The Katz Nest

I won’t lie—I was terrified to introduce our newborn baby to our animals.

Not because I thought they would hurt him (though of course that crossed my mind), but because they had never really been around a baby before. I thought I knew how they’d react… but what if I was wrong?

In my head, I had it all mapped out:
– Cooper, our border collie, would be completely obsessed and instantly become the baby’s best friend. 
– Sebastian, our Jack Russell/Dachshund mix, would be jealous he wasn’t in Mom’s lap 24/7 and would pretend the baby didn’t exist. 
– And our three cats—Jelly, Nemo, and Feta—would be curious, but ultimately unbothered. 

But there was still that little voice in the back of my mind: 
What if they hate the baby? What if something goes wrong?

Why I Was So Determined to Get This Right

Before having our baby, I spent four years working at an animal shelter. I saw firsthand how many pets are surrendered because of a “lack of time” or a new baby entering the home.

In fact, over 6 million animals were entered into the shelter system last year, and a high percentage of those animals are surrendered due to issues in the home. While working in the shelter system, I saw thousands of animals come through the doors—and a large portion of them were given up because a new baby took their spot in the family. It truly felt like one of the top reasons animals were surrendered.

I knew one thing for sure: 
That was not going to be our story.

Our animals are family, and I was determined to make this transition work for everyone.

Preparing Before Baby Came Home

One thing we tried was introducing the baby’s scent before we even got home.

While we were still in the hospital, we had someone bring home a blanket the baby had been using so the animals could check it out.

Did it actually help?

Honestly… I have no idea.

They sniffed it for about 30 seconds and moved on with their lives. 
Were they smelling the baby? Us? The hospital? 
Your guess is as good as mine.

The Big Introduction Day

After two days in the hospital, it was finally time to bring our little one home.

We decided to keep the baby in his car seat at first and let the dogs get their excitement about us out of the way. That worked… for about a minute. Then they realized something far more interesting was sitting on the table.

We started with Sebastian.

Sebastian’s Reaction

I picked him up and let him peek into the car seat—and immediately, it was all tail wags and excitement.

We set the car seat on the ground and let him sniff, circle, and (of course) sneak in a few licks on the baby’s tiny toes.

He was thrilled. Instant fan. Though as the days went on he became a bit more hesitant and is still working on getting comfortable with the tiny human.

Cooper… the “Loving Menace”

Then came Cooper.

If you’ve ever met an overly enthusiastic dog, you’ll understand when I say: Cooper is a lot. He’s sweet, but he expresses love like it’s a full-contact sport—jumping, licking, barking, howling… all of it.

So we held him back.

Good thing we did—because the second he saw the baby, he was determined to love him to death. Sniffing, licking, hovering… he would have happily adopted that baby as his own on the spot.

And yes—those tiny toes were absolutely his main target.

But what we didn’t expect was just how far that obsession would go.

Cooper was so obsessed that he spent the first few nights staring into the bassinet, circling it all night like a doting mother making sure the baby was still breathing. He was relentless. If the baby started crying, Cooper was right there, ready to take over and lick the tears away. Put the baby on the changing table where he couldn’t see? Absolutely not—Cooper made it his mission to reposition himself so he always had eyes on the baby.

It drove my husband crazy.

And Then… the Cats

The cats were… significantly less impressed.

Nemo and Jelly (our orange boys) were curious enough to come investigate. They sniffed the car seat, checked out the blankets, and gave the baby a cautious once-over—but that was about it.

Feta, our semi-feral and very skittish cat, took a different approach: 
avoid at all costs.

Even 12 weeks later, she still prefers to admire the baby strictly from a distance.

The First Few Days

The first few days told us everything we needed to know:

– Cooper stayed glued to the baby’s side like a furry bodyguard. 
– Sebastian became a little more hesitant as the baby got louder and more active. 
– The cats adjusted quietly and without much fuss. 

And just like that… life started to feel normal again.

What Made It a Success

Looking back, I truly believe our success came down to one thing:

We worked hard to make sure our pets’ lives didn’t suddenly change.

They still got attention. 
They still had routines. 
They still felt like part of the family.

Because they are.

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Bringing a newborn into a home with pets can feel overwhelming, but for us, it turned out better than we could have hoped.

Everyone adjusted. 
Everyone found their place. 
And most importantly—everyone stayed together.

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✨ I’ll be sharing another post soon about exactly how we kept our pets’ routines consistent—and why I think that made all the difference.