Introducing a newborn baby to your pets can be scary. The instinct as a new parent is to protect the child at all costs, and while we all see our pets as angels… they can sometimes be jealous or hostile towards a new family member.

Cats in particular tend to be very territorial and don’t always take well to new babies in their homes.

You might feel some paranoia that your cat could harm your baby. There have been stories of cats smothering newborn children, but these are largely myths. Studies have proven that cats don’t intentionally harm babies, so there’s no reason to believe that bringing your new baby home to your cat is a recipe for disaster.

Of course, your cat may feel a little rejection or confusion when you come home with a new baby, which will be getting so much of your attention.

It’s normal for any pet to feel some stress or appear completely uninterested in the child at first, but in the majority of cases, cats will warm right up!

The relationship between your child and your furry friend will improve eventually – just as it did between Sunny and Hazel.

Sunny, the cat, lived with the Richardsons as an only “child” for five years before Hazel, the baby, was born.

The family had rescued him when he was about 8 years old, and he bonded with them all quickly. But it came as a surprise and was a bit of an adjustment for him to accept a new baby in the household so suddenly!

Initially, he didn’t seem too impressed with the new baby.

“When we first brought Hazel home, he did not care for her much. We put the infant carrier down and he sniffed her, then walked away and went and ate his dinner,” Shannon explained in an interview with The Dodo.

He paid the baby no attention for months.

Hazel’s mom, Shannon, worried she’d never see Hazel and Sunny together as friends. But then one night she checked her baby monitor footage, and saw something very unexpected.

She saw Sunny sneaking into Hazel’s room and jumping into the crib. He cozied up next to the little baby, and fell asleep. Shannon recalled that Sunny hadn’t been following his regular routine, and hadn’t gone to bed with his parents as usual.

“I was super surprised to see him in the crib. There is not an easy way up without jumping pretty far and he doesn’t really like jumping. He stayed there for four hours before my husband realized he didn’t sneak back into bed with us,” Shannon continued.

Sunny changed from that night on, and became a real brother. Now, Shannon says he’s always at Hazel’s side, sleeping and snuggling up at every opportunity. He even puts up with some uncomfortable baby behavior.

“He actually jumped in her crib this morning when she was crying and nuzzled against her. She has not exactly gotten the hang of petting, so she grabbed him and he just stayed there. He is such a good boy,” she dotes.

As you can imagine, Shannon and her husband are thrilled with how the relationship between their cat and their newborn unfolded. They love that Sunny stepped into his brotherly role, and think it was worth him coming around to it on his own. Better late than never!

So if you’re worried about the relationship between your pet and your new baby, just give it a little time. They’ll come around.

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Source: The Dodo