Cat anxiety after new baby

A new baby is one of the biggest disruptions a cat can experience — new smells, new sounds, a completely different household rhythm, and often a lot less one-on-one attention. For a five-year-old Snowshoe who's been the centre of your world, six weeks in is actually when the stress tends to peak rather than settle. Snowshoes are unusually people-oriented for cats, so the shift in your attention hits them harder than most breeds. What are you seeing from her — hiding, vocalising, changes in appetite, litter box issues? And has she had any access to the baby's room or has that space been off-limits to her?

That picture — the withdrawal, losing her spot on the bed, hovering outside the closed door — tells you she's not aggressive or territorial, she's anxious and confused. She hasn't been shut out of a room before, and she can smell and hear something significant happening behind it. The hiding and the bed abandonment are classic signs she's lost her sense of safety in the home rather than feeling threatened by a rival. The good news is this is very treatable with the right pheromone support. Before I point you at the specific product, one practical question: do you have multiple floors or is it a single-level home? It affects whether you need one diffuser or two.

That's useful — she's essentially restricted herself to one territory, which is the anxiety showing physically. Here's what I'd recommend: Feliway Classic Starter Kit, which includes a diffuser and a 30-day refill. Plug it in downstairs in the room she spends most time in, ideally not in a draught or behind furniture. Feliway Classic replicates the facial pheromone cats deposit when they rub their face on things — it's the chemical signal that tells a cat a space is safe and familiar. It won't sedate her or change her personality, it just lowers the background stress level so she can start reorienting herself. Most owners see a meaningful shift in two to three weeks. I'd also suggest, when you have a moment, letting her sniff a muslin or item with the baby's scent in a neutral, calm setting — not near the closed door. That association matters.

Given that she's self-isolating downstairs, start with one in her current safe zone — that's where it'll have the most impact right now. If after two to three weeks she's still not venturing upstairs or reclaiming the bedroom, add a second one on the landing. There's also a Feliway Classic spray you can use directly on the bed or her old sleeping spots, which can help re-establish those as safe anchors for her faster than the diffuser alone. But the diffuser is the foundation — get that running first and give it time to work before layering anything else in.

Yes, completely. Feliway is a synthetic analogue of a cat-specific pheromone — humans and other mammals don't have receptors for it, so it has no effect on people, including newborns. It's been through extensive safety testing and is widely used in homes with babies and young children. Plug it in with confidence.