What to expect? (Cat with new pup)

maykitrayen

Hi All,

We've a 4 year old cat, he's a neutered male and has a very laid back personality. For example, he has accepted the other local cats onto his "turf" and they hang around as a group, he'll let them in to have a wander around the house/where he is fed and similar. Very passive overall unless he's cranky, but he never really swipes/claws/bites.

We're introducing a new puppy to the house next weekend and with the aforementioned cat in the house, I was wondering what we should expect? I've separated the house with baby gates, the result being that the cat has an area dedicated to him with access to the cat flap and the pup will have the kitchen area. The cat, being a cat, can get in and out of the area by hopping around the tables and jumping the fences, but the pup won't be able to.

The plan is to put the pup in his crate and let the cat into the room to eat with the pup there to start off and let the cat get his bearings. I'll obviously trim and file down the cats nails until they're of no danger and I've read then to let him get all the hissing and moaning out of him and that he'll eventually come to terms with the dog's presence. Pups apparently learn quite quickly not to feck around with cats so I think it should go relatively smoothly...!? Although, I can imagine the cat might throw a sulker for a few days, so I guess the name of the game is to smother him in love so he knows he still has an equal place in our heart?

Does anybody have any first hand advice with regards to the introduction of the pup to the house?

Thanks all

planetX

maykitrayen wrote: »

Hi All,

We've a 4 year old cat, he's a neutered male and has a very laid back personality. For example, he has accepted the other local cats onto his "turf" and they hang around as a group, he'll let them in to have a wander around the house/where he is fed and similar. Very passive overall unless he's cranky, but he never really swipes/claws/bites.

We're introducing a new puppy to the house next weekend and with the aforementioned cat in the house, I was wondering what we should expect? I've separated the house with baby gates, the result being that the cat has an area dedicated to him with access to the cat flap and the pup will have the kitchen area. The cat, being a cat, can get in and out of the area by hopping around the tables and jumping the fences, but the pup won't be able to.

The plan is to put the pup in his crate and let the cat into the room to eat with the pup there to start off and let the cat get his bearings. I'll obviously trim and file down the cats nails until they're of no danger and I've read then to let him get all the hissing and moaning out of him and that he'll eventually come to terms with the dog's presence. Pups apparently learn quite quickly not to feck around with cats so I think it should go relatively smoothly...!? Although, I can imagine the cat might throw a sulker for a few days, so I guess the name of the game is to smother him in love so he knows he still has an equal place in our heart?

Does anybody have any first hand advice with regards to the introduction of the pup to the house?

Thanks all

Not true, the pup will pester and chase the cat unless you stop it. Don't assume your cat will stand up for himself, a lot of cats will just run and try to escape. You don't want your pup to get used to chasing. The plan of crating the pup is a good one, and giving the cat a safe retreat is important too. Please don't cut your cats claws, he needs them and there's no need to anyway because you'll be monitoring the two of them together all the time. Don't leave them alone together. The main thing is to reward the pup for good behaviour - treat him when he interacts well with the cat, remove him when he gets too boisterous. And don't expect too much too soon, your cat is going to be disgusted with you for a while;)

forestfruits

We ended up with a pup at christmas time, unwanted gift elsewhere- long story!

We have a 7year old neutered male cat, who has mellowed a good bit in his old age. The pup was four months old when he joined our household and the cat was less than impressed!

To save the puppy from being assaulted by the cat we kept them separate for about two weeks, the pup spent most of his time in the kitchen and cat spent his in the sittingroom. The cat had to pass through the kitchen to get out though- I found that the puppy was terrified of the cat at first and then found his feet.

They tolerate each other now- we introduced them to eachother gradually, and never let them eat in the same room. We never give them any scraps so they dont feel they are competing over food.

The cat will now play a little with the puppy- chasing eachother around the garden but when he is sick of him he just hops up on the windowsill and its game over.

Be prepared to let your cat put manners on your puppy( hopefully your cat will) our guy has endured a few scraped ears! Now the cat gives him a few warning shots - no claws out- if the puppy wants to play and he want to sleep. He is much slower to scratch him these day.


My main advice is dont ever feed them together, and make sure your cat has a safe haven away from the puppy- to sleep and generally laze about as all good felines do!

Good luck!

Cherry Blossom

Hi OP,

Get the pup used to a lead as soon as you can, and let them interact with the pup on the lead at first. I found swapping their beds over every second day also helped as the main issue I found was that the dogs didn't like the scent of the cat at first.

maykitrayen

Thanks for the advice guys, much appreciated