We'll be welcoming home a newborn baby very soon. We have a neutered and parasite free male cat at home. What are some things we should expect or watch out for in this situation ?
We are aware that they should not interact for a while, until the baby's immune system hardens a bit. Is there anything else we need to worry about ?
The most important thing: do NOT change your behavior towards the cat just because you have the baby. Do NOT shun away the cat with regard to the baby.
Instead, take your cat as an ally about everything you do:
Of course, you will have to introduce the cat to the new noisy "thingy" - otherwise the curiosity will not only kill the (legendary) cat, but also damage the "thingy" too. And as you noticed, "introduce" and "interact" are different words with different meanings. The cat should be allowed to see the baby from a distance - the mere observation is unlikely to change any state (and any diaper).
With fewer words: keep the cat away by being its friend, not by being the baby's protector against the monster. As much as possible, tend to the cat first, as a preparation to tending to the baby.
I am sure that more advice exists, but it is not currently in my possession.
I had a cat and a dog when our first son was born.
The dog (a golden retriever of sorts) was wild when the baby came in, sniffing, laying, well everything you expect form such a dog.
The cas shown wild interest initially but when the dog cooled down she started to look closer, sniff, shoo away etc.
We did not change a thing in our behaviour, both pets assumed that something new arrived and that t was extraordinary (dog) or somehow (cat) interesting. The kay was to not change any of our routines.
It all went well, both ended up being surprisingly protective.
