The arrival of a baby is a joyous occasion. At least for the people in the house, but your cat might not quite agree. Less attention, places he is suddenly not allowed to go, crowds and all sorts of new noises can cause your house tiger to experience stress above all else and maybe even start showing problem behaviour. Of course, you want to avoid this, because your cat is just as much a part of the family as the new baby. That is why it is important to make some preparations (well in advance), so that your cat will be as happy with the baby as you are!

Socialising

Whether pregnant or not, when you take a kitten into your home, socialising is incredibly important. After all, this determines how your kitten will later interact with people and other animals. A well-socialised cat also copes better with changes. Give your kitten positive stimuli in the first months of his life and let him discover the world at his own pace. If you have a desire to have children, it is also a good idea to introduce your kitten to children, provided the children interact appropriately with your miniature house tiger. At this blog read more on this topic.

Before delivery

Cats are generally not big fans of change. Therefore, it is important to give your house tiger time to get used to new things and start making changes quietly well before the birth.

Did pussycat always come to the room where the baby's room will now be, or was it even his own catcave? Then it is important to furnish a new, quiet place for your house tiger. For this, use the old, familiar stuff and don't move everything at once. After this, do let your cat into the nursery under your supervision from time to time, so that it can put out its scent by nuzzling here and there.

As mentioned, it is a good idea to get your cat used to children. So feel free to invite children over, but keep a close eye on your pet tiger's reaction. There are also CDs available with baby sounds especially for pets.

Should you go into labour at home, it is a good idea to leave your cat in another room.

When the baby arrives

Even once the baby is here, there are still things you can do to put your cat at ease.

Practical, but necessary, is changing the litter box. Don't count on the maternity assistant to do this, but make sure you agree on who will do it. A dirty litter tray can cause your sweetheart to pee next to the litter tray, which is the last thing you need during the maternity period.

The most important thing is that you continue to give your house tiger the same amount of attention as before, so not more, but certainly not less. This also applies during your maternity leave, by the way. Pay particular attention when the baby is around, so that your furry housemate will associate your baby with something nice. Your cat can also feel free to smell the things and the baby itself, because this is how he explores the world. Some house cats like to lie down with the baby (nice and warm!), but don't let this happen if you are not there.

Our final tip: make sure your cat doesn't have fleas or worms. Regular deflea and deworming is always important, but especially when there is a baby in the house.