How to introduce your cat and the new baby to eachother???

Question

I am due at the beginning of october to have a baby and we have a cat. I was wondering what are some good ways to introduce the cat to the baby? Also, how did your cat handle things when you brought your baby home?

Answer 1

I had my husband take a receiving blanket home from the hospital that they'd wrapped the baby in to get my cat used to his smell.

The cat wasn't allowed in the baby's room unsupervised for the first 2.5 months, and we watched how she reacted to his cries and movements.

All in all, she's done well (the cat).  She hasn't tried to bat at him or anything.

Answer 2

I was very concerned about introducing the cat to the baby.  Our cat is a little high strung and tends to play rough (batting, scratching and biting).

But, she did surprisingly well when we brought our son home.  We just set his car seat carrier down on the floor and let the cat come up and smell him.  We tried to stay relaxed so she didn't get skittish.  She sniffed at him for a few seconds, then walked away like she really wasn't interested.

My little boy is now a year old and, for the most part, the cat has wanted nothing to do with him and pretty much just stays out of his way.  When he does chase her around and try to "pet" her, she's been very patient with him.

Good luck!