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| Hi, I've just joined today as I'm about to get a pup (first time dog owner!), and it would be great to have somewhere to go to get advice, etc! At this point my main and really only concern is how my cats are going to take it! Are things generally ok eventually if you take it slow and do the introductions right? Can I really expect that perhaps they will actually all get on with each other?!!! |
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I have a little experience with doing this both ways - dogs first and cats first.
When I got Gabby (8 wk old German Shepard at the time), she was my one and only baby girl until she was about 9 months old. At that point, we adopted a stray kitten who decided that Gabby was a good snuggle buddy - she was young - probably 6 weeks old at the time - and never knew that dogs and cats were not supposed to get along.
About a year later, we adopted an 8 month old kitty from the humane society, and she got along with the cat and dog fine. She was a little skittish at first, but has since decided that the dog isn't so bad, and I catch them snoozing together whenever they are both in the same room.
Then when I moved in with Tray 4 years ago (Gabby was about 2.5 yrs old), we introduced Gabby to her cats - all of whom were older (4 yrs, 8 yrs and 9 yrs), and none of whom were very impressed with the big dog invading their home.
The youngest one eventually learned to accept Gabby, but the other two never did adjust. They have both since passed on, but in the few years that they spent in the same household, there was always hissing and swiping whenever Gabby walked by.
Gizmo, the youngest cat in Tray's clan, still hisses and swipes at Gabby on occasion, but mostly they just ignore each other. I think it really depends on the personalities, etc.
Gabby is not a cat chaser, except for Gizmo - and I think Gizmo instigates it sometimes. She hisses and runs, and Gabby takes off after her. Anyhow - good luck - the younger the dog, the more likely that they will be less aggressive.
Also, make sure that whatever dog you choose has been around cats before, and has reacted OK - and don't forget that dogs are still animals of prey - and cats are prey.
So until you know how they are going to do together, don't ever leave them alone together.
We had a member who posted that two adopted greyhounds killed a cat after having been OK with the cat while people were around. So until you're positive that they get along ok, I would not trust them together alone.
JMO
Good luck
Emms |
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| Thanks for that! Well at least as I'm getting a tiny dog and it will be a pup, hopefully the cats will feel less threatened by it! I know the breeder hasn't introduced cats to the puppy yet, and it will be meeting its first cats when it comes here! But as he's only 12 weeks I'm hoping the shock won't be to great for him! |
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If your cats are adults, they will more than likely take care of the puppy with the first good slap with a handful of sharp claws on the tender nose! There is a better than even chance that after 2 or 3 such encounters (sometimes only 1) your puppy will stay well out of the cat's reach! |
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