Not the normal "having a baby" circumstance--questions?

Hubby and I are unable to have our own children and hopefully by this time next year or alittle sooner we will be taking children into our home through foster/adopt. Which basically means there is a good chance that more than one child in a smaller period of time will be in our home. Our age range will probably be 2 and under.

We have two male neutered cats. Jack who just turned a year old in July and Harley who was a year old in February. We've had Jack since he was 10 weeks old, he's rather dependent on us, but since bringing Harley home has gained some independence. Jack is also very outgoing and still very much a kitten. He can be shy at first with new people but is generally very friendly. He is most often referred to as our dog.

We just brought Harley home in May from the shelter. He was brought in as a stray and was in the shelter for 4 months. Harley is shy, very very loveable a definite lap cat. Quite possibly too loving, self-pets on your hands, arms, face--is a drooler, also kneads constantly and suckles on ear lobes. He really hasn't been around anyone else, except for a couple who cat sits for them who we are close friends with. It took a long time for him to adjust to life in a home with love so to speak. He watches his back and is just very careful.

Is there a proper way to "prepare" them for this? We will be slowly setting up a bedroom for the child. We currently have a bedroom that the cats are not allowed in, which I think in the long run will have helped us--it sort of being out of bounds. My biggest concern is Harley and his ability to be so umm..forceful so to speak in his need to feel loved or have attention. I do think Jack's dependency on us will be an issue.

Thank you to anyone that read my long post.

Leslie

That's so neat that you are going to be a foster home. I've never wanted to have children of my own but have often thought I'd like to adopt an older child. Don't really know why. Just what I'm drawn to. It's cool to hear of other people who are involved in fostering and adoption.

I don't know that there's much you can do to prepare them. Keeping the child's bedroom off limits was a good idea and you might consider keeping the cat's things contained to another part of the house where they can go to escape like a different bedroom.

Both of your cats are young and that's a real plus. I bet you find that they adapt relatively quickly!

I have adopted three children from fostercare. I haven't had any problems with dogs or cats. They all adapted very quickly. I watched the children very carefully and taught them how to be nice to animals.

Thanks guys!

For Hubby and I this is truly about being a family--we are so excited to start this journey! But at the same time our furry kids are important as well and I want to make sure this transition goes well for them.

Leslie

There is a cat show on animal planet saturday mornings called "ouse cat house calls"

One thing I learned about kids and cats is making a safehaven for the cats. If they are on their trees or another special place (like mine like the top of the fridge) make sure the kids no they shouldn't touch them when they are at these places. It is their "safe place". I thought that was a great idea.