How to Prepare Your Cats for a New Baby

6.17.2010
One thing you hear a lot when you are pregnant is how your pets are going to take a back seat after you have your baby. Some people feel strongly that their furbaby will get just as much attention postpartum; I personally wasn't sure how I was going to feel. I unfortunately have to say that my cats have definitely taken a back seat. This may change, but I currently use most of the energy I have to care for Violet first, and whatever is left over to take care of myself. After that there isn't much left in the tank for taking care of kitties. They seem to be doing okay though with the occasional pet from the Hubster or me.



Another thing I was worried about was preparing the cats as much as possible before the baby arrived. They're big babies and pretty much had their run of the house. One thing we knew we had to take care of was sleeping arrangements. Our cats are used to snuggling with us in bed at night, but since we decided that the baby would sleep in our room for the first three months, that was going to have to change. I think one of the best decisions we made was to start shutting the cats out of the bedroom at night a couple of months in advance of Violet's due date. For at least a month, they would sit outside the door and whine, slam themselves up against the door, and just be pathetic and noisy in general. It was really difficult, not only to sleep, but to make them stay out - the guilt was a little overwhelming sometimes. Eventually, they got the hint and found new favorite spots in the house.

Thank goodness we didn't wait until the baby arrived to do this! I think if I was sleep deprived with raging hormones and a new baby with cats who were whining at the door at night, the cats may not still be with us today. If you are planning to have your baby sleep in your room for a few months, I highly recommend our co-sleeper/bassinet - the Stratford by Arm's Reach:


You can use it as a free-standing bassinet, or easily convert it to a co-sleeper that attaches to the side of the bed. We currently use it as a co-sleeper, and it's a Godsend! If I had to get out of bed every time the baby seemed fussy and walk over to the nursery, I would definitely have lost the small shred of sanity I had left some nights. And as a first-time mom, I definitely wanted to be able to roll over and look at my baby any time I wanted. The first few nights she was home, I don't know how many times I felt the need to make sure she was still breathing, but it was a lot!



Another recommendation for cat owners is to put tin foil on any of those soft, cozy surfaces that you set up for your baby.



Otherwise, your cats will claim them for themselves and you may have some territory issues once baby arrives. And the last thing we wanted was for the cats to start spraying or peeing after Violet came home. The cats hate the sound and feel of the tin foil and will stay out of your crib/bassinet/pack n play/changing table for the most part. If they do eventually get bold enough to jump in, be firm and chase them out. 

I'd have to say that those are the two biggest things that have helped to keep the peace between baby and furbabies at the H-Haus - hope that helps all of you cat lovers out there!


If you have any other suggestions I'd love to hear them!

7 comments:

  1. We don't have cats, but we do have two dogs (who sleep in our bed) and we definitely plan to prepare them in advance for our first baby's arrival. The biggest mistake people make with pets and babies is not preparing the pets for baby. Then, they think all the changes are baby's fault and they can take it out on the little one. I know that once I'm really pregnant, I won't want the dogs in the bed because it can be really uncomfortable. That will be the first change. I've read it is also important to allow the dogs to see the baby room and even go in, but have a designated spot to lay down, not free-roam of the place. They also say to bring home a blanket or piece of clothing the baby wore from the hospital to get them used to the smell. Did you do that?

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  2. I love your suggestions on this! I'm not pregnant, but we plan to start trying in the next 6 months or so, and the cats have been a huge worry for me. we have four of them, and so it's pretty obvious that they're all treated as our children, and are subsequently spoiled rotten. luckily, we decided a few months ago to not allow them into the bedroom with us at ALL, so thankfully, that won't be a problem! it's good to know that it's not a guarantee that they'll be angry once a baby comes into the picture!

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  3. VERY good advice! No one really talks about cats - usually it is the dogs. I like the advice of locking the cat(s) out before baby arrives. I know our kitty is going to throw a HUGE fit, but you're right. Better now, than later! Thanks for the tips!

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  4. I'm 4 months pregnant, and we've also decided to go ahead and get the cats used to not sleeping in our bed. My cats did the same as yours- crying, scratching at the door, jumping into it- ALL night long.

    I finally bought SSSCat from Petsmart. It's canned air with a sensor. I put it in front of the bedroom door, and it goes off whenever the cats get near it. The air still woke me up, but it quickly trained the cats to stay away from the bedroom. Now they won't even try to sneak in when the door is accidentally left open during the day.

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  5. Although we don't plan on having kids for awhile, I think this was a really helpful post! We do have a cat (an only child, to boot), and she's totally spoiled.

    I think the tip about shutting the cat(s) out of the bedroom in advance is a smart one. We've tried it a few times before just to keep her from shedding all over our bed, and she was so annoying that we gave in and let her back in. I guess persistence is important!

    ReplyDelete
  6. I'm 4 months pregnant, and we've also decided to go ahead and get the cats used to not sleeping in our bed. My cats did the same as yours- crying, scratching at the door, jumping into it- ALL night long.

    I finally bought SSSCat from Petsmart. It's canned air with a sensor. I put it in front of the bedroom door, and it goes off whenever the cats get near it. The air still woke me up, but it quickly trained the cats to stay away from the bedroom. Now they won't even try to sneak in when the door is accidentally left open during the day.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Although we don't plan on having kids for awhile, I think this was a really helpful post! We do have a cat (an only child, to boot), and she's totally spoiled.

    I think the tip about shutting the cat(s) out of the bedroom in advance is a smart one. We've tried it a few times before just to keep her from shedding all over our bed, and she was so annoying that we gave in and let her back in. I guess persistence is important!

    ReplyDelete

 

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