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Introducing your cat to your newborn can be a pretty nerve wracking experience. Your furchild and your human baby, all you want is for them to get along and become adorable besties. But introducing a newborn to a cat can be tricky, and it may take time for a true bond to form. Cats can be pretty standoffish with most people, but a small grabby human that’s taking all of the attention might not be their idea of a best friend on first meeting. Here’s some tips on how to introduce your cat to your newborn with maximum opportunity for success:
- Neutral ground – the first meeting should be made in a room your cat doesn’t totally claim as theirs. Somewhere neutral and not where they tend to eat and sleep. Somewhere calm and peaceful that they shouldn’t feel too territorial over.
- Distance – it’s never a good idea to force contact between a cat and a baby, those furballs have claws remember! Holding your baby at a safe distance from your cat that still allows them to get a good sniff is the ideal introduction.
- Escape routes – always make sure your cat has an escape route available in case they totally freak. Many cats will become overwhelmed and will need that exit plan to take some space, gather their thoughts, and come back to investigate in their own time. They’ll come around.
- Lower your expectations – as dreamy as it would be for your two faves to get on famously, these relationships take time. Cats are adaptable but might take their time to accept their new housemate. Make sure they’re supervised at all times and try to discourage any grabby baby behaviour so your purr machine doesn’t get easily spooked.
- Plan ahead – before the first face to face intro, plan ahead and slowly introduce them to some of the baby’s items and smells if possible, before they arrive home. Placing objects again in neutral rooms and letting the cat have a good old sniff of the new foreign items, will make the full blown baby less of a shock.
Bonus tip – you could even try playing baby noises and crying in your home ahead of the big arrival to get your cats used to some of the new noises they’ll be hearing around the home.
Cats are creatures of habit so big changes can be a little stressful for them to adapt to. As much as possible, try and keep your cat’s daily routine as normal as you can. It’s best to stick to their usual mealtimes, and, where you can, try not to change from the usual human who feeds them.
Plus giving them plenty of cuddles will ease the blow and help them to come around to the idea of sharing their space and your attention with the new teeny human.
