New baby and very stressed cat

[vacay]

We've had 2 babies in under two years and our 4 year old cat isn't very happy at the moment!!
I don't actually think it's the newborn but the toddler! She gets very excited when she sees him but this turns into being boisterous and chasing ooor cat ! Obviously we tell her no and pull her away from him but a lot of it is her age and not understanding.
Anyway I have brought a feliway plug in to use as the cat is scratching himself so much he's pulling his fur out!!
Are these plug ins okay to have the newborn breathing in ??

The plug-ins are safe but they won't help while your toddler is still chasing and doing all the things that are creating the stress in the first place.

Do you use baby gates and have lots of safe, high up areas for the cat to escape to? Cat trees, high up cat beds and lots of shelves etc. for the cat to jump on should help, as well as making sure his food etc. is in a nice, safe quiet place.

I'd look at rehoming the cat if you can. The poor cat has this toddler to deal with now and then another one in a couple of years

I usually hate the idea of rehoming animals but the poor cat sounds very stressed

You need to make sure the cat has a way of escaping from the toddler. You also need to teach her to be gentle with the cat when she does have access to him. Show her how to pet him gently. I think it's a wonderful thing for children to grow up with pets.

Maybe the vet could prescribe something that would help?

I wouldn't consider rehoming at all unless the cat was deeply unhappy.

The cat needs places to escape to that the toddler can't get to. Lots of praise for toddler when they are gentle.
My cat used to run and hide as soon as she heard DD but as DD has got older and less screechy and unpredictable they get on very well. Cat v fond of DD now.

Like others the cat needs a safe space to escape to. Cat trees, window sills, top of cupboards all perfect. Our cat was 4 when our daughter arrived. She was fine with the baby, less so with the toddler stage. Kind of stayed out the way. Now they rub alongside ok; we still see the cat the most in the evenings once kids are in bed.

I would install a whole lot of raised cat walkways along the walls so your cat can navigate each room completely out of toddler's reach, with plenty of hideaways and tunnels where they can feel safe, but having the option to come down if they want. High value treats like Dreamies and focussed one-on-one time with kitty on those occasions where both little munchkins are asleep should help with their general quality of life too.

Thanks for the tips.
He is not a poor cat and I certainly won't be rehoming him, he is a very much loved member of our family. Hence me trying to figure out how I can help him.
He does have the front room which I dry the washing in, very warm in there and he spends alot of time in there. He seems pretty happy in general but obviously isn't because he's scratching so much.
Would plugging the feliway in that room help? This room is completely out of bounds to toddler she only has access to part of the lounge, the issue is cat getting through this part of the lounge to the kitchen because it's all open plan.

You can use more than one Feliway so having them in different rooms of the house could be a good idea.

If he's scratching rather than over-grooming there could be something else going on - is he up to date on all his medication like flea treatment?

Yeah he's all up to date. Weird though as he used to do this when he was about 1, lots of investigations and nothing was ever diagnosed the vets put it down to pollen? But then it stopped after that and he hasn't done it since until now!
There was nothing back then that would've been stressing him out either 🤷‍♀️

Is the feliway definitely okay to have in the air around a baby then ? I have anxiety so I'm worrying myself abit over anything harmful in the air around baby and going over the clothes in that room that are drying
On the packet it just says dangerous if inhaled into the lungs or something through swallowing ?

It's absolutely fine. Put it out of the way of your toddler though so they can't grab it or lick it or anything.