Well........is there a medical reason why the cats can't be in the room? Has the Dr. said that cats shouldn't be around the baby?

I ask because if your daughter was aware of this then she should have been spending the last months of her pregnancy or at least while the baby was in the NICU to acclimate the cats to sleeping in a different room. Since that didn't happen, she needs to start working on new arrangements TONIGHT if she doesn't want them in the room. To suddenly close them out of the room may create some behavioral issues along with them meowing most of the night due to the sudden change. IOW's, she can't just suddenly close them out of the room. If I were in her position, I would sleep with them in a spare room (if that's where they're to end up) to help them get used to sleeping in a new location. I would also use some of the bedding they're familiar with. She can do this until the baby comes home and she or her DH may have to continue it for awhile for it to be successful.

The only way I know to keep the cats away from the door is to lay down a scat mat.......a plastic pad that has an electrical current running thru it. It'll work, but one has to remember that humans will also get a little jolt if they step on it. But, I would use that only after working with the cats to get them used to a new sleeping area.

Interested in hearing comments from other members..............

Congrats on the new baby!! No worries, somethings surrounding the event of a new baby are just unforeseeable. I would simply get either an extra large plastic or metal crate so it has room for a small litter box and their food. You can house them in that at night until the situation with the baby changes. I used a plastic one to help contain the litter a little better.

When we first got our indoor cats, they kept running past us whenever the door was opened. One was so aggressive about it, I was really afraid he'd eventually get hurt. So we started using a kennel whenever we had company or felt their safety was at risk. It worked like a charm and luckily, even though they still like to use the crate, they've now out grown the urge to run out the door. We also used it to transport 2 other cats across country.

Thanks for your comments. I'm the one concerned about the safety of the baby, not my daughter and not a few people I've talked to today. One suggestion which we will try is to put a net over the baby's bassinet, use a baby monitor and leave the cats to continue to enjoy the master bedroom.

I had a suspicion Grandmother was more worried than the parents. : )

It sounds like the cats are a true part of the family, and I'm sure everything will be OK. My only suggestion is to be careful of netting over the bassinet since you wouldn't want a cat to end up tangled in it.

While trying to find a good bassinet a buyer of one we're looking at posted a picture of two cats sitting in the bassinet when the baby wasn't there, fortunately! . If not netting, then what can you put over it when the baby is there asleep along with mom and dad asleep?

I saw a few options of covers available....here's one that may work. My worry was the loose type of netting vs one with a frame.

Another way is to place sticky tape along the door frame so when the cats scratch the door they feel the tape (which cats do not typically like) and they may eventually stop. I say eventually because I have a couple of cats that are very adaptive ;) Many people use this technique to train cats to stay off of their kitchen counters also. I myself would not be terribly worried but I am a "cat person" and have cats myself and of course brought my newborn home to a cat that slept with me so....

Bazillions of people bring home babies to homes with cats everyday. Most of the time, cats want nothing to do with babies and stay far away. I am sure they will work something out and all live happily together.