Congratulations on the new baby that will be joining your family. Your cat may not be as thrilled about the news, but you can begin now helping your cat be ready for the new baby. Most cats are truly creatures of habit and changes in the home can be hard for them. If you make the following changes now, you will find out if there are behavioral problems due to these changes that need to be addressed before the baby arrives. If you wait to make the changes after the baby arrives, it will be difficult to figure out if the problems are due to the changes you make or due to the baby itself.

One of the first things you should do to prepare your cat for the new arrival is to make sure that your cat is in good health. If necessary, vaccinations should be updated. A stool sample should be checked for intestinal parasites. Because there are diseases and parasites that are transmissible to people, early diagnosis and treatment are important. A thorough physical exam is also important because some behavioral problems can have a physical cause.

You will be adding lots of baby paraphernalia, such as, strollers, swings and noisy toys to your home. By adding these items now, your cat can gradually become accustomed to them. If you set up the baby’s room ahead of time, your cat can investigate the new area. Now is the ideal time to train your cat to stay out of the crib (that soft mattress will be so inviting) or off of the changing table, etc. (It is a persistent old wives tale that cats will suck a baby’s breath. It is not true, however, a cat may be attracted to the smell of milk or formula around the baby’s mouth and lick it off. Also, a large cat that decides to cuddle with an infant can cause serious consequences.) If you decide that the nursery will be off limits entirely, now is the time to establish the boundary by training your cat to stay out or by installing a screen door to keep the cat out. If there are other areas where your cat will not be allowed after the baby arrives, now is the time to also establish those boundaries. If your cat normally sleeps in the bed with you, now is the time to decide if that will continue. If you are going to want your cat to sleep elsewhere, now is the time to accustom your cat to the new sleeping location.

Thinking ahead to the time that your baby becomes mobile, you may want to change the locations of feeding bowls and litter boxes. If there will be any changes to litter box location or style of litter box, you want to make these changes well in advance of the baby’s arrival. One of the primary ways that cats show stress or dissatisfaction is through inappropriate elimination. By making gradual changes now any elimination problems can be corrected before the baby arrives. Then, if new problems develop after the baby’s arrival, some causes for the behavior changes have already been eliminated. Also be sure to provide comfortable places for your cat to retreat to that are out of your little one’s reach.

If you are concerned about your cat jumping up into your lap while you are holding the baby, you can train your cat to wait for an invitation to jump up. You can do this by standing up if the cat jumps up without an invitation. Then teach your cat a jump-up command so your cat waits to be invited to sit in someone’s lap.

To see how your cat reacts to your carrying or rocking or feeding your baby, you can care for a doll the way you would care for your baby. As you care for the doll, you can create positive associations for your cat with favored toys or treats. You can also help your cat become accustomed to the new scents associated with the baby by using lotions and powders, etc on yourself before the baby arrives.

Once the baby is born, have someone bring home an article of clothing or a blanket that has your baby’s smell. Let your cat investigate the item and get used to the smell.

When mom and the baby come home, have someone else hold the baby in another room and let mom greet the cat empty-handed. A favorite treat or toy can help your cat associate the baby’s arrival with something positive. Once things have settled down, mom can sit holding the baby and invite the cat to check the baby out as it feels comfortable doing so.

Most cats are truly creatures of habit who like their worlds to be stable. By introducing changes to your home gradually in the months leading up to your baby’s arrival, you will be able to address behavioral issues that come up before your baby is born. After all, you want the whole family to enjoy and share in this wondrous time. And you want the baby and cat to begin bonding so they can spend many years together playing and cuddling and sharing secrets.