Pet Appeal

Preparing Furry Friends for the New Baby

By Heather Larson

When Denick Herrin of Wayne, Pa., was expecting her first child, she made sure her Alaskan Malamute was accustomed to having hands in his food dish while he was eating. "We also had this rule that any baby toys that sounded like dog toys were put away or given away," says Herrin.

The arrival of a baby brings a deluge of new scents and sounds into your home, all of which are unfamiliar to your pet. If you don't start preparing your pet early, your dog or cat may be bewildered when this crying, squirming and strange-smelling being takes up all your time. Then your pet may find unpleasant ways to capture your attention.

Gradual changes to both dogs' and cats' routines will make the transition easier, but this is paramount if you have a cat, says Nancy Peterson, an issue specialist for companion animals with the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS). Abrupt changes seem to upset cats more.

Peterson suggests you delegate cat care to another family member. Someone else should be feeding her and scooping the litter box while you're pregnant. When the cat sees this other person is fulfilling her needs, she won't feel so abandoned when you bring the baby home.

Keep the nursery off limits to the cat. Putting a screen door on the baby's room keeps pets out while still allowing you to hear the baby, says Julia Brannan, a resident in veterinary behavior at the Washington State University Veterinarian Teaching Hospital in Pullman, Wash.

Start early with changes in your dog's routines, too, says Michelle Barlak, public relations coordinator for the American Kennel Club in New York. If you need to change where the dog sleeps, when he gets his exercise or any other aspect of his daily life, do it early in your pregnancy so he won't associate those changes with the new baby.

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