Suggestions on how to handle this?

[1gobluedem]

I have a new niece, three months old, who is my parents' only grandchild. We are all going to Milwaukee to have Christmas with them. Problem: my brother and sister in law have four cats. My mother is terrified and I mean TERRIFIED of cats. Her mother was too. There is no reasoning with her about it, they just flat out scare her silly.

She is also asthmatic and my father and I are allergic.

My sister in law doesn't want to shut up the cats for more than an hour but also wants to open presents at their house so the tree is in the background of the baby's first Christmas. In her mind she is compromising (although she thinks my mother should just face this fear) but my mother will want Christmas to be far more than an hour.

My brother does what he can but my sister in law can be pretty stubborn and moody when she's crossed. If we don't handle this right she will give our whole family the silent treatment at Christmas and punish my mother by withholding the baby from her.

Right now my sister in law is being pretty welcoming and is looking forward to our visit. How do I handle it with her so we can have more than an hour on Christmas Eve without the cats in the room? My mother and my brother are expecting me to come up with something.