I'm getting a new golden puppy next week. He will be two months old. I visited the litter last week and they are incredibly cute. And I've done alot of research about raising a puppy, so don\t worry about that. BUT. I have a cat. He is 2 years old, fixed and is an indoor cat (though he is quite the escape artist). He's had experiences with dogs before. When we were on vacation, he lived with a very placid, senior yellow lab for a month. He did well. When we had a little terrier mix at our house, Lucky pretty much beat him up. We had to separate them. A few weeks ago, we had a giant 120 pound rough collie in our house and Lucky was so scared, he hid under the bed upstairs for 4 hours after the dog left.
I've read about exchanging scents, introducing them gradually and always with supervision. Also, to stop any swatting from Lucky and any rough playing from Chopin. Apparently, they should get along after a while.
Any advice from people who have been in a similar situation? Thanks.

My experience has been generally positive. I have a 21# black cat named Nasdaq. A few years ago he was attacked by a standard poodle and the damage he did to that dog was horrible...so I know he can defend himself. And yet, with every puppy we've brought into our home he has made his point with sheathed claws. It's like he recognizes and accepts the puppy license.

Our smaller cats, Microsoft and Linux, have scratched pups when provoked, but even they seemed to pull their punches.

I would just let them take it one day at a time, just make sure the cat has a safe place to go where the dog cant go. And make sure to keep the litter box in a place that the puppy cannot get into because they love to get into have snacks. GROSS I know but they think it is good.

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I have 7 cats and 6 of them are pretty good. Meeko, well, not so much. He is not fond of kids, puppies, kittens, etc etc.

If you are nervous, I would trim the cats claws a couple days before. It doesn't hurt them, and if the cat is reasonable, they will usually let you do it if you're quick. Then I would mainly watch the puppy, because they can be excited to see a cat. Cats will usually hide if they feel uncomfortable. Having the puppy in a crate and letting the cat check things out first can be a good idea. Cats are pretty in tune to their surroundings and when there is something "different", they will check it out.

Paige is very respectful of Meeko and when he approaches she will look the other way and avoid any sort of eye contact. As a puppy, they interacted, but Meeko always ran the show. The other cats, she will chase, run over, or corner if they're outside and she feels like playing "get the kitty". I think they establish things quite early and learn to live quite harmoniously. Hopefully its a smooth transition for your kitty. Good luck, BJ

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we had a very old cat when we bought Ruby home
we found the best way to introduce them was to keep Ruby on her lead and let Smudge see her
Ruby got very excited but could only get so far towards Smudge because of the lead
we got a baby stair gate that seperated them both, we put it across a room that Smudge used to sleep in and he used to sit by the gate and sniff Ruby and Ruby used to sniff him
they got used to each other over time so much so that Ruby used to "clean" Smudge
and he used to just lie there and let her
when we lost Smudge, Ruby lost a true friend and moped around for weeks afterwards putting her face on the sofa where he used to lay and looking at us as if to say wheres my Smudgey mom it was so sad
we now have a kitten (Pepper) and they are mad together they sleep curled up together a lot of the time, they get along so well
good luck with your cat and your puppy

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Steph

I generally just let the cat show the dog who's boss and go from there. The puppy will be small, so a lot less threatening than a larger dog. Don't reprimand the kitty for thumping puppy on the head. In my house, cats rule and the dogs must follow suit, and I allow this because the dogs could seriously hurt the cats if they wanted to, but since they were taught from a young age to respect the cats, everyone lives in harmony.

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I work at a shelter and we offer assistance on introducing new dogs to resident cats and vice versa, so I consider myself somewhat of an expert after having done it so many times. Especially with an indoor cat which is quite different from an outdoor cat in some ways. We also fostered dogs for years so did the intro thing a lot and have learned from past mistakes. Our cat Oscar is also an indoor cat and he, like yours, is a young adult who seems to get on best with small dogs. Hopefully bringing home a puppy will thus help.

1. When you bring the pup into your house make sure he's pretty tired and leave him on a leash
2. Put your cat on a table or something high enough that the puppy cannot reach. The height difference keeps the kitty safe and establishes somewhat of a hierarchy right away.
3. Distract puppy with some treats so that he's not paying much attention to the kitty. Let kitty check with him out from up top while the pup is distracted. If kitty is doing well give some to him too and lots of pets for everyone.
4. If both are calm you can lower the cat to a coffee table or stool/tall chair and try it all over again.
5. Then give the cat some space and try the whole thing again in an hour or two.
6. Once you think they're ready hold the puppy in a down position on the floor while giving some treats to both animals. Or let the cat around while puppy is sound asleep and give him some treat. Repeat that for a while until you think the puppy is calm enough to be allowed free around the cat. Hopefully by then they've established some ground rules (ie. the cat is boss).

Whatever you do don't let the puppy do something negative to the cat and trim your cat's nails in case there is some swatting. It's okay for the kitty to swat the pup if he feels his boundaries being invaded by too much sniffing or potentiall nipping. Acts like a correction to the dog.

Give lots of tall safe places for kitty of course and do not allow the puppy to chase or climb up after him or bark. You want the pup to focus on something other than the kitty for the first little while. If you can keep the cat from running that's helpful too.

In my experience, a lot of puppies don't really care at all about cats for the first few days, they're way too busy with exploring, playing and hanging out with you, especially if your cat is being pretty quiet and still. It's once the pup has adjusted to the house and gets more confident that they might try to chase the cat and try to play. Just look at this (Cosmo at 12 weeks with Oscar). Notice the toy he's dropped by the cat to entice him to play.

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When we brought Hank home, A.J. (the cat) out weighed him by 10 lbs. A.J. thought he had it made until Hank started growing (and growing!). Usually I just let them work things out and have a way for the cat to get away for a little peace & quiet.

I've had dogs & brought home kittens, cats & brought home puppies. It always has worked out.

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**Fraulein "Maggie" Louise 8/2/95 - 7/20/09**
*At Rainbow Bridge but Forever in Our Hearts*

They figure it out - We really didn't do anything special at all. Cats are able to jump up and away when they want/need to. Not only do we not scold, we even cheer a little when the cats DO assert themselves with the dogs. The dogs fall into line and show them the right amount of respect. Everyone here gets along great!

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Mom to:
Sophie - Doolin's Sweet Siren, Always in our hearts
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Sawyer - Doolin's Can't Hold His Licker
May 20, 2010
~and~
Quinn - Sawyer's new best buddy and brother
January 17, 2011

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