Having Diego after the baby is born.

Hey everyone,
Does anyone know if there are any problems that Diego could cause for the baby after it is born. I know that he cant get in the crib and he wont cause we are going to be putting him in his Pet Taxi to sleep in at night. He will do good in there he has sleep in it before.
Thanks Valerie

First of all, congratulations! I don't have kids yet, but we are planning on starting a family in the near future. I've done lots of research and having pets in the house is a good thing for young kids. Exposure to pets had been shown to lower the risk of the kids having allergies later in life.

Obviously, you want to watch the cat interact with the baby. After the baby is born, you need to give the cat attention too, because they can get jealous. I've read that having someone bring a baby blanket home from the hospital that the baby's been wrapped in and leaving it on the floor for the cat to sniff is a good idea.

I can't wait to see the answers from those who have kids!

I found this on some site.

From Angela, Melourne, Australia:
Prepare your pets for your newborn baby that will be arriving home. Have your friend/s tape a baby's cry, and play this to your pet. This will help them become aware of your baby's cries, and then your pet will not be as stressed out or uncomfortable with the new family member. Allow your pet to sniff any baby furniture or clothes, and observe the animal's behaviour. Sprinkle some baby powder on an item of clothes and allow it to be sniffed before baby comes home. This will also make your pet aware of the changes that will be taking place.
If you have been giving a lot of attention to your pet/s, do not change that dramatically. They need affection and love just as we all do, and if you change that, it could change their behaviour and in return, the pet may resent the newborn baby. Just slowly ease the amount of times of affection, but do not dismiss it altogether.

I am going to try that. We are also getting Diego neutered so i am hopping that will help. We are also going to put him in his pet taxi at night so that he wont get in the crib with the baby and sleep there. I dont think diego will hurt the baby but he likes to snuggle and he might try to lay with the baby.
Thanks
Valerie

Hi and congratulations.

Here is a link to a great article on the subject.

http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanageme...babyandcat.htm

My sister had her husband bring home one of the blankets the baby had used in the hospital and let the animals sniff it , When my nephew came home her animals were a little skiddish of the crying but they got used to it , they even started to go on nightly rounds to check on the baby

congrats on the baby! I have 4 they are truly a blessing

My sister had 2 cats and a dog when she brought her boys home. I'm going to pass on one of the smartest things she did! She replaced the door to the baby's room with a screen door. That way, when the baby went in to sleep,she could shut the door and still see and hear him, the cats and dog could see what was going on without going into the room. It also allowed ventilation since it was a small room. One of her cats started sleeping in front of the screen door when the baby was sleeping. Anyone trying to disturb the baby had to deal with her before going in!

I wouldn't put the cat in a carrier to sleep, simply because there is so little room. Instead, if you feel you have to contain Diego, put him in a room and put a baby gate up vertical in the doorway so he can still hear and smell the house and get used to the baby, instead of putting him in a room and closing the door. We have screen doors in our rooms so the cats never feel like they are shut in.

Well the pet taxi that we have is for a medium size dog and right now we have taken the door off and put a baby blanet in it for him to sleep on so he can go in there when he wants . So the taxi is big enought for him. Right now we live in a one bedroom apt and we cant afford a two bedroom so that is our only choice for now. Thanks everyone.

Valerie
EDD 11/16/04 - babys expected due date.

I would agree with hissy that a pet carrier would be a little too small to confine poor kitty too. I don't have children but I often hear that the stories you read about cats and babies are greatly exaggerated. Hopefully you could think of a better arrangement for Diego before the baby is born.

Lisa & Sash

http://pages.ivillage.com/lisalee992 (Sash's website)

Make sure Diego is unable to get into the room with the baby when unsupervised, but otherwise you shouldn't have an issue. My parents had 3 cats when I was born and one, a huge tom cat, fell in love with me and actually watched over me on a regular basis. It actually got to the to point when I bugged the cats more than they had to watch out for the cats bugging me. Be aware that the baby could have allergies, though, just keep an open eye.

At night, could you have Diego stay in his own room instead of a carrier? My Toeser will sometimes stay in the bathroom if I have to keep him confined.

We had a tom Siamese named DC when I was a baby and that cat was my protector. He used to sleep on the floor beside my crib.

Hissy and Sweets ideas about screen doors are good, and TTMom's about the bathroom. I wouldn't put Diego in a pet taxi for the entire night because he meight feel like your angry at him or he has done something wrong and you'll be giving the baby alot more attention so he'll feel jealous and maybe act out on the baby which you don't want him to do.