Terrified of bringing baby home

[bengaldude]

So first, the good news - my wife delivered a beautiful baby girl yesterday. She's precious, healthy and, well, loud (as most babies are). Which brings me to the part I'm worried about - our fur babies. We have two bengals (7 and 8 years old) with big personalities and they're already skittish around new people. I'm terrified at the prospect of introducing them to our new little one. Now, we've done most of the recommended training steps - played crying baby sounds in the nursery while giving them treats outside the door, let them inspect the nursery, and today when I stopped home, I let them smell the baby's hat from yesterday (as well as my shirt that I wore while holding her). 

I'm just wondering if there are any other tips or advice anyone has for making this a smooth transition. As crazy as it sounds, I'm not worried about any of the sleep deprivation or any of that - I just want our kittys and baby to get along more than anything. And I certainly don't want them to be so terrified of her that they spend their life in the closet. That's just not fair. So if anyone has any words of wisdom (or hell, encouragement) I'd greatly appreciate it. 

Thanks

 

[shadowsrescue]

It will be an adjustment for all.  Yet the best piece of advice I can give you is to remain calm yourself.  The cats will pick up on your stress and then feel they need to be stressed too.

Do you have any feliway diffusers?  I would get one for all of the rooms that cats spend time in and where they will be with the baby.  Make sure you do have a safe room for them in case it is needed and definitely get a feliway for that room.  Make the safe room fun with cat trees and toys and of course a litter box if needed.  You may find you don't need a safe room.

You can also try Composure calming treats or Composure liquid max.  Both help to calm cats without sedating them.

Keep allowing them to smell the baby's clothing.  Once home just keep calm.  I wouldn't bring the baby to the cats right away.  See how they react.  I bet they run and hide once the baby makes a sound.  Always supervise visits.  If your wife is with the baby, stay close by and watch the cats.

Also try to play with the cats.  Give them a little bit extra attention so they don't feel left out.  Try the hung, catch, kill, eat ,groom , sleep theory.  Get a wand toy ( da bird is the best!) or laser pointer and really get them moving.  Tire them out as much as possible.  Always do this before having interactions with the baby.  A tired cat is better behaved.  After they hunt, catch and kill the wand or laser, give them a small snack or meal.  Try to make it something special.  This will satisfy their "eat" part of the game.  Next the cats should settle down to groom and then a nap.

Congrats on the birth of your child.  It will be a wonderful and joyous time of your life.  Nerves and tension run high, but just do your best to stay calm.  Your wife will need you to be the calm one!!!

 

[jcat]

Congratulations! My sister (now the mother of four grown children) was a nervous wreck before introducing her eldest to her adult cat and German Shepherd. Both pets promptly "adopted" her baby and the three subsequent ones. It's good you've taken steps to introduce the baby to the cats, but it may go a lot smoother than you think.

 

[margd]

Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter! 

I also had to introduce a baby to a cat and dog.  The dog was immediately accepting and doted on her.  Poppy the cat basically ignored her until she became a toddler at which point the problem became protecting Polly, not the other way around.   Definitely follow all the great advice you've been given but I second the advice that you might find things go fairly smoothly and to remain relaxed about the whole process.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

When we brought our kiddos home I greeted the cats while my husband carried the babies in in their car seats.  We let the girls sniff them while they were still in the seats and that was about the extent of their interest.  Our girls have never been able to sleep in our bed because of DH's allergies; so it wasn't a big deal to have them locked out of the kids rooms either.  Mooch used to sit in my lap while I fed my daughter her bottles.  DD would reach a chubby hand down to touch her fur.  

I agree with the advice about being calm yourself because they do pick things up.  Play with the kitties and things as you normally would and try to stick to their normal feeding schedule.  This will help them with the changes as well.  

My girls and my kiddos aren't the best of friends; though one tolerates DD now.  They mostly ignored them as babies; but when they got mobile is when they decided they'd keep their distance.  

 

[bengaldude]

Thanks all. For the most part, the cats seemed pretty accepting of the strange smells I've brought home the last two days (wife is in the hospital until Thursday) which I imagine, is a good start. They also seem pretty unfazed by sound (I have a playlist of baby sounds/crying that I play inside the nursery while I give them treats outside the door). The big test is just the sight of her. As for the cats' schedule, that's the least of my concern. My wife and I are super routine-based people so we've always kept consistent with the kitty's feedings, litter changing and snuggle times (our female loves watching TV with me after my wife goes to bed). In all, I'd love nothing more than to keep that same routine while introducing the new one from the baby. 

Fingers crossed.