New Kitten & New Baby=1 UPSET Cat! Help!

My daughter has a spayed female cat, just under a year old. She is like a spoiled, only child. Very loving/cuddly.
My daughter will be having a baby in this next week. She was due yesterday but no sign of her (baby) coming so the dr will induce next week, if she doesn't have her by then.
Next part of the story...she took in a 3-legged kitten that was going to be 'put down'. He is about 10 weeks old. We have him in a large cage, so that he can see out and the other cat can see in. We do understand that they need to get to know one another and it will take time, but the older cat is REALLY having a fit! She is growling/hissing/etc and my daughter is truly worried about how she will act when the new baby gets here!
We have been giving her extra attenton and not touching the kitten while she is in the room, but is this any indicator as to how she may react with the baby? My daughter is in tears!
She has been around other cats before (for limited amounts of time) and has never acted like this. She even hissed/growled at my daughter when she went to pet her...Any ideas on this? And how to deal with this? I would expect this jealousy in a dog but not a cat!!!!
Thanks you

My cat was exactly like that when we got our new kittens. And she still is sort of like that because they always pick on her. lol! Is the kitten new? If the kitten is new, then your older cat probably has trouble adjusting tohaveing a new member in your home. Just make sure you pay lots of attention to it (and still pay attention to the kitten. lol!) and make it feel like they are the mst special cat in the world and that you love it very much and maybe she'll settle down. Thats what weve been doing with our older cat and I think it helps. If you need anything just ask! I hope I helped!

-Amie-

Oh wow! Two MAJOR changes in the cat's life at once! It will take time and patience for everyone to settle down. I'd keep the kitten in a separate room for longer then normal introductions.

And she should let the cat get used to "baby smells" - like powder, lotion, etc. After the baby is born she should take an extra small blanket to wrap the baby in; then take that blanket home and let the older cat sniff it to get use to the human baby scent.

One very important thing for her to remember - GREET the older cat FIRST no matter what! Do not push her aside. You will have worse problems.

I know most of my cats avoided my son as a baby for months - not going in his room or going in for a very short time. They were more afraid of him then vice versa. Be sure that the cat's nails are kept trimmed and do not allow the cat in the baby's room unsupervised.

Other then that, your daughter will have her hands full of human baby and kitten baby. Maybe you can help her out a few times a week in caring for the cats at her house (playing with them, etc.) so they don't feel so left out.

I had a very clingy, spoiled Siamese who had had my whole attention for 10 years and then suddenly I had a human baby.

I ensured that Susie (the Siamese) never felt replaced by the baby. When I breastfed Jennifer, the cat would also be sitting on my knee and I would be petting her while I fed my baby. I gave her love and attention, she still slept with me every night all cuddled up by my tummy under the covers.

I think your daughter's cat will be fine with the human baby. It may take a little more work between her and the kitten. Seriously, I wouldn't fret too much, things have a miraculous way of working out when there is love and understanding involved.

Thanks for the replies. Our main concern is that last night (the kittens 1st day here) Minnie (the older cat) even growled/hissed at my daughter, and me to an extenet. At one point when my daughter went to pet her, she tried to bite AT her, though not really bite her...if you know what I mean.
Then when my daughter was able to pick her up, she cried--it was pitiful! I mean she kept crying, not just a little squeak!
This is a complete turn around of what Minnie is always like.
My daughter is a Marine, not a young kid. And sadly I will have to go back home in about 3-4 weeks so I am hoping that Minnie will have settled down by then.
Once again, the main concern is how to deal with her when she is 'aggressive' towards my daughter (humans).

Firstly, she needs to do a gradual introduction of the kitten to the resident cat. It's not the norm to add a cat into the household and it be immediately accepted.

If you go to the top of this forum you will find a thread on how to introduce a new cat into a household.

When Mika came to our house, we separated her and Bijou for 1 full month with only supervised visits in the evenings and on weekends when we were home. If there was too much aggression they were immediately separated again.

Your daughter needs to take the time to do the introduction properly for both the cats and herself.