The Cats

So before Luke arrived, J and I were trying to figure out how we thought the cats would respond to the baby. When we first brought Luke home, both Guenevere and Sam came up to the carrier and sniffed but ran off as soon as Luke moved his arms. They mostly stayed away from Luke for the first few days. Lately, Guenevere and Sam have been getting a little braver and have started coming near Luke while we're holding him and sniffing him. Here's Sam this morning investigating Luke's feet:

But Merlin has mostly been ignoring Luke. I think that he's the most jealous or hurt by the baby because unfortunately we've been spending so much time taking care of Luke that we've been neglecting the cats. And poor Merlin seems to be the most upset by this neglect and seems to really crave attention, but not when we're holding Luke. Guen and Sam want attention also. Sam is starting to just take it. This morning he curled up next to me while I was holding Luke and started purring and cuddled next to my leg. Guen has been coming to J when he's not holding Luke and getting some attention. But Merlin only seems to ask for attention when we're in bed and ignores us during the day.

I think I need to make sure that I'm not forgetting about my fur babies while I'm caring for my human baby. I know that we've really changed our cats' world and although they seem to be adjusting well overall, I don't want them to think that we've abandoned them. So I'm really writing this post to remind myself that I need to pay more attention to the cats--especially Merlin--so that they still get the attention and love that they need and deserve.