How to Help Your Cat Adapt to a New Baby's Arrival

How to Help Your Cat Adapt to a New Baby’s Arrival : You’ve probably seen it before, viral videos of cats playing with babies and vice versa. If you took the time to scroll down and check out the comments, you’ll likely find a mix of good and bad ones.

For the cat lovers, having pets around newborns is nothing to worry about. Their furry pet is family, after all.

For anyone else, it may seem hard to get past the fact that cats can be feral at times and a little provocation could cause them to bare their sharp nails and teeth. What are the odds that a baby can accidentally frighten a cat?

The fact is cats and babies can harmoniously co-exist. But it is also a fact that a cat is an animal.

Therefore, certain precautions have to be taken to ensure that a cat is ready for the arrival of a newborn baby. This way, both baby and feline are kept safe.

Fast Cat Facts

Mature cats with mostly negative experiences around young children and babies during their kitten socialization period may react negatively to a new addition to the family.
How cats will respond to a new baby will depend on breed, experience, parentage, and personality.
Some cats are not predisposed to harmonious coexistence with babies and young children.
A cat’s lack of experience with babies and children can be remedied.

How to Prepare Your Cat to a New Baby

It is important to create positive associations with a new baby. Some cats don’t welcome change with open arms, so you need to prepare them for the arrival of a newborn.

1. Get your cat used to all sorts of baby sounds

Play recordings of a baby laughing, crying, screaming, or gurgling for short periods within a day. Start with a barely audible volume and then gradually increase it until your cat becomes accustomed to the noises that a baby makes.

2. Acclimate your cat to baby odors

Anything new brought into the house can be challenging and threatening to a cat’s sense of smell.

So before playing with your cat or engaging in pleasant activities, rub baby lotion or baby powder on your hands. It is recommended that you use baby products in the months leading up to the new arrival.

This will not only help them get accustomed to how a baby smells but also associate with something familiar and positive.

3. Prepare your cat for baby’s objects and things

Make sure to set up the nursery a few months before the baby arrives. Allow your cat to investigate and familiarize cots, changing mats, playpens, etc.

If you want to declare certain areas as off limits, such as the crib and changing table, make the surfaces unwelcoming at least a month before.

Because cats steer clear of sticky surfaces, use a double-sided tape to cover one area.

4. Prepare cat for changes in care routines

If play sessions, feeding, and grooming times are expected to change when the baby comes, shift the activities a month or two before the baby’s birth. You can buy cat grooming products to give your cat time to adjust to the new care style, skills, and sessions.

If a cat’s litter box has been kept in what will be a baby’s nursery, make sure to switch places within the same timeframe. This way, your cat will get accustomed to their new location.

Avoid a quick transition, as your cat may end up soiling their old spot.

Also, make sure that a cat has a quiet place to go to when needed. Upon the baby’s arrival, lots of visitors are expected to arrive. This can be challenging for some less sociable cats.

Doing these 1 to 2 months before the new baby arrives will prepare your cat for the new addition to the family.

Ensure a good start of a cat-baby relationship

One important thing you must do when you first arrive home from the hospital is to reconnect with your cat. Greet them peacefully and without interruption.

Once done, you can then introduce your cat to your new baby.