cat + newborn

[mougi]

another threat today - hope you will have some thoughts on this too. do you have any experience with a cat in the house and a newborn? the cat has been "our baby" for 3 years and we are soon going to have a real baby. do you have any advice how to make it work? my cat doesn't go out.

[tvt]

Congratulations on the upcoming baby. When is the big event?

I know the old wives' tale is that a cat will try to suck the breath out of a baby because of jealousy, but I honestly think that a cat lays with the baby for the warmth and bonding. It is still a danger, though, because of the fact a newborn baby cannot move around and get away from the cat that is laying too close. Please, do not let the cat sleep in the same room with the baby until the child is much older!!!
When the baby comes home from the hospital I would let the cat smell the baby and see that the baby is a non-threat to his enviroment. It won't happen automatically, as any cat does not like anything new in its territory. (I have even noticed that when one of my cats has been to the vet, the other will hiss at it because it smells like the vet office when it first comes back.)
But as long as you "involve" the cat with the baby by letting it always smell the baby and be around it (supervised!), there shouldn't be a problem with jealousy.

[furrykidsmother]

I read your other thread before this one. I think what I posted in your thread regarding the change of situation will also help here.

[mougi]

thank you!

[dragonchilde]

Hey mougi! I'm expecting also, and we're trying to make changes slowly around here to keep our three indoor furkids happy. It's been bumpy here and there, but the important thing is to be sure and pay them LOTS of attention. Lots of play, and let them know they aren't being replaced, and they'll adjust more easily.

How far along are you? I'm 21 wks.

[mougi]

i have only 2 more months to go (if lucky ;-) maybe your situation is a bit easier since you have 3 of them - they are company to each other. or? mine has been our dear baby, always there for me, and now i will be too busy with the baby. he is so confused already about the daily schedule - just not sure when the breakfast was or when and where to take a nap...hope it gets better over the few more weeks i have, because it would be very annoying with the baby aorund. i am really not sure if he'll be able to adjust. he is clever, but....we have been his parents only....:-)

[moosmom]

The first thing you'll need to do, while you're in the hospital, take a baby blanket and kind of rub the kid down with it and bring it home. Let the cat sniff it to get him used to a new baby smell.

Whoever is the main caregiver of the cat should NOT carry the baby in the house when you come home. Let the main caregiver of the cat make a fuss over the cat while the other parent bring the baby in. Set the baby carrier on the floor and let the cat approach the baby.

You'd be very surprized how curious cats are. The cat will sniff the baby and kinda walk away as if to say, "Oh, is THAT all???"

I hope both your transitions go smoothly.

BTW, the old wives tale of the cat sucking the breath out of the kid is just that, an old wives tale. The cat would smell the forumla on the baby's breath, which is how the old wive's tale came to be.

[Cataholic]

I am going to post here, and in your other thread.

I had 7 cats at the time I had Jonah. I am a single mom, and I work full time. Having Jonah, and bringing him home- NO BIG DEAL! I seriously think that this whole thing is totally overrated, and that it is nothing more than "if you believe it, it will come". By that I mean, if you start out looking for strange behaviours and want to link them with a new baby, you will find them. My cats ranged in age from 1 year to 14 years. Every single one of them adjusted without any issue. Now that Jonah is beginning to crawl pretty quick, they are learning they need to stay two steps ahead of him, or their hair might get pulled.

As to not having enough time to take care of a cat (or dog or whatever) once a child gets here.....I struggle with that concept. The pets are no less important then you, your husband, your skin child, your job, your sense of self, etc. You make the time. And, while I am making it sound very simple, I write from personal first hand and very recent experience. I will admit to hiring someone to cut my grass to free up some of my time, and to putting a crib tent on the crib to make sure the cats didn't jump up there while Jonah was very little. Now, at 10 months, I wouldn't worry. They would be crazy to jump in there now. BUT having the crib tent still on the crib means I can keep the crib on the higher setting without worry. Usually by 10 months, I should have lowered it to the lowest setting since Jonah can easily stand up. I can't stand the bending over to put him in there asleep, and having to worry about him waking up as I 'drop' him the last 8 inches...LOL.

Again, I wouldn't spend much more time worrying about the cat adapting to the baby. There are some things I could tell you to start worrying about with the baby only...he he he....but not the cat and the baby.