When you know that you’re going to have a baby coming to the house, there are some things that you should do before the baby comes home to get your cat ready for it.

a. If you need to change some things that usually happen around the house and affect the cat, do it before the baby comes home. This way they don’t think that it’s because of the baby.  You don’t want the cat to resent the baby.

b.  When you set up the crib or bassinet, do it in plenty of time so that the cat knows its there, but at the same time make certain that they are trained not to sleep in it.  Babies and cats shouldn’t sleep together because you don’t know if there will be an allergic reaction in the baby, and there’s the possibility of suffocation.

c.   Take your cat to the vet and make certain that it’s healthy.  Take her in plenty of time to make certain that everything is taken care of before the baby comes home.

d.   After the baby is born, have someone bring home something that has the baby’s scent on it and let the cat sniff it so that they get used to the baby’s smell.

e.   When the baby comes home from the hospital, let someone else carry the baby inside so that you can greet the cat. You don’t want the cat to feel neglected.

f.   When the cat comes to inspect the baby, don’t hold or restrain it.  Let her explore your baby at her own pace.

g.  When the baby is napping, spend time with your cat so that she knows that you still love her.  Fuss over her, play with her, brush her.