Pregnancy (me) Cat Behaviour Has Changed.

Hi everyone.
First time posting here, hoping for some help. I’m due to give birth in the next three weeks and up until last week my cats have been fine. Myself and my partner agreed we needed to get the cats sleeping out of the bedroom for once baby arrives. Around 3 months ago I loved the Cat tree and both cat beds onto the landing outside our room and both cats accepted this easily and slept on the landing together. In the past week I have begun to shut my bedroom door at night so they are used to not having any access to the bedroom through the night and all hell has broken loose! My 1year old male is absolutely fine but my 2 year old female is scratching at the door and also at the (New!) carpet at the entrance to our room at all hours on and off. She cries until I come out of the room to stroke her and has started to be generally destructive through the daytime with wallpaper etc when she has never done that before.

Does anyone have any ideas? I love my cats and feel awful the the girl is struggling so much at night! I’m reluctant to lock them in the dining room/kitchen as it gets so cold!

Thanks for reading if you got this far!

Ps this is our second baby but the first child is 7 so a new experience for them x

This is normal. It's one thing to move their beds out. But in your girls mind, you are abandoning her at night. She's locked out! Can't get to you! Oh no! Mommy must not love me anymore!
That's what's going through her mind.
Have you tried a Feliway diffuser? They help to calm cats and aren't harmful to children or adults. I'd double check with your ob because I'm not sure about pregnancy though.
You can also try a calming vest. This is a very stressful change for her, and it might help.
During the day, give her extra love and attention. This may help with her destructive tendencies. And you might consider a spray bottle to discourage said tendencies.
And final option- if she stays out of your room at night with the door open, you may just have to start leaving it open again.

Good luck, and congrats momma!

Cats and babies are ok together. Cats care for babies and like to help. I, for one, was a baby whose cats slept in the cradle with, and suffered no ill effects.

I second the Feliway idea.

I'm going to call on someone who's recently had a baby with their two cats playing a very hands-on roll. They might have a few top tips. If you don't mind gareth , over to you...

Hiya, cheers for the heads up Brian.

We went a different way. We decided the cats were here first so did everything we could to AVOID changing their routine and upsetting them. Here's what we DID do.

Before the baby arrived

1. Started washing ourselves in baby shampoo and wash so they get used to the smell weeks in advance
2. Started playing baby noises now and again, and baby crying sounds from youtube to get them used to it months and weeks before the birth.
3. Left some of the baby clothes and towels around for them to sniff / sleep on etc to get them used to it.
4. Reinforced our love for them by ensuring they were not blocked away from anywhere.
5. Leave some baby formula / food around so they got used to the smell.
6. Filled the cot up with food tins. The cats jump in, find nowhere comfortable to sleep, and move on.

When the baby arrived

1. Ensured the cats got MORE attention than before
2. Never scolded the cats for going near the baby
3. Gave the cats attention at the same time as the baby
4. Fed the baby at the same time as the cats
5. Introduced the cats to the baby as soon as she arrived.

Whatever we did, it seems to be working, we have had zero issues, and the cats adore the baby. One of them, Loki, simply will not be separated from Arienne without screaming, and Arienne cries if he leaves her. they play together all the time. We certainly never moved their food, trees, or locked them out of the room.

I appreciate we are very lucky in having Burmese cats, which simply will not scratch or bite anyone despite Arienne biting Loki's tail, dragging him along the floor by a leg, and trying to see which way his head comes off. Not all cats would tolerate that...

Our cats sleep in the bed with us. Occasionally we will wake up and find Loki and Arienne in each other's arms in the nursery, which is just heart-meltingly cute. We had Arienne in the room with us for six months, and Loki just got thrown out of the cot until he learned.

I would just have a think about what message you are giving to the cats by causing upheaval in their world. If they identify the baby with the reason for why they can't play in the normal place and sleep in the normal place, and especially with why mummy and daddy don't have the same amount of time for them any more, then you might be setting yourself up for resentment / behavioural issues. You want the cats to see the baby as another family member, not the cause of their stress.

I would take the weeks you have to make their world as peaceful and routine as possible, and ensure they feel as loved as the baby approaches as they ever have been, so that the baby just slots into your world rather than turns it all upside down. It's gonna do enough of that as it is

Wow, gareth , you've gone the extra mile and given us all some really useful tips, thank you so very much.

It was actually a photograph of you and Loki in bed that inspired me to join this site in the first place.

G Greycat1394 , I hope we (meaning Gareth and co) have been of help.

It's weird seeing that as it suddenly dawns on me that one of the cats we had when I was a baby was a brown Burmese. We also had a tabby. I say "we", of course, I mean my parents. My human parents that is, not my furparents.