Your indoor cat and newborn baby, friends or foes? Although old wives’ tales would like us to believe that it’s the latter, friend status can easily be achieved between babies and cats! How? By understanding your cat’s behavior, setting up healthy boundaries, and a slow approach to introducing cats to babies.

In this article, we will look at your cat’s behavior after the new baby arrives, concerns about your child's well-being, and ways for your indoor cat and newborn baby to safely bond.

PREPARING YOUR HOME FOR BABIES AND CATS

Although a peaceful co-existence is easily possible for our two loves, we can take a few steps to help aid the process along. Preparing your home with the right baby proofing is one of them!

Not only is baby proofing an essential part of your parenting journey, but it will also help keep the peace between your furbaby and hooman baby. Even though most parents only think about baby proofing once their little one is mobile, we beg to differ. There are plenty of hazards that can affect our precious tots, mobile or not.

Next, using a baby proofing aid like Door Buddy will help keep this space safe. As our tots learn to crawl and explore around the home, keeping them out of the kitty litter is a must! Removing your cat’s litter box and food from easy-to-reach spaces is highly recommended, as these can be a severe danger to your little love’s health. 

Baby proofing isn’t the only way we can help prepare our furry friends for their new sibling. With a newborn, new sounds of frequent crying can only be expected. Some cats may startle easily, and we have to keep in mind our purrrfect pets’ emotions. You can try playing tapes of babies crying to help ease them into the new environment they’re about to live in. 

CARING FOR YOUR CAT’S BEHAVIOR WITH YOUR NEWBORN

Change is a hard thing to grapple with, even for us hoomans. Now try and imagine being your cat whose whole world is about to change! Think about it, they were once the apple of your eye, and now a tiny hooman has come into the picture to steal the spotlight. That’s a tough pill to swallow, right?

Our furry friends will always hold a spot in our hearts, but it’s only natural that doting over our pets can fall to the side when a newborn enters the picture. We’re parents, we get it, and we’ve been there! The problem with this is that not only are our pets feeling neglected, but they can also quickly act out in negative ways. 

Cat behavior after new baby can be a little removed. Babies are noisy, they pull tails, and let’s face it, they can be pretty tricky to be around when they’re grumpy. Understandably, your cat will want their space during this time. Your cat may even become slightly stressed and agitated as a result. 

Thankfully, there are a few things you can do to help settle their emotions. Adding a scratching post to your home or a cat tree is a great way to help your cat relieve stress. You can try using baby lotion on your hands and lightly stroking your cat to get them familiar with your baby’s smells before they arrive. In more dire situations, catnip can prove useful when your cat gets itself into a state. However, we recommend seeing a vet or a behavior specialist for the use of catnip. 

The best thing about being parents to both cats and babies is seeing their love flourish for one another. Although the process may be slow to start at first, you are helping build a lifelong friendship that won’t soon be forgotten.

With this being said, should you run into any significant problems, consulting a behavior specialist may be extremely helpful. They will help guide you in the right direction, and craft strategies to purrrfectly suit your home and your kitty. 

Until then, Door Buddy is here to help. Our adjustable door latch gives you and your kitty the peace of mind and security needed before bringing your little one home. Before purchasing expensive baby gates and baby proofing aids, or drilling damaging holes into your home, try Door Buddy. No tools needed, no tricky instructions, and completely baby proof!