time we changed the catflap so wondered if it was that) but we've sort of overcome the catflap (almost - will go out the catflap but not back in.....), but yesterday we've gone to a whole new level and I found she's pooed in the baby's bedroom, which is awful as she's never ever pooed in the house the whole 10 years I've had her.

I don't know what to do. It seems to be getting worse rather than better, we fuss her plenty in the evenings when she tends to show her face after the baby has gone to bed, but I just can't trust her to be anywhere in the house now, (she pooed in the nursery when we were in the house).
She spends 90% of her time hiding in the garden (day and night) which is fine now but in winter I don't know whats going to happen.

Anyone else had cat problems, and did they pass? if it had been that she'd attacked Isla or anything then the decision would be made and she'd be re-homed, but this is also a situation I feel can't go on, can't have pooey protests in the baby's bedroom but at the same time feel gutted she might have to go.

Any tips gratefully received - sorry it's a long post.

Love N & Isla (9 months) xxx

Hey nikki,

aw hun I really feel for you was preparing myself for the rehoming decision before Kaitlyn was born as one of our cats is very aggressive so can imagine how you must feel. Have to say ours have been brilliant, much better than I expected even Paddy who's the violent one. I watch them like a hawk around Kaitlyn but they're still wary enough not to put themselves in the firing line too much, she loves them though and will grab a handful of fur as they walk past if I'm not quick enough! Have to say I do think it's worth checking whether there's any health concerns with your cat, may well just be coincidence she pooed in Isla's room rather than anywhere else in the house, not saying she mightn't be feeling a bit pushed out and jealous but the two things aren't neccessarily connected and it's strange that she's suddenly made a mess when she never has before. Know there are some aspects of animal behaviour that can be attributed to jealousy etc but I would definitely rule out any health concerns before jumping to the conclusion that's what this is. If you can check the obvious stuff yourself and don't find anything it might be worth a quick MOT at the vets just to be on the safe side, would be awful if you went ahead and rehomed her and then it turned out she was ill and it could have been sorted. Keep us informed hun, hope you're ok.

Loadsa love,
Clare and Kaitlyn xxxx

Maybe its because Isla has become more mobile your cat maybe scared of her / she could be ill? Have you tried touching her stomach, teeth etc?

When our cat was 17 she started weeing and pooing everywhere she had a few problems...I think if your cat had a problem with Isla she would of shown signs of it before when Isla was younger?

Hope this helps in some way?

Lucy & Rosie (11weeks tomorrow)

Aww hun

its awful when you have to think about that!

the only thing i can think of is the same thing you do when bringing a new kitten into a house - with the cats you rub a towel over the new one then rub it over the old one so they basically smell the same for a bit - then reverse it, old cat on new cat.
i'm not suggesting you make isla smell like the cat :P but maybe you could try rubbing the cat with one of isla's blankets (if she still uses cellular blankets? or maybe she could use one for a week in her cot then use that?)

i wouldn't try the holding the cat thing again though - she would feel trapped. our cat, cleo, used to be terrified of kids, thankfully we managed to get her past that. but before we did i once held her to show her the small girl near by was ok - well, my little finger got ripped rather badly as cleo kicked out of my grip. ow!

anyway, the smell thing could be worth a try - keep repeating it every few days.

at the moment our cats are fine with siri - they have started going up to her when siri is on her tummy doing her little press ups and smelling her face (with me ready to pounce lol) and they just walk off again. all the time siri is smiling so much! at the moment when she manages to grab them they freeze then when her grip loosens they slink off as fast as possible while trying to make it look like it was their idea in the first place lol


is there a room where isla does not go? a guest room or something? could you get some cat furniture for her? oh there is a thought - cats love being up high so they are above everything else - makes them feel safe. we have bought some of those garage shelves from ikea, the really cheap ones, and covered the shelves in sail cloth and and uprights in sisal(sp?) rope. the cats love them! they can climb up them, scratch as much as they want, it's great for their claws, and most importantly the top shelf is on the top setting so they are the highest in the room.
if you do this, make sure you wear gardening gloves when wrapping the sisal rope around as it is rather tough on the hands. and also make sure it is not a coated rope - we got our supplies from a boating/sailing shop (easy in a port town). and you need to wrap the rope really, really tight. it's quite good exercise for the arms actually lol. it'll take a few hours work, but it's well worth doing. and much cheaper than any bought furniture of that height. you can spray it with catnip spray to make it better for her.

what sort of cat is she? i would think she wil be fine outside during the winter. we certainly have cats outside all year around here regardless of the temp. well, they are probably inside when it hits -20 but even that i am not sure of lol

good luck hun
hugs
elizabeth & siri (& 2 wary cats lol)
xxxx