Preparing Your Cat For Your New Baby
Before we had our nine-month-old daughter, O.C. the orange cat was our baby. She sat in my lap every evening, and slept by my pillow every night. As I got closer to delivery time, I worried about how O.C. and the "other cat" Lily were going to react to the noisy new addition to our family. Here are some tips that worked for me in getting our cats ready for baby:
1. Allow your cat to explore baby's room. As you get baby's room ready, let your cat in to satisfy her curiosity. If it's off limits to kitty before baby, it will only be more appealing to explore once baby arrives, and the last thing you want is kitty checking out baby's bed with baby sleeping in it. And trust me, even if you want to keep the room off limits permanently to kitty, at some sleep-deprived point in time after baby arrives, kitty WILL find her way in there unobstructed.
2. Get kitty used to crying. Now some pieces of advice I read suggested playing a tape of a baby crying all day to get your cat acclimated to the sound of baby's wails. I didn't go that far because I didn't possess that kind of patience yet (I quickly developed it when my newborn had colic and acid reflux!), but I did try to get the cats at least familiar with the sound. Try searching out a couple of videos on YouTube and crank up the computer speakers, or if you flip through SuperNanny, turn up the TV volume now and then. At first it will freak out your furry friend, but after a few times, they won't think much of it.
3. Introduce baby's smell before you come home. Have a friend or family member bring over a piece of clothing baby has worn in the hospital before you come home with your little bundle and leave it somewhere kitty frequents. Your cat can then familiarize herself with baby's scent and it won't be so new when baby comes home.
4. Keep the routine (sort of). Life with a new baby can be stressful and hectic at first, so attempting to keep kitty's life completely normal is just unrealistic. But try to keep some of the most important components in place. Feed kitty at the same time as she is used to, keep her water dish and litter box as clean as possible, and give her a little cuddle/play time as well. Don't hesitate to enlist the help of friends or family!
5. Still keep a watchful eye. Even though my cats did not like small children before we had our daughter, they adapted quite well, and now take her petting, poking, and chasing like champs. However, some cats may not be quite as quick to adjust and may lash out if scared or threatened. Your first priority has to be baby's safety, so if kitty seems hostile around baby, give them both a break and keep kitty in another room for a little while. Toss in a few of baby's things to keep the familiarization process going while giving kitty a cooling-off period.
Using these tactics can help ease the stress of a major household change. But above all, give kitty time to adjust to the new family member. It may take her awhile, but cats are amazingly adaptable, and before long, neither of you will be able to remember what life was like without baby!