There may be one member of the family who will not be overjoyed at the arrival of a new baby. It is very easy for your cat to feel less than impressed at the arrival of another claim to your affections. However, if handled correctly your baby and cat could become the best of friends.
Tip 1. It is likely that you may change some of the house rules when the baby arrives. For instance, if a room that the cat uses to sleep in has been converted to a nursery you should ban it from that room well before the baby is brought home. This way the cat will not associate the baby's arrival with the restriction.
Tip 2. To be on the safe side take your cat to the vets for a complete check-up before the baby's arrival. This way if there are any problems such as fleas or parasites they can be cleared up before the baby comes into the house.
Tip 3. If you have a cot or crib for your baby leave it out before the baby is born and deter the cat from either jumping into it or trying to use it as somewhere to sleep. Under no circumstances should a cat and baby be allowed to sleep together.
Tip 4. Cats can get jealous and there are several things you can do to avoid this happening. If there are already children in the house you can ask them to make a bit more of a fuss of the cat than they might normally do. When you come back from the hospital with your baby get the father to carry it into the house whilst you make a fuss of the cat. You will not have seen him for a day or two and he will have missed you so do not ignore it.
Tip 5. At some stage, you are going to have to introduce the cat to the baby. Whilst you obviously will need to watch the situation closely do not hold the cat. Let it approach the baby in its own way, almost certainly sniffing and approaching carefully. Do not try and introduce them if the baby is tearful or crying as the noise may well put the cat off.
Tip 6. Babies are like cats in the fact that they sleep a lot. When your baby is sleeping find time to fuss your cat.
Tip 7. As the baby grows and begins to crawl around you will need to teach it how to pet the cat gently. Babies and cats can become firm friends but until the child is older possibly around 4 years you should never allow it to play with the cat unsupervised.
Follow these simple tips and your new baby and the cat should become firm friends
Tip 1. It is likely that you may change some of the house rules when the baby arrives. For instance, if a room that the cat uses to sleep in has been converted to a nursery you should ban it from that room well before the baby is brought home. This way the cat will not associate the baby's arrival with the restriction.
Tip 2. To be on the safe side take your cat to the vets for a complete check-up before the baby's arrival. This way if there are any problems such as fleas or parasites they can be cleared up before the baby comes into the house.
Tip 3. If you have a cot or crib for your baby leave it out before the baby is born and deter the cat from either jumping into it or trying to use it as somewhere to sleep. Under no circumstances should a cat and baby be allowed to sleep together.
Tip 4. Cats can get jealous and there are several things you can do to avoid this happening. If there are already children in the house you can ask them to make a bit more of a fuss of the cat than they might normally do. When you come back from the hospital with your baby get the father to carry it into the house whilst you make a fuss of the cat. You will not have seen him for a day or two and he will have missed you so do not ignore it.
Tip 5. At some stage, you are going to have to introduce the cat to the baby. Whilst you obviously will need to watch the situation closely do not hold the cat. Let it approach the baby in its own way, almost certainly sniffing and approaching carefully. Do not try and introduce them if the baby is tearful or crying as the noise may well put the cat off.
Tip 6. Babies are like cats in the fact that they sleep a lot. When your baby is sleeping find time to fuss your cat.
Tip 7. As the baby grows and begins to crawl around you will need to teach it how to pet the cat gently. Babies and cats can become firm friends but until the child is older possibly around 4 years you should never allow it to play with the cat unsupervised.
Follow these simple tips and your new baby and the cat should become firm friends
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Animals