A new baby changes a cat's home in sound, smell, schedule and attention all at once, and cats cope with change far better in instalments than in a single overnight rewrite. Everything that can be introduced gradually before the arrival should be, and her anchors after the birth need deciding in advance, while the household still has patience to spare.
Prepare Before the Arrival
In the weeks before the baby comes home, play recordings of baby crying, gurgling and night-time stirring at low volume during calm, pleasant routines: while she eats a favourite meal, during a grooming session she enjoys, or alongside evening play. Keep the volume low enough that she notices without startling, and raise it gradually across days, always pairing the sound with something good, so crying becomes background rather than an alarm. Set up nursery furniture early and let her investigate it while you are in the room and relaxed, because furniture explored for a month is furniture she can ignore later. Introduce the scents of baby toiletries the household will use by leaving a closed item near her feeding area, and if a hospital blanket can come home ahead of the baby, let her sniff it during a calm cuddle. Move anything of hers that must move, such as a tray displaced by nursery furniture, to its new position now, one change at a time.
Boundaries Around the Nursery and Sleep Space
Decide the household safety rule before the birth and hold it without exceptions: the cat is kept out of the cot, crib, Moses basket or any surface where the baby sleeps, and out of the room where the baby sleeps unsupervised. Fit the nursery door so it closes properly, consider a screen door that lets air and sound pass while keeping her out, and never leave her alone in a room with a sleeping baby, however placid she has been. Outside the sleep space, supervised togetherness is the goal rather than exile: let her be in the room during feeds, sniff the pram when it is empty, and settle on her own perch nearby, so the baby becomes part of normal home life. Visitors need the same briefing as residents, because a well-meaning grandparent opening doors is the common route by which boundaries quietly lapse.
Night Feeds and the Changed Rhythm
Night feeds break the household's night into pieces, and her routine breaks with it unless you plan the pieces. Feed her evening meal and run her play session at a consistent time, perhaps just before the household's first bedtime, so a hunt, catch and eat sequence settles her for the first stretch of the night. Expect her to appear during night feeds, confused by lights at odd hours; a set place for her in the feeding room, and a few strokes between tasks, costs little and prevents attention-seeking escalating into yowling outside the nursery door. If she begins waking the household at feed times, resist turning night appearances into full meals, and return the calories to her daytime ration. Tired owners should divide cat duties explicitly rather than assuming the person not feeding the baby remembers the cat.
Retreats That Stay Hers, and Signs to Watch
Whatever else changes, keep at least one retreat entirely hers: a room, high perch or covered bed where children, visitors and baby equipment never follow, with water and a litter tray reachable without passing the nursery. Keep her feeding spot, tray positions and one daily play session constant through the first months. Watch her for hiding that lasts all day, appetite loss, toileting outside the tray or over-grooming, and mention persistent changes to your veterinarian, since stress and illness can look alike. Many cats adjust within weeks once crying becomes familiar and the new rhythm proves predictable. In KinsLe Family Sharing, a family member you pick gains access to her profile, during those first months when her retreat stays entirely hers.