How to Stop a Cat From Peeing on Baby Things

There are so many scenarios where your baby may come into contact with cat urine. Having a cat pee outside the litter box is especially challenging for parents. Luckily for you, we’ve created this in-depth guide on what to do if your cat is peeing on your baby’s things.

To start, it’s worth considering your cat may be experiencing some physical problems and isn’t purposely peeing on your baby’s stuff. Before we dive super deep into specific cat spraying scenarios, here are some quick basics to keep in mind:

• Don’t use bleach to clean your cat’s pee. Bleach will enhance the smell of ammonia.
• Cats will return to the spot if the urine smell is still there. Just because you cannot smell the pee, doesn’t mean your cat cannot.
• If this problem of cat spraying cannot be fixed, you may need to rehome your cat.
• Child Protective Services can become involved in situations with excessive cat spraying. The agency takes reports of animal excrements very seriously.

Now with these quick reminders out of the way, let’s begin our deep dive into protecting your baby from your cat peeing on the baby’s things. Keep in mind, there are agencies that may get involved even if you don’t have children in your home. Whistleblowers can notify these agencies that your cats aren’t being cared for properly if the urine issue is out of control. If such a report was received, Animal Control and/or the Health Department may come knocking. They may require inspections if they deem there to be an issue with cat urine in your home.

Is cat pee dangerous for babies?

Cat pee is certainly dangerous for babies. Cat pee is dangerous for humans of any age, let alone a baby. Child Protective Services agrees, so follow our helpful tips to stop your cat from peeing outside the litter box. Cat urine contains very high levels of ammonia which may cause respiratory problems in both the adults and babies in the home. Additionally, if your baby is suffering from bronchitis or asthma it’s even more imperative for you to fix this issue with urgency. Observe your baby for red eyes, itchy skin, or a runny nose. These symptoms may be related to the cat peeing outside of the litter box.

Cat pee is extremely dangerous for babies.

Exposure to cat urine is dangerous for your baby. Over time, the ammonia will solidify. As it solidifies, the ammonia content becomes even greater and therefore more harmful to your baby. If your cat is peeing outside of the litter box, do everything within your power to remedy this issue immediately.

Consider how much time your baby spends playing on the floor. If you have carpeted floors, the cat urine can get stuck inside the carpet that your baby is crawling on. A parent on Reddit suggests using 16 oz hydrogen peroxide, 1 teaspoon dishwashing liquid, and 1 tablespoon baking soda.  Rub this combination into your carpet. Let it dry before vacuuming up. If the cat can smell the pee on the carpet, they’ll continue peeing outside of the litter box.

I’m pregnant and my cat is peeing everywhere!

When you’re pregnant, your cat might begin peeing everywhere. You will experience hormonal changes. Cats can detect these hormonal changes in your pregnant body and may react terribly. If your cat is peeing outside of the litter box on purpose, this is a pretty high point of escalation. In addition to hormonal changes, consider what other changes your cat may notice in your pregnant body. Are you moody, sad, tired, queasy, irritated, etc? Outside of physical changes, these emotional changes may impact your cat.

How to stop your cat from peeing outside the litter box during pregnancy:

Your cat can sense your pregnancy. Are your daily routines changing? To retaliate, your cat may begin peeing outside of the litter box. These changes can stress your cat out. Your cat may even be jealous of the new baby’s arrival. If your cat is doing something like kneading at your pregnant belly, it’s likely jealousy isn’t the issue. Kneading at a pregnant belly is a sign of affection.

There are ways for you to help your cat adjust to your pregnancy. These include the following:

• Make changes slowly
• Give your cat extra cuddles
• Is it psychological (jealousy) or health-related? Check the litter to determine if your cat is having a health problem.
• How much time has passed? Give this at least a month. Your cat may stop peeing outside of the litter box all on its own.

If nothing works, rehome your cat before Child Protective Services gets involved.

Is your cat spraying after a new baby?

It can take a very long time for a cat to adjust to a new baby in the house. Before your baby was born, was your cat the love of your life? If so, your cat might be peeing outside of the litterbox because of the change of treatment. Your cat is no longer the golden child. He is second place to a human now and that doesn’t feel good to him. To retaliate, your cat might begin spraying after a new baby comes home.

How to stop your cat from peeing outside of the litter box:

Your cat needs somewhere to hide from the new baby. Try finding an elevated spot for your cat to rest or eat. If impossible, seal the area off with a baby gate. Doing so will provide your cat a chance to escape your baby. Is your cat elderly? If so, it’s important to gradually make these changes. An elderly cat will have a much harder time adjusting to a new baby than a younger one.

If possible, try to make preparations before the birth of your baby. Making some of these changes once the baby arrives can complicate things a bit.

A cat prefers to deal with something stressful by hiding in a high, dark, secluded place that offers a good view. From the comfort of a hidden spot, your cat can learn your baby isn’t a threat. This lesson needs to be established from the comfort of your cat’s sanctuary. Try investing in an igloo bed for your cat.

Give your cat somewhere to retreat from the new baby. Encourage your cat to retreat by using your cat’s favorite blankets, tasty treats, etc.

Did your cat pee in the baby’s crib?

If your cat is peeing in your baby’s crib, this is 100% a sign of territorial behavior. In addition, your cat is showing displeasure. Yes, your cat likely doesn’t enjoy your baby. To stop your cat from peeing in your baby’s crib, try our tricks!

You can install a temporary screen door over the crib or even use a crib tent. Putting either of these over your baby’s crib can help keep the cat out. Your cat might pee in your baby’s crib when stressed. With these preventive measures in place, your cat will no longer be able to relieve stress by peeing in your baby’s crib.

How to stop your cat from peeing on the crib:

If your cat insists on peeing in your baby’s crib, it may be time to move the litter box location. Consider placing your cat’s litter box near the baby’s crib. This new location might prevent your cat from peeing outside of the litter box.

Try putting aluminum foil and balloons in the crib to keep the cat pee out. Only do this if your baby hasn’t been born yet. Other parents have had success using cardboard and tape. Try cutting a huge piece of cardboard in the same dimensions as your baby’s crib. Before placing cardboard over the crib, stick double-sided masking tape to the cardboard. Your cat will likely hate walking on the tape. This may keep your cat out of your baby’s crib for a long time, possibly even after the cardboard has been removed. Your cat will remember this and may stop peeing outside of the litter box.

Is your cat peeing in the baby’s car seat?

If your cat is peeing outside of the litter box on your baby’s car seat… yikes! It might be worthwhile to just get a new car seat altogether. When babies begin teething, some babies gnaw at the car seat straps. If your cat peed on those straps, that means your baby will get cat pee in his/her mouth! This is so toxic and dangerous. In this situation, your hands are more tied since cleaning a baby’s car seat requires extreme care. For example, the straps and harness should never be submerged. You’ll have to spot clean those areas to remove the cat pee from the car seat. Consider calling the car seat manufacturer and ordering more pads, cushioning, etc.

How to clean the baby car seat after cat spraying:

Do not use any cleaner other than water to clean your baby’s car seat of cat urine! Some parents online suggest using vinegar. However, using anything other than water can eat away at the harnesses and straps. Ultimately, this would compromise the safety of your car seat if you cleaned it with an abrasive product. Use only water. While we do not recommend it, some people use hydrogen peroxide to clean the cat urine off the plastic portion of the car seat.

Once the car seat is cleaned of all cat urine, try putting some Vicks Vapor Rub on the car seat. Most cats hate the smell. Hopefully, your cat will not return to the scene of the crime to keep peeing on your baby’s things. You may want to invest in a good water squirt gun. The moment you see your cat approaching your baby’s things, spray your cat. Eventually, your cat might just see the water bottle and stop the bad behavior without spritzing.

How to get cat pee out of Pack ‘n Play

If only the Pack ‘n Play was vinyl coated! That would make life so much easier when your cat decides to pee on your baby’s things. The Pack ‘n Play is more of a nylon material. Getting that material soaked in cat urine could very well ruin it. Some parents use Oxcyclean to clean cat pee out of a Pack ‘n Play. In addition, a vinegar solution is highly recommended to get the scent out. The goal of removing the scent is to stop your cat from peeing in the Pack ‘n Play again. Whatever room this is in, please make sure the door is always closed. Do not allow your cat access to this room again.

Was your Pack ‘n Play purchased new or used? If used, your cat may be attracted to a scent from the previous owners. For example, did the previous owner have animals? Consdier this scenario. Sometimes parents purchase a home that has been previously lived in. Suddenly, their cat starts peeing outside of the litterbox in the new home. Why? Because the previous owner had dogs, cats, etc. Consider this possibility if your cat peed on your baby’s Pack ‘n Play.

Ultimately, it might be safest just to discard the urine-soaked Pack ‘n Play completely. A new one isn’t too much of an investment. As we’ve established, cat urine is very dangerous for babies. Replacing the item will be much cheaper than your baby getting sick.

Conclusion

What is your cat peeing on? Did we miss something? Please leave a comment below and we will update our article with ways to get your cat to stop peeing on that specific baby item. Thank you for making it this far into the article. We hope you’ve been able to gain some more understanding about ways to stop your cat from peeing on your baby’s things.