Cats & New Babies

[CupcakesHay]

Hi

I have 2 cats who are now about 8y.o and we had since they were about 6 months old.

Love them both to death!

They are both indoor cats, and very placid - although do have the odd fight with each other.

I think they'll be fine but MIL is worrying a bit?

Can I do anything to ease them into baby? I live abroad atm with cats, but having baby back in UK - so will probably come back with baby when it's a month or so.

Any advice would be great!

Congrats on baby!

We had two cats when we had DS1. I bought a net to stop them from getting into the cot but, tbh, I never used it. They both gave him a pretty wide berth. The girl cat did get into the cot but only when the baby wasn't in it.

My mum reckons she found our cat at home curled around the top of my brother's head when he was a baby.

So, I guess it depends on the cat! Get a net and see: you may not need it.

I have a tabby cat, who prior to having ds was very aggressive towards me. I was really worried about having to rehome him (he's an indoor cat) but he's been part of the family for seven years, even though we don't get on. After I had ds he has become a changed cat. He never attacks me anymore, is friendlier, sits and watches ds and sometimes even let's him have a stroke. Ds is obsessed with him so I hope in the future they will get on. I'm really glad I gave the cat a chance as he's really been a very good cat. Congratulations!

Thank you for considering the welfare of your cats! You are right to make preparations. The sudden arrival of a baby can be a stimulus for unwanted behavior (especially indoor cats) and is one of the top three reasons for cats ending up in rescue.

My top tips!
Make sure your cats have their own spaces away from the activities of the new baby. If you need to change this, do so now and over a period of time so the cats can adjust to the alterations. Make sure these places are pleasant hide-a ways that the cats enjoy. If the cats have access to the room destined for the baby, start denying them access now.

Smell and sound is incredibly important to cats and the arrival of new baby paraphernalia/baby smells may disturb them. Borrow baby things (or a baby!) from family or friends and dot around the house periodically before baby arrives.

There are also plug in / wipe pheromone products that can help cats relax during stressful times and it would be worth looking into using these.

If your cats have been ?your babies? (not uncommon!), start very slowly distancing yourself from them ie if they are used to sitting on your lap, remove them and replace with a cushion or other substitute so that your cats become used to sharing your attention.

Hope that?s of some help! ;)
Miranda

We have 2 neutered male cats and a 10 month old. Had no problems tbh. Got a feliway plugin and spray, started using when baby came home. We had let cats have a sniff around the baby stuff and rub with their chins so it wasn't all strange objects at the same time. Introduced gently to newborn, let them sniff his head but not touch. They were interested more than frightened, but never tried to get into pram except when it was empty.

Now he is mobile they keep a wider berth, mainly because he loves and is fascinated by them, so they move a few feet away whenever he gets too close to avoid his grabby hands. But they haven't looked too bothered. And if they're in the mood, they don't mind him stroking, and just walk off when they've had enough. And since weaning began, they have discovered that sitting by the highchair can mean nice bits of cheese or chicken fall out of little hands :)

My advice would be to watch closely to see how they are reacting, and give them space and time, and some cuddles if you possibly can when baby sleeps. let them interact with baby but in a controlled way. And your lucky baby will hopefully have 2 loving furry friends!

My cats were 5 when I had my DD. Never had a days problem with them! Only concession to having the cats and a baby was to make sure the nursery door was closed kept closed if she was in there or not. This discouraged the cats from ever finding a new fav spot in the room.
My DD is 9 now and I think loves the cats more than me!!

Hello, we had to rehome our two indoor kitties after DD born :(, was not going to post as didn't want to be negative but i have a virtually full Feliway diffuser which I am happy to post to you if you CAT me (excuse the pun!) your address.

I had eight cats when I had DS1 and three when I had DS2. I have to say I was anxious about how the cats would react before DS1 but they were never really interested in either of them.

I would agree that they need to be able to get away from the noise and we always kept to the same routines of feeding them.

Both my boys love the cats and the cats are more tolerant of them than they are of adults tbh.