Do you realize how times have changed? Back in the good old days, it used to be the kids being introduced to the cats. But nowadays, we have the cat first; then we introduce pet with the baby later. When the new baby arrives, a new affection order is created, with the baby being first.
When this transition is not done right, one of the two (but mostly the cat) is bound to feel out of place. Therefore, it is necessary to learn the techniques of how to transition your pet to live with a new baby in the house.
In this way, your “first baby” and your second baby will form the cutest combo around the house that you will even envy. Here are some of the techniques that you should try out.
Plan early
The transition period for the cat starts during pregnancy. It is at this time that you need to prepare the cat mentally that a new member of the family will soon be arriving. And this new member will automatically take center stage in matters to do with attention.
A common mistake that most cat parents do is to revamp the attention the cat receives during pregnancy. In doing this, they believe it will compensate for the lack of attention the cat will receive when the baby arrives. No, this shouldn’t be the case. In fact, the cat would feel more disappointed when she is suddenly not in the spotlight anymore.
Moving litter boxes around, cordoning off certain areas and petting your cat as normally as possible is the key to a smoother transition.
Acclimatize the cat to baby sounds and smell
If you are the proud owner of an easily startled cat, you should never bring the baby home without letting “Kittyhanna” know. After being around adults for so long, the cat might not know how to behave around when the baby cries, crawls around or tries to touch her
You could bring some baby stuff with the baby scent beforehand from the hospital or even play CDs of baby sounds when playing with the cat. As you bring in the new toys, allow “Kittyhanna” to play with them once in a while.
Make the introductions as natural as possible.
This is another effective method of how to transition your cat to live with a new baby in the house. Now for the D-day, make the introductions as natural as possible. Your cat should not be made to feel compelled to meet her new guest and friend to be. If she runs and hides, or becomes nervous, let them be. Instead, trying to force her to see kiddo could be worse.
With time and the cats’ natural curiosity, she will come out of hiding and say hello to the new baby. Plus, she would not want to hide from the awesome you for very long, wouldn’t she? Another proven method of enticement is by using treats to coax the cat into an introduction.
cats “stealing the baby’s breath.”
It may be just a myth, but you should be wary of it anyway. This is because cats and kids have a certain chemistry existing between them. It could be that cats love the milky smell of babies or babies love the silky, lustrous feel of cat hair.
I don’t know yet. In fact, I should order a sit-down and discuss it with my cat. As they snuggle in the wee hours of the night, the cat may suffocate the baby, hence this myth. You should, therefore, make the baby sleeping area a no-go zone for the cat.
Provide an escape route for the cat
After a whole day of baby growling, crying, snuggling, being grabbed by the tiny little hands, your cat may be a little fed up with all that. She would, therefore, need some place to blow off some steam from all these baby-related activities.
There are cat trees or perches that you can invest in so that when the cat gets weary, she can climb and relax for a while. She does not have to leave the human presence but is “away” in some sense.
You need to know how to transition your pet to live with a new baby in the house. It is a straightforward affair and should not require you to burn the midnight oil while trying to figure it out. The key to the transition being a success is to start early and maintain the same routines as always, with minor tweaks.
