I’m giving birth soon and worried about my cat

kittykstina

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I’m giving birth to my first child soon and am worried about how my cat will do. Not necessarily when the baby gets here, but leaving my cat, Nash, alone while I’m in labor/at the hospital for a few days. We adopted my cat when he was a few months old and have never been away from him since then. Myself or my husband have always been home with him at night since adopting him. He loves to be around us and is skittish around other people. My parents in law are going to stop by and feed him when we’re in labor and give him a little company (if he comes out). I just feel so guilty lol this is our first baby but my husband and I always joke around and say Nash is our first born 😂. I just don’t want him to feel like we abandoned him for a few days and when we come home we come home with a baby so it’s just such a big change I don’t want him to resent us in any way. Any tips? Tia!
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Do your parents in law come by now frequently? If not, I would ask them if they wouldn't mind doing so between now and when you deliver. If you have enough time, after a visit or two from them while you are there too, you might leave the house for an hour or so while they stay with Nash so he gets used to the idea of them being with him when you are not. Perhaps, they should interact with him ahead of time by giving him treats, or even feeding him. You can also leave out some worn, unwashed clothes where Nash will hang out while you are at the hospital, so he has your scent with him in your absence.

Are you adapting Nash to the baby's room, so that he has some familiarity with the furniture, etc? Here is a TCS article discussing different things you can do before and after the baby arrives to help Nash with adjusting.
Cats And Babies: All Your Questions Answered! – TheCatSite Articles
 

ArtNJ

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A few days is nothing, regardless of whether they hide from your parents. It should be totally fine. Outside chance your cats will be upset enough to pee somewhere. One of mine once pee'd in a suitcase even though he wasn't a problem pee'r at that point, and I've heard of similar things. For the most part, the only thing you'll notice is that they might both swarm you for affection, and/or take a little time to relax around you, usually under an hour. But since its only a couple of days, maybe not even that.
 

Lari

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Hi! I just gave birth to my first at the end of last month. We'd left the cats alone for much longer before (notably our three week honeymoon to Australia), and there were two of them to keep each other company, but they always seem to be fine if someone comes to check on them and they're fed and have their litterbox cleaned, though they've always clearly missed us once we're back. They probably sleep most of the time. The first night I spent away from my cat was really hard (when it was just me and her living alone), but she ended up doing great. It might not hurt to put in a Feliway plug-in - I can't promise it would help, but there's no harm.

Three and a half weeks out and two cats with very different reactions, if you have any questions or just want to chat about cats and babies from someone currently in the trenches, feel free to reach out to me either in comments or PMs!
 
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kittykstina

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Hi. Do your parents in law come by now frequently? If not, I would ask them if they wouldn't mind doing so between now and when you deliver. If you have enough time, after a visit or two from them while you are there too, you might leave the house for an hour or so while they stay with Nash so he gets used to the idea of them being with him when you are not. Perhaps, they should interact with him ahead of time by giving him treats, or even feeding him. You can also leave out some worn, unwashed clothes where Nash will hang out while you are at the hospital, so he has your scent with him in your absence.

Are you adapting Nash to the baby's room, so that he has some familiarity with the furniture, etc? Here is a TCS article discussing different things you can do before and after the baby arrives to help Nash with adjusting.
Cats And Babies: All Your Questions Answered! – TheCatSite Articles
Thank you for the response! My parents in law came over quite often last month because they were helping us move but haven’t been over in awhile. I’ll try and suggest to them to stop by before birth which might help him (which I’m sure they’d love to do, they are loving cat owners as well haha). We’ve been letting Nash in the baby’s room and explore everything because we want to get him used to it. Thank you for the article and the suggestion on the leaving clothes out for him!! I never thought of that and will definitely do that, hopefully it gives him some comfort while we’re away 😊
 
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kittykstina

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A few days is nothing, regardless of whether they hide from your parents. It should be totally fine. Outside chance your cats will be upset enough to pee somewhere. One of mine once pee'd in a suitcase even though he wasn't a problem pee'r at that point, and I've heard of similar things. For the most part, the only thing you'll notice is that they might both swarm you for affection, and/or take a little time to relax around you, usually under an hour. But since its only a couple of days, maybe not even that.
Thank you for the response!! 😊 I’m sure he will be okay, I’m just a worry ward lol! Hopefully we’re not in the hospital for too long!
 
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kittykstina

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Hi! I just gave birth to my first at the end of last month. We'd left the cats alone for much longer before (notably our three week honeymoon to Australia), and there were two of them to keep each other company, but they always seem to be fine if someone comes to check on them and they're fed and have their litterbox cleaned, though they've always clearly missed us once we're back. They probably sleep most of the time. The first night I spent away from my cat was really hard (when it was just me and her living alone), but she ended up doing great. It might not hurt to put in a Feliway plug-in - I can't promise it would help, but there's no harm.

Three and a half weeks out and two cats with very different reactions, if you have any questions or just want to chat about cats and babies from someone currently in the trenches, feel free to reach out to me either in comments or PMs!
Thank you for your input!! That makes me feel better! Luckily my parents in law are happy to visit and feed Nash so I’m sure Nash will eventually warm up (hopefully) especially if he sees that they’re the ones feeding, playing and scooping his litter box lol! I will definitely look into the feliway suggestion as well!! 😊
 

fionasmom

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Congratulations on your first baby! Your concern for Nash's wellbeing when he is being left in his own nice home with caretakers while you do something as important as have a baby is something like I would be worried about. Years ago I left an ER on my own reconnaissance to go home and check on my elderly father and make sure the animals were fed, returning the next day for surgery. The insurance company decided that if I was well enough to leave the ER it must not have been that much of an emergency so disputed that part of the bill.

When my best friend has to travel, I take care of the two cats. One is friendly, one hates everyone but her. Believe me, they are both fine doing their usual sleeping on the bed, lying in the sunny window, and making sure the food bowls are filled. Of course they are happy to see her, but it is not as traumatic as she always worries it will be. Leaving Nash in his own home, btw, is much preferable to boarding him in a kennel.
 
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