Nervous cat and new baby on the way

[SaltedCaramelEverything]

I am 6 months pregnant with our first baby. We currently have 1 cat (age 2) - who is VERY nervous! He regularly uses the spare room to sleep, but it's most important to him when visitors come. Whenever he hears the door (even just a letter from the postman) he usually bolts upstairs. At the weekend it took him 5 hours to surface when my dad was round (he was fine when he finally came down - lay down next to my dad!).

We are going to turn the spare room into the nursery, starting this weekend. We won't really want the cat in this room once baby is here. Also there won't be anywhere for him to go in it anyway. We are getting rid of the bed that he likes to hide under as we don't have another bedroom to put it in for him.

Instead, we have ordered a blanket box for the landing - we plan to put a cat flap in the side and the sheets from the spare room bed that have his scent on so this can be his safe area. We'll also pick up some plug ins (feliway?) as these have helped to relax him in the past. We currently keep our bedroom door closed so he can't go in, but if he does get really stressed by visitors I'll let him hide in there.

Any other tips or things we can do to help him adjust would be really appreciated!

Zykelene is very good and I found a Pet remedy diffuser better than feliway with my nervous cats. Like the idea of the blanket box but be prepared for him to shun it completely!

Thanks will look those up.

Yes very ready for him to refuse to use the new box. It would be excellent if we could use it for extra storage... but if he doesn't use it I don't actually know where he'll go when he's scared because something terrifying happen has happened such as me sneezing

Oh god, one of ours is a nervous cat who sounds v similar. He celebrated the birth of our first child by pissing in the car seat, and the basket of the pram, so they were kept in the front room with the door shut. Distinctly remember washing a pissy car seat cover with one hand while breastfeeding a newborn in the other arm. At 3am.

Was incredibly relaxed when the second was born - maybe more used to kids, but I suspect a large amount of Feliway in a quiet room has helped.

The constant stream of visitors didn't help. Does he have access to the outside, so he can just clear off if it's all too much?

Also, and may be of no help at all, but the second was a homebirth so I wonder if the baby just smelt of home/us, not cars and hospitals. Can you Feliway all the baby kit well in advance, and keep it in rooms he uses now, so it's familiar?

Give him lots of attention when it's just you and DP so in the lounge when you're watching TV. Make sure he has plenty hiding places, high up ones too once baby is mobile
We started shutting Vinocat out our room from about 6 weeks before my due date. The first two nights were hell meowing (she isn't a vocal cat) and scratching at the door but she adjusted fine apart from a protest pee on some of my clothes.
Finally, in case people in real life say otherwise cats and babies do work just a bit of common sense and all is ok. Ours turned out to be quite maternal; her and DD(now 7) are good buddies.

Big cat post with hides? Our 2 have had one for 2 years and still use it. 2 hammocks, cosy beds, tunnel and various bits to scratch on. About 7 foot and cost £45 online!!

Interesting post. We took in a semi feral rescue in September and are now expecting our first baby (due October).

Catface has just (in the past 2 months or so) started coming out and about during the day.

She still hides under our bed when the doorbell goes. But can be coaxed out.

When I'm home she's like my shadow. She first sat near me on the couch the day before I took the pg test so we think she knew.

I'm hoping once the baby arrives she'll be ok. But if not, feliway patience and dreamies all over again.

The blanket box hidey is a great idea though. May steal that!

I can't stress how important this is

Under no circumstances should your cat find out that the blanket box is for him.

In fact, I'd go so far as to tell him he mustn't use it. Then he might!

Seriously though that sounds really good.