Need a favor from any new parents

[teacake]

I always remember I was at a friends house once and she had a newborn which was sleeping in a bassinet in the living room. As she glanced at the baby she saw the cat was IN the bassinet on the baby. She snatched the cat up and hurled it across the room! It was completely instinctual

[Candlelight]

I have two cats.

I had a daughter then twin sons.

The cats don't give a shit. As long as we still feed them they still come back, and they learn real quick when they encroach on baby territory.

[Kestra]

I have no advice or help for you, just want to say congrats.

[BillJ]

teacake wrote:

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You don't have to prepare cats.

This. We've always had cats and never had any issues when bringing newborns in (we've had three). They're curious for a day or two, then go back to their regular business.

[Gaith]

Just be careful that none of your cats imprint themselves onto your baby, pledging their soul's love to that of your newborn's, forever.


... Sorry, been reading too many Breaking Dawn reviews.

[teacake]

Doesn't matter if they do Gaith. The cat will most likely be dead before the baby hits puberty, depending on its age.

[macloudt]

thestrangequark wrote:

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My sister and her husband lined the crib with tin foil to train the cats not to jump into it before the baby was born, I think that was the only real preparation they did.

This is a great idea. Wish I'd known about this when I was pregnant with my oldest. We had two cats when our oldest was born, and the only sticking point was that they really, really liked the Moses basket where our daughter slept for her first six weeks. We simply shut the door to the nursery to keep the cats out. Apart from that everything went fine.

Congratulations, Shikarnov!

[NCC1701]

We have two cats and a 6 and a half week old daughter, so far the cats are staying well away from our daughter, though that will undoubtedly change as they get used to her later down the track. Only thing is to keep cats away from sleeping babies, so if you're not going to be within sight it'd be best to close bedroom doors to stop them from climbing into the cot.

As for dogs, my partner's family have five of them of various breeds and sizes, and they seem to have adjusted a lot better than the cats have, so no issues there either. Good luck with your baby, and welcome to the club, you're in for quite a ride!