Preparing Your Cat for a Baby: what should I do first?

The secret to a smooth transition is starting during pregnancy before the baby comes home from the hospital: play audio recordings of baby cries at a low volume on your phone to get your cat used to the sound, and finish setting up the crib and rearranging furniture well in advance. As an absolute safety rule—even though a cat means no harm—prevent accidental suffocation (from a cat drawn by the smell of milk curling up on a sleeping baby's face) by keeping the cat out of the baby's sleeping room whenever unsupervised or overnight, or fitting a taut cat-proof net over the crib. Every single day while the baby is napping, set aside at least 10 minutes of one-on-one time to spoil your cat with cuddles, treats, and play.

What should I avoid doing?

Yelling 'Dangerous! Go away!' and shooing your cat off whenever they walk over out of curiosity while the baby is crying (this teaches your cat that 'whenever the baby cries, I get scolded,' fueling stress behaviors or hostility toward the baby). / Letting your cat lick the baby's face or leaving a newborn and a cat alone together in a room with no adult present.

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Preparing Your Cat for a New Baby: Preventing Stress & Room Safety

🚨 Check first

To a cat that has been the center of affection in your home, a human newborn—who arrives out of nowhere, cries loudly, and takes up all of the owner's time—is a massive environmental change that can easily trigger confusion and loneliness (leading to urine accidents, loss of appetite, or overgrooming).

📌 The answer in 3 seconds

The secret to a smooth transition is starting during pregnancy before the baby comes home from the hospital: play audio recordings of baby cries at a low volume on your phone to get your cat used to the sound, and finish setting up the crib and rearranging furniture well in advance.
As an absolute safety rule—even though a cat means no harm—prevent accidental suffocation (from a cat drawn by the smell of milk curling up on a sleeping baby's face) by keeping the cat out of the baby's sleeping room whenever unsupervised or overnight, or fitting a taut cat-proof net over the crib.
Every single day while the baby is napping, set aside at least 10 minutes of one-on-one time to spoil your cat with cuddles, treats, and play.

📊 Flowchart

Step 1Prepare at least 1 month before the due date: Finish assembling the crib and new furniture—and any needed relocation of your cat's litter box or cat tree—more than a month before the baby arrives so your cat does not connect the baby with losing their territory.
Step 2Before coming home from the hospital: Bring home a baby undershirt or gauze cloth the newborn has worn at the maternity clinic first, and feed your cat a favorite treat while letting them sniff it so they learn in advance that 'this new scent = good things happen.'
Step 3Daily life after the baby arrives: Fit a dome-style cat-proof mesh canopy over the crib or keep the nursery door closed, and practice 'resident cat first'—calling your cat's name and petting them right after you finish tending to the baby.

⭕ Step-by-step fix

Step 1 · What you can do at home right now
Prepare at least 1 month before the due date: Finish assembling the crib and new furniture—and any needed relocation of your cat's litter box or cat tree—more than a month before the baby arrives so your cat does not connect the baby with losing their territory.
Step 2
Before coming home from the hospital: Bring home a baby undershirt or gauze cloth the newborn has worn at the maternity clinic first, and feed your cat a favorite treat while letting them sniff it so they learn in advance that 'this new scent = good things happen.'
Step 3
Daily life after the baby arrives: Fit a dome-style cat-proof mesh canopy over the crib or keep the nursery door closed, and practice 'resident cat first'—calling your cat's name and petting them right after you finish tending to the baby.

❌ Never do this

Yelling 'Dangerous! Go away!' and shooing your cat off whenever they walk over out of curiosity while the baby is crying (this teaches your cat that 'whenever the baby cries, I get scolded,' fueling stress behaviors or hostility toward the baby).
Letting your cat lick the baby's face or leaving a newborn and a cat alone together in a room with no adult present.

📋 Make notes for the vet

Your notes save automatically on this device, so they stay even without a signal at the clinic.

Your cat

Since when

Symptoms and things to tell the vet

Watching after the baby arrives for feline stress signs such as urinating outside the litter box (especially on baby items), licking belly fur bald, hiding all day, or vomiting.

Urine

Stool

Photos and items to bring

Notes (breathing rate, amount eaten, times, etc.)