Mr. Nightingale and I finally bought a house four weeks ago. We’re settled in and ready to realize our next dream – we’re getting a puppy. Since this will be “his” dog the way that Molly is “my” cat, Mr. Nightingale gets to make the puppy decisions. He’s decided on an American Bulldog pup.
My concern is that our cat has been an “only child” since we got her three years ago, and I’m worried about how she’ll adapt to having to share time, living quarters, and attention with a rambunctious puppy. I’m seeking advice on the best way to socialize the two of them so that they’ll get along well, with a minimum of mental trauma to my already insane cat. She adapted really well to the move and I don’t want to stress her out if it can be avoided. Do any Dopers have some word of wisdom for us?
Gradually. Patiently. Respectfully. My guess is that in a matter of days… maybe a week or so, the two will have established their turf. It is good that you are getting a puppy. It will grow up understanding the royalty upon which cat kingdom is based. It will work. My dog used to lie down with her face right in front of Alley Bug. Alley would proceed to wash / groom / lick, Tera’s face for her. Strange, I know.
Good luck.
pv
Let the cat growl, hiss, snarl at the dog. She was there first and should be the one to tell the dog it’s place. Don’t let her beat the puppy up, but let her establish her dominance.
We don’t allow any of our dogs to ever chase our cats, or act agressive towards them - it only takes one bite to seriously hurt or kill a cat. More than likely your cat will be boss, or even really good friends with the puppy, but be ready to stop it if (the behavior) the dog chases the cat - a good puppy manners obedience class is a lifesaver.
Provide a “sanctuary” for the cat - her own room, or a high-up area where she knows she can get away from the puppy. The pup will want to play- a LOT - the the cat likely won’t be too happy about it.
Pay lots of attention to the cat. If she is “yours”, then you should dedicate much more time/treats to her than usual, so that she learns that the presence of another animal does NOT mean that she comes second place.
Let the animals fight it out. If she smacks at the puppy, or even scratches him a little across the nose or something, don’t punish her. She needs to show that she can defend herself, and the puppy needs to learn that too. They will establish a pecking order over time - in my parents house, its the big black cat, follwed by the dog, followed by the bigger stupider tabby cat. They all got stepped on by each other, and scratched at and hissed at and growled at, but now this order is established, and they very rarely, if ever overstep these “lines”. Naturally, though, if they are really getting hurt - prevent that!
Give the puppy lots of toys so that he doesnt think the cat is a toy.
Keep their food SEPARATE! My cats have food in their bowls pretty much all the time, while the dog gets fed at 6 and 6. To prevent the dog from eating the cats food, we now feed the cats on the kitchen counter (EWW! you say, but they have one “corner” that is theirs, that is useless as a cooking area anyways, and they are not allowed to cross anywhere else on the counter). The cats get REALLY upset if the dog goes near their food, so that fixed that problem really quickly.
I agree with keeping the catfood out of reach. Also find a way to keep pup away from the litterbox, once dogs get in the habbit of “litterbox snacking”, it’s almost impossible to break them from it.
About 4 years ago we brought a dog home to our high and mighty princess of a cat. She went upstairs for a year straight and didnt come down. At night she would sneek down for 5 minutes and eat, but that was it. I know now why she did this. we picked the worst way to introduce them. We held them both in front of each other and didnt let go until the cat bit me and ran away. When we brought home cat #2 we did the exact opposite. Lacked the new one away and slowly let them see each other for a few days, then finally just let the new animal roam free and see for them selves
The easiest way to do this is to get a box with a cover, and turn the “door” towards the wall, leaving enough room so that cat can get in, but so the dog won’t be able to get near it.
My two scaredy-cats adjusted very well when I brought the GizmoPup into the house. I’ll second most of the advice here - don’t let the puppy chase the cat, let the cat establish dominance, etc. Also, make as many of the changes to the cat’s routine before the puppy arrives - if you’re going to feed her somewhere else, put the litter box somewhere else, or anything like that, introduce one change at a time and give the habits a chance to get ingrained before you bring the puppy home.
Well, hubby and I are now the proud parents of an 8 week old American Bulldog pup named Murphy. So far, he and the cat aren’t interacting; she’s too suspicious to get within two feet of him, and he’s scared of everything from the big dogs next door to the air coming out of the floor vents in the dining room. I’m just letting Molly figure him out in her own time, since he’s got no inclination to bother her right now. And our biggest territory problem is not keeping him out of her food, it’s keeping her out of his water!
I’m home alone with both of them today, and it’s funny how the cat is all over me whenever the dog is out of sight. I got up early and played some of her favorite games with her today before the puppy woke up, so hopefully she’s not feeling too neglected.
Thanks for all the good advice, BTW. I’ll keep you posted on the adventures of Murphy and Molly at Chez Nightingale.
