If you’re expecting, then you’ve probably got quite a few things on your mind. Juggling priorities at a crucial juncture like this can be stressful, but if there’s one thing that you shouldn’t have to stress over, it’s making sure that your cat will be acclimated to the presence of a new member of the family. Here are a few easy ways to make sure that your cat and your baby get off on the right paw.
Maintain Your Cat’s Normal Schedule
As we’ve discussed, cats are generally creatures of routine. This means they like to be familiar with their space, their food, their litter and their schedule. Throwing a cat out of its routine can wreak havoc on not only its sense of calm and order, but also on yours, and that’s just one more thing that you do not need to be dealing with on top of everything else. While your routine may be thrown for a complete loop during your pregnancy, you’re also much more capable of dealing with this kind of irregularity. Your little kitty, on the other, is a bit more delicate when it comes to disturbances like this, so it’s best to keep your cat under the impression that nothing is changing, even though, in reality, everything is.
Help Your Cat Get Comfortable With Sounds
We know (or at least presume) that you’ve seen, and, more importantly, heard a baby before. Yes, they’re adorable, most of the time, but they can also be very, very loud. A crying baby is to your cat what that alarm setting that sounds like a nuclear power plant’s meltdown alarm at 5:45 in the morning is to you. Except your cat doesn’t have a snooze button for your baby, and you really don’t want it trying to figure out how to turn your baby off. You can find recordings online of babies crying, gurgling, yelling, laughing and making pretty much any other noise you can think of, and you can just play these aloud in your home to give your cat a chance to get used to some additional noise. Playing the T.V. and music a little louder can also give your cat a chance to acclimate to noise levels that it might not otherwise be used to or comfortable with, although we do not recommend air horns.
Introduce Your Cat To A Friend’s Baby
Though regular schedule and sample noise can be helpful in getting your cat acclimated to the presence of a new baby, there’s just no substitute for the real thing. If you happen to have friends who’ve just recently had a little one of their own, it’s a good idea to let your cat have some face time with this youngster. It’ll help your kitty see what a baby is all about and offer you the opportunity (which will become increasingly rare) to incrementally introduce a baby into your cat’s life. When your own little one comes along, you’re going all in on this cat-baby relationship. So, it’s best, if possible, to let your kitty get a sneak peek of what’s to come.
Be Calm When Your Baby Meets Your Cat
Finally, when your baby arrives and it’s time to introduce the little guy or gal to your cat, we recommend remaining calm, cool and collected, as any undue anxiety or stress is only going to make matters that much more difficult. So, keep a cool head about you, don’t sweat it and remember that, whatever happens, it’s just the first of many interactions and the two will be fast friends in no time. Well, we’ve got to run, but we’ll drop by again soon!
