[LisaCA]

hi and welcome!

I had the same concerns about my animals (at the time three cats, two rabbits and a hamster). turns out the rabbits couldn't care less, the hamster didn't know she existed. The cats however, well, lets just say they hate her. The cats were stressed out for several weeks when she first arrived. For my oldest cat I was his world and then it was disrupted by "the screaming one". After 7.5 months he'd still sell her on ebay if he could. I make special time for him, I say goodmorning and goodbye when I leave for work, and make the nanny play with the cats while I'm gone. I also have time in the evening with him when dh takes care of dd. The others are just barely adults, about 1.5 years old. One finds her fascinating, the other ignores her (totally jealous). None of them wanted to have anything to do with her room or crib unless I was in the room. Even now only one jumps in her crib when the side is down, but that only if he's sure she's not in it . If it's at all possible you might want to hire someone to come play with them for an hour a couple of times a week, give them some bonding and fun (dogs and cats) and you won't feel so guilty. My neighbor comes over and plays with the cats every now and then, plus I hired a nanny who understood she had four kids, dd plus her "brothers". If you hire a neighbor or kid to come over, start now before your baby arrives and they'll make the transition well. my feeling is the cats try not to think about her and resent it when they have to.

good luck and welcome!

LisaCA