# HELP- My cat hates my baby!!



## houdie07 (Aug 20, 2013)

I know it's natural for cats to act out when a baby comes around but when my eldest was born my cat was just curious about her. We never separated them so my cat would never feel left out and as a result they seemed to form a great relationship. As she got older they would play together and occasionally if my daughter got rough she would get a swat from the cat but NEVER with her claws out. She is the sweetest most docile and affectionate cat I have ever seen. 3 months ago my second daughter was born. My cat wanted nothing to do with this one and we were greeted by her peeing on our clothes or any items we have left on the floor CONSTANTLY. Fine! I can deal with that but recently she clawed my eldest daughter who she always liked right in the face and they weren't even playing rough and she's moved on from our clothes to things like saturating the baby's car seat in urine and destroying things around the house.

I don't want to get rid of her because she's a member of my family but I'm growing concerned for my children's safety. If I try to find a new family for her I'm scared they would get annoyed or something with her and treat her horribly. What's the proper way to handle this? Please help!! I'm so lost right now


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## Xanthia (Jul 6, 2013)

This sounds like she is being territorial like she would be if there was a new cat in the house instead of a new baby! Spraying urine and hitting out at your other child sounds like a territory issue to me. Its quite common when you get a new cat but i've not heard of it with a baby before, i guess the only thing you can do is try to introduce the cat gently like you would if you got a new cat. Dont leave her unsupervised around the baby, give her lots of fuss to make sure she doesnt feel left out. :


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## lymorelynn (Oct 4, 2008)

Oh dear what a dilemma  your eldest daughter must be bewildered by the sudden change in her friend  
My first instinct would be to get some Feliway or similar to try and calm your cat


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## AlexArt (Apr 25, 2010)

When my sister was born we had a rescue cat called Earl Grey who we'd got with his brother as a kitten from a shelter when i was 2, in short he was nuts, but he went totally coocookachoo when my sister arrived as he was my mums cat, he was so jealous and insecure he attacked my sister in her cot, he pooped all over my mums pillow, peed on everything and was just totally fuming!!! He used to attack me just for walking past him as well even though he had been fine with me before and I was only 5 and still have a few scars from those fits of anger!! We even took him for tests at Bristol university incase he had something wrong with him and he was declared nuts by them too!!

Anyway we shut him out of the babies room, he had no access to her at all for safety reasons obviously, he was also shut outside for about 2 or 3 months at night and had to sleep in a barn, so he didn't drown the house in pee when he couldn't be watched as we only had a tiny house so couldn't shut him anywhere else!! He was allowed round her when supervised and would be made a huge fuss of and fed as well so he associated her with nice things. He slowly came round to the idea and stopped pooping and peeing on things when he realised this new creature wasn't going to go away and he still got lots of attention, I can't remember how long it took him but I think my sister was crawling when he did settle, once he was fine he went back to his usual nutty self and was quite happy with my sister. So it maybe just weathering it out for now and maybe try one of those feliway plug ins, use a fleecy blanket with your babies smell on it to put in her favourite sleeping spot, make sure she has somewhere child free and quiet to go if she wants, try and devote some time everyday with just you and the cat for play time or feeding her something nice so she feels she is still getting attention as some just go to pieces when their environment is changed and they get left out! Don't give up on her she will come round in time!


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Yes, I agree with previous posters, your cat is making her displeasure known re: the arrival of the new baby, by scent marking with urine, either on on near the baby's clothing, blankets etc. This is her way of trying to get the "intruder" (the baby) to leave!

Many cats react badly to the arrival of a baby in the house, so it is always best to prepare cats as much as possible in advance. Scent marking/spraying often begins even before the baby has arrived, when baby clothes & equipment are brought into the house. The cat becomes overwhelmed by the invasion of new scents into her/his territory.

Along with that the cat is often not getting as much attention and fuss as s/he has always been used to, because new parents (or parents-to-be) are naturally preoccupied with the new baby.

As to why your cat adapted fine to the arrival of your eldest daughter, perhaps it was because she was younger then, so more adaptable than now. 
I do think you were lucky you had no problems then though.

Here is some very useful advice from the Feline Advisory Bureau on preparing cats for the arrival of a baby. I realise it is a bit late for some of this, but perhaps there are a couple of ideas to try.

Cats and babies

It would be a dreadful shame to rehome your cat, as her behaviour is entirely due to the fact she feels very emotionally attached to you and your daughter, and is fearful of being pushed out by the new baby. I really hope it won't come to that, as I do feel with time and patience your cat will regain her confidence that she is loved & that her place in your home, and your hearts, is safe.

I would try her on a course of Zylkene, a supplement which has good results in helping cats with anxiety and self confidence issues. It can be bought on line cheaper than from the vets. Comes as capsules which you open 
(1 a day) and mix contents with food. Needs to be given for about a month to achieve change.

Zylkene Capsules - Priced Per Tablet - 75mg - Animed Direct

Also it would be better, for the time being, if you can keep the baby's clothes, car seat etc out of reach of your cat (preferably in another room to which she has no access until you have gradually got her used to the new scent (as per the advice in the link above).

Use an enzymatic cleaner such as Urine-Off to clean up any urine, or the cat will return to the same place to wee again and again.

Good luck! Let us know how things go?


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## houdie07 (Aug 20, 2013)

So I thought I'd post a quick update. A visit with the vet told me that she's fine physically which was a relief but that she's gluten intolerant. I'm trying the feliway and already she doesn't seem on edge. Besides that, and the extra cuddles, with the new food I'm not cleaning up kitty vomit everyday. No more peeing on the baby's things and my older daughter is playing with her furry friend again. Happy ending here


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## Paddypaws (May 4, 2010)

That is a marvellous update!
What are you feeding her now? I hope you know that you don't need to buy expensive veterinary food to get a gluten free variety, plenty of options from Zooplus or The happy Kitty Company.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

Very pleased to hear the good news houdie!:001_smile:

Many cats do not tolerate cereals (grains) in their food, although lots do OK with rice (which is the only gluten free grain regularly used in cat foods), I prefer not to even give my cats rice though.

As Paddypaws has said, there are plenty of good quality reasonably priced grain free foods available on line. If you look at the Sensitive Foods on the Happy Kitty Co, they are all grain free (therefore gluten free):

All Products | The Happy Kitty Company

and there is a good choice of grain free foods on Zooplus also:

Product Search - Over 7.000 Products


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