Cats and Babies

[prechrswife]

My husband and I are currently in the process of internationally adopting a child from China. Right now, we are up to our eyeballs in paperwork, but it is well worth it. It will be a year or so before she actually comes home, but I am trying to think ahead. Besides, it may be good to have some ideas in mind before our social worker does our home study. The babies are usually between 8 months and 1 year old when they come home, so she will not be a tiny newborn-sized baby.

Anyway, my question is this: Does anyone have any suggestions for easing the adjustment with our three cats? We are not as much worried about Samson and Chloe as we are about Saphirah. Saphirah tends to be pretty temperamental at times. I would really appreciate any advice that could be passed along.

Thanks!

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

Oh my, I am so excited about this. Not about the cats, he he, no, it's about you going to adopt a child!!
You won't regret this! We adopted 2 children, one from Korea, and one from India. So we know how tough the "preparation work" can be!! But, it is all worth it!! If you need any advize on that, please ask me! You can see pics of our kids on my web-site!
Good luck with your baby, and with everything!!

[catmandu]

Cats,and Babies,I think,have a way,of working things out,betwee them,as youir Cats,will treat the New Comer,as if she was a larger Cat.And she will be old enough,to understand you,when you admonish her,not to yank,the Cats tails,or ears.I think,that you will find,that they will get along,superbly.

[Laura's Babies]

You may find that one or two of them may be facinated by having a baby around. Mine are not use to babies but when Rie brings Dakota over, Giz follows him around like a love sick puppy... The rest of them just ignore him...

When Rie has Chester while I am at work, whenever she Holds Dakota, she said Chester has to get up in her lap too...

I think it will all work depending on your attitude and how much fear, anxiety, and concern you display. Just watch the baby that he/she, don't pull on, step on or hurt the cats so they associate the little tyke with PAIN....

I had a cat with my first child that use to babysit him in his crib when he cried. The cat would jump in his bed and lay there until he went to sleep, then get out and go on it's way..

[sirrahbed]

How exciting Dusty!

It has been awhile since I had babies and kitties but I do have my new granddaughter and there are 4 kitties at her house.

A few things we both did (daughter and I)

-let the kitties sniff and explore the baby things ahead of time. If you do not want kitties in the crib - start teaching them now. I allowed all my kitties in the crib but that is up to each.

- when the baby comes home - try to act as casual as possible and still give the kitties lots of attention so they have no need to be jealous. Maybe Sapphirah will need some extra pampering. Like Gary said - it is rather like introducing a newcomer

-as the baby gets older - he/she will need to be taught "gentle!" with the kitties and that is also pretty easy and natural.

I feel like babies and animals go together easily and well. I was happy to raise mine together and one of my boys was even adopted by one of our cats who decided he was "cat-babysitter" and was almost always near my son. He slept in the crib - but never close to him and for many years - was always close by and looking over him Now, all three of my kids are pet lovers!!

Congratulations and I hope the whole process goes smoothly for you! How exciting!!

[catcrazylady]

WOW! First off a huge congratulations!!! What a wonderful thing to do.

It is so hard to know how the kitties will react. I'm sure there will be some stress in the beginning and the ones you least worry about may be your biggest problems. You know how that goes!
I really don't know how you can prepare them other than if you have friends with small children, you could have them visit often or even babysit and see how the kitties do.
I do have one suggestion that may impress the social worker and that would be too get the kitties used to wearing SoftPaws. That would eliminate the fear of a baby being scratched by one of the furry boogers! It would also give the kitties time to get used to wearing them.
Sorry but those are the only suggestions I have. When the time comes for the baby to arrive you will just have to deal with each problem as it arises, and maybe there won't be any!

[GraciesMommy]

Don't have cats myself but still want to say Congrats! And I hope you get your baby really soon~~

[chrangharris]

Congratulations! That is so exciting to be getting a new baby!!

My baby is almost 7 months old (WOW- time so has flown)! As we were setting up the nursery, the cats were allowed to go in and explore at anytime. I never made a big deal out of them getting into the baby stuff unless it was Misha's crib. If I caught them in the crib, I would take them out and yell at them a bit. After a few times, they stopped going in the crib. If that doesn't work, you can also try double-stick tape or aluminum foil in the crib.

When Misha came home, DH carried her in the house and I went and greeted all of the animals. Each animal is allowed to come up to Misha anytime they want to "explore" her. I supervised them at first to make sure everything was ok but they never did anything. They were more curious by her. Now that she is older and reaching for them, I supervise her to make sure she uses a "gentle" touch. I even tell Misha "soft touch" and show her how. The cats will let her touch them for a minute or so and then they walk away. I don't force them to stay around- I want them to feel in control and when it gets to much, to feel that freedom to leave. Most animals attack when they don't feel in control or they don't have that freedom.

Misha adores all of our animals and they do very well with her. If you want to PM me, feel free to!!

[prechrswife]

Thanks for all of the great advice. We are very excited about the whole process, and want things to go smoothly.