When our friends and family come over to visit the baby, everyone asks how our cats have adjusted to the baby? The truth is…our cats probably preferred their life before Ruby came into this world. They were our first set of babies and they got all of our extra attention. For the most part, they leave her alone…but now they dart across the room when the baby cries, they wonder why they're not allowed to sleep in our room at night, and, I have to admit we just haven't given them quite as much attention as before. Bruce {shown up top} is my favorite and my sidekick and he no longer gets much tummy time because Ruby gets that now.
I need to get better at giving them more attention, but with a newborn, it can be overwhelming. Do you guys have any tips for keeping your pets happy with a new baby? One tip I can give you about how to get your cats to not go into the baby's crib or bassinet…put sheets of lint roller paper in there! As soon as they jump in, their paws stick to it and they hate that feeling. Once our cats tried it, they never went back in there again, and we don't have to worry about them jumping in her crib!
In sweeter, cat & baby moments, I leave you with this little video of Lucy saying hello to Ruby {maybe this dress is just what I need}. Have a great weekend everyone! — Joy
{iphone photos by Oh Joy}
Precious.
Aww..love the video! She’s rubbing her scent on the baby 🙂 So sweet.
i’m expecting a little one any day now, and sadly i’ve tried to give my cat as much attention before then, but there was one day last month when i forgot to feed her!!! i felt terrible for days!
ps, my cat loves lint paper for some odd reason! 😉 she likes the adhesive.
Cats make good Lo Mein.
Aw, love all these little videos of your sweet baby girl! 🙂
I was so excited to read this post! I was wondering though: did you get a lot of crap from people telling you that your cats would infect you with toxoplasmosis and harm the baby? All we’ve been hearing is that we should get rid of our cat if we plan to get pregnant!
We have a dog that was spoiled rotten with attention before our little one showed up. It was an especially difficult transition as I had nearly a month off work before I gave birth and spent hours every day walking and playing with the pup.
The first few weeks were really hard for her and us but we got some great advice from our vet. He suggested doing something called “ghost dog”. It seems counter-intuitive and a bit harsh but worked really well for us. Ignore the pup when the baby is sleeping. Lavish the dog with treats and love when the baby is around and awake. That way the dog associates the baby with positive feelings.
Nowadays we still go on lots of walks, the pup doesn’t get as much attention as she used to but she is fantastic with the baby and respectful. Also, the baby LOVES the dog. Not sure how this all works out with cats but give it some time. They (and you!) will adjust.
Hi Kiana,
Yeah, there were some people who expected wed just get rid of our cats once the baby came, but we never saw it like that! Our cats are part of the family and babies for hundreds of years have existed with pets that we think it will be just fine. Of course, if Ruby has asthma one day or some terrible allergies, wed have to revisit a new solution but so far its been totally fine!
Joy
It happend to me too! Cats are not so jealous as I thought they would be!
Cute videos!
Got lost in your vimeo clips for a minute…what a precious little girl. Adorable, and so sweetly tempered it seems!
I do not have tips but I think you will greatly enjoy this post from a hilarious parenting blog:
http://crappypictures.typepad.com/crappy-pictures/2011/07/my-cat-before-after-kidsillustrated-with-crappy-pictures.html
So adorable!!
we had our cats for 9 years before our daughter came along. when i was home on maternity leave, i still spent a lot of time with the cats – they still slept somewhere on the bed and would sit on the couch next to me. now that our daughter is 2 years old they are kind of scared of her, but at least one of them lets her hug and lie on top of it. they are definitely part of the family and we want our daughter to know that. i would recommend letting them get as close as possible, and with all likelihood the cats wont want to get too close anyway. my crazy old grandmother was terrified that the cats would eat the baby or something though. that was hilarious.
sooo sweet! i just watched the video of ruby getting a bath. aaaah, she is the cutest little thing ever!!!
yes. I have a solution for you: tie a string to the back of your pants so whenever you walk your cat is entertained 🙂 & you don’t have to do anything but multi-task per usual 😉
I don’t have a baby, but my dog, Hemingway, is my very best bud… and my shadow. I worry so much that if I ever have kids he will not get the same love and attention he is used to! My friend had a dog that she absolutely loved and talked about all the time. But since she had a baby 4 years ago I haven’t heard her mention him once. I guess it is inevitable, but I admire you for noticing and trying to give them the extra attention they have been missing!!!
love the ruby´s bath video!
“only the best french s…. for our baby”
😉 cheers to that!
mavi
Lucy & Ruby’s video is so cute! And she is so adorable. My son wants a little kitten, we travel occasionally and that worries me a lot. To be honest, I want one, too… either a baby or a kitten 🙂
Oh, make sure you give them lots of petting. We have two cats. Wavey, who I’d call our favorite, gave me a withering look when we came in with the baby before she left the room, and the other cat Scout seemed totally indifferent. Even now Scout is far more tolerant of the baby (now nearly 11mo) than Wavey. Wavey, in fact, started peeing in the laundry room a few weeks ago; we thought she had a bladder infection, but the vet said it was just stress from having the (now pretty mobile) baby around. We have a plug-in pheromone thing to make the cat happier, which I’m pleased to say has been working, but we may never be able to use our plush bath mat again. *sigh*
I just watched a few of your Ruby videos on vimeo, and I am in love with your little gal–that bath video is just the sweetest!
Just watched the other videos and they are so sweet, you two are beautiful parents 🙂
Your little Ruby is just too adorable! We are expecting our first child and have 2 cats and I have been wondering about them getting into the crib once baby arrives. Thanks for the great tip! Urm…wouldn’t baby get stuck to the lint paper too? Haha.
I’m pregnant with my first baby, and I’ve had our sweet cat for 11 years. Everyone is telling me about toxoplasmosis, and how a cat can smother a baby.
Your videos are so cute Joy! Congrats on having a beautiful healthy little girl!
What is the brand name of the grey and white stripped blanket that Ruby is laying on in the Lucy video? I love it
Thanks for the tip on using the lint roller paper. That was a cute video too. I would say that they are off to a good start.
joy, just wanted to say i am so happy for you and Bob! Ruby is soo adorable. 🙂 congrats!
Hi Carolyn!
Congrats to you! And, we dont leave the paper in there when baby goes in there. Now that the cats dont try going in the crib anymore, we dont need the paper anymore! ;P
Joy
Hi Janice,
Congrats to you! I wouldnt worry too much about it. As long as you use common sense and read your pets and how they interact with your baby (some are more chill than others), I think you can always see how it goes once the baby is here!
Joy
Hi Sina,
Thank you! That is a duvet from DwellStudio. The draper stripe 😉
Joy
This is super helpful hearing from everyone. I too am expecting our first child and we have two cats. One seems to already be stressing out with the moving and changing of furniture. I am glad to hear about the plug-in pheromone thing and the lint paper in the crib. We love our cats and we love this little baby on her way. Glad we can keep us all together. Also, I adored watching your baby videos. That bath one is my favorite.
so adorable
Oh my gosh! What a beautiful little baby! I just watched like 8 more videos after the Bruce meets ruby’s wee foot one. She is so darling! Very happy for you all 🙂
My “baby” is eight now, and I’ve always had cats. I tried to get on the floor as much as possible with my daughter, even when she was a newborn, so we were all down in the “cat’s world” together and they felt included. And really, after a while, the cats were pretty apathetic. And now, my daughter’s best friends are, of course, the cats. Congratulations. She’s beautiful!
Awww! Lucy is so cute.
Hi Joy,
Congrats on your beautiful Ruby! Regarding your fur babies–yes, I’m sure it must be a dilemma, but your cats are sensitive creatures and they’re probably well aware they’re now 2nd fiddle. Carve out time when the baby is sleeping to give them extra attention-they’ll adapt as long as you aren’t totally ignoring them. And just like the previous reader said about her cats and kids–Ruby will probably adore them very soon–Cho party of 5!
I have a kitty named Bruce too, and I’m pregnant! He’s actually been extra lovey towards me lately, I wonder if he knows? 🙂
your little cute ruby is so nice and adorable and i am really happy for you.
My sister has three cats that have interacted with her one year old daughter. It’s almost like the three bears, one knows she can be a little bit of trouble, so he stays away; one likes to be pet by anyone so he’ll allow attention; and then the third one used to be the “baby” and kind of has hissy fits for attention. He’ll get excited when she plays with him… that is until she accidently hits him upside the head with the streamer baton toy.
I guess getting them a heating pad/blanket/bed to lay on since they can’t suck up your heat while you sleep might be a nice way to keep them a little happier with their current arrangement. I know the weather is probably nicer on the west coast, but what cat doesn’t like extra heat? (And more catnip!)
At first, when our baby was born we completely ignored our dog and cat out of sheer exhaustion and utter culture shock from being new parents! But as we got the hang of things we were able to give them both attention again! It just takes time…and a baby who sleeps through the night! You’ll get there! 🙂
I have a 3 month old at home and a 6 year old cavalier who was my child before my child. Even though I was home with him all day while on maternity leave and would take him with on our long walks, I can tell he still feels neglected. I tell myself that everyone is getting less attention right now, myself included, but it will get better.
How adorable, so sweet!
This was a HUGE concern for me when I got pregnant. My two dogs are my children and I was worried that they’d be sad once the baby got here. I was right…they were. Luckily, I have an amazing husband who gets home from work and insists that I take a 20 minute nap every day. When I go up for my power nap, the dogs come with me and all three of us snuggle. I look forward to it as much as they do. Sometimes we don’t even sleep…we just lay there and have a snuggle fest while my husband is downstairs spending quality time with our new little girl.
This is such an awesome list!! I will be sewing for weeks now. Thank you , as always your blog is full of great usable info and I love it.