The wee one is due in about a month, so as the baby’s due date draws closer, it’s imperative that we train Furball to get used to babies because he can become aggressive when he feels threatened. I’ve had Furball for almost eight years now and I will not be one of those people who gives up their cat (thus, contributing to pet overpopulation) because they weren’t able to train the cats to adapt to the baby.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been playing audio of babies crying for Furball to get used to the sound. I’ll admit that it has been a challenge. I would have thought that after a few weeks, he’d start ignoring it, but he still perks up and comes by whenever I play it. Here’s a video of one of his early reactions.
It seems like he’s quite concerned that there’s a distressed being making these sounds. He kept looking at me like I should do something to help. Sometimes, he cries along. A few times, he’s actually nipped me. That totally freaked me out, which is the opposite effect of what I was trying to accomplish.
Fortunately, the way to Furball’s heart is through his stomach. So, I started giving him snacks and treats whenever I played the sound of babies crying. I also pet him a lot too. Today, I feel I may have made a breakthrough. When Furball heard the crying babies, instead of wailing along, he came by and started to purr and rub up against me. I gave him a little snack and he seems to be remaining fairly calm.
Ideally, I’d prefer it if he would ignore the crying completely, but I guess it’s not so bad if the cat associates the sound of a crying baby with happy things like food and petting.
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