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When you welcome a new baby into your home, pay attention to how your cat will handle the changes. Excluding your pet during this happy time might confuse your cat and lead to stress or unwanted behavior, such as missing the litter box. Maintain harmony by properly introducing your child and your cat to ensure a joyful future.
Why Cat Introductions Matter
Keep in mind that your cat was there first. If your cat is unfamiliar with infants and has only been around adults, it might see a baby as a strange new creature. Babies smell different, make high-pitched sounds, and move unpredictably, which can cause anxiety in cats. As a result, your cat might switch to stranger-danger mode, hide, or become defensive. To prevent these reactions, you’ll need a plan before bringing your baby home.
Let Your Cat Tour the Nursery
Prepare your cat months before your baby arrives. Start when you’re decorating the nursery. Cats love routine, so they may react sensitively to changes. Make gradual adjustments to your home. Let your cat explore new items to help it feel included. Your cat might investigate new furniture, sleep in the bassinet, or play with the baby mobile. When you can’t supervise, use a gate or close the door to keep your cat out.
Get Your Cat Used to a Baby’s Cry
Tape the sound of an infant crying so that your kitty gets a warning of what to expect. Cats use sounds to communicate, and infant cries sound similar to kitten distress cries, so it can be upsetting for cats to hear this. Be matter of fact, and if your cat calmly investigates the sound, reward with soothing praise. Should your pet become upset by the noise, begin again, but first start playing a favorite game together before you turn on the recording. That way, your cat will associate having a pleasant time with an infant’s cries.
Prepare Your Cat for New Smells
Cats communicate with scent. They identify those that smell similar to them as friends. There are a few stress-free ways to bring new smells into your cat’s world.
- Begin wearing baby powder or baby lotion on your hands weeks in advance. That way, your cat associates these smells with someone it already knows and loves.
- Bring home something that has your infant’s smell, like a receiving blanket, and let your cat sniff it for an advanced introduction.
- Pet your cat with a pair of infant socks before the baby is born. Have your baby wear the socks home from the hospital. Your baby will smell like your cat, and your pet will identify your infant as part of the family right from the start.
Shower Your Cat With Praise
When you bring home your baby, you’ll no doubt be exhausted, but there’s still some work to do with your infant and cat. Quietly bring your baby and cat together. Let your cat sniff your baby’s foot. Try to do this while your baby is wearing the feline-scented sock so your cat can see that there’s nothing to fear. Be sure to continuously praise your cat when it behaves in a confident, calm manner. Once your cat understands that treating a baby gently results in praise, things should go smoothly between the two. Include your cat when you’re feeding your baby by offering treats in the same room. That way, the cat associates positive things with the baby’s presence. A number of these tips are also used when introducing a new cat into a home with an existing cat.
Respect Your Cat’s Space
As your baby grows, teach your child to respect the cat, too. But from the start, create a private retreat where it can escape a fast crawling baby and a toddler’s grabbing hands. Mutual respect and careful introductions grow into a loving bond as your infant grows up alongside a happy cat. And that’s a purr-fect relationship that will last a lifetime.