Introducing a puppy to a cat

[linz45]

After some advice please.

We have two cats aged 11 who are brothers. The cats have had all of our attention and have been spoilt by us, they are our babies.

We have always wanted a dog and are looking at a puppy from a rescue, my question is how is it best to introduce them? I feel guilty for wanting a dog as we don’t want the cats to feel left out but it’s perfect timing for us to have a dog and something we both want.

Has anyone had experience with this and what did you do?

I haven't personally but friends have - I think you'll get a lot of people TBH saying to just not do it as I do think it's inevitably pretty stressful for the cats and I do see that point of view, particularly as yours are older. However all the friends that have done it have ended up feeling as though it was worth it in the end so I guess you have to decide.

I think the usual advice is divide the house into cat zone and puppy zone. Usually easiest to say cats get upstairs and puppy is confined to one or two rooms downstairs where the cats don't go, at least initially. Make sure the cats have comfortable access to their food, water, litter and beds, and to go in and out of the house if they're outdoor cats, without having to cross where the puppy is and vice versa.

Approach introductions gradually by first allowing them to get used to each others smells, swap bedding etc, then put puppy on lead or a long line and allow cats to approach first, at a time when puppy is calm and quiet (distract puppy or keep their attention on you, reward and praise calm non-barky non-chasy behaviour). Build up to them being gradually physically closer at the cat's pace, allow them to sniff or touch noses etc, with you still fully in control of pup and ensure they never get the taste for chasing. Make sure you keep puppy on a lead or long line while toileting or playing in the garden if the cats are around, until you are confident they won't try and chase cats or will recall to you 100%.

Best case scenario is that the cat gets a firm bop or two on the puppy's nose fairly early on, puppy is intimidated and knows cat is not to be messed with and they can then co-exist with tolerance (I know you see social media videos of cats and dogs claiming to be best friends who play together etc but I've never known more than distant tolerance in real life), worst case is probably you need to keep the house permanently divided and never allow direct/ unsupervised interaction between cats and dog - if that's not something you can live with practically or emotionally then don't get the puppy. I'd also think carefully about breed choice which I know isn't easy with a rescue, toy or some gundog/retriever breeds are usually the most cat-friendly especially if well socialised at a young age, some terriers and shepherd/guarding bred breeds are Ok but can have a very strong prey drive and hounds and lurchers are usually an absolute no-no although there's always the exception of course!

It's not easy. But it can be done! Firstly make sure you get a cat friendly breed of dog, secondly, give the cat plenty of space to get away from the dog, a stair gate and allowing the cat the whole of upstairs for example is ideal. Thirdly, give it time, we introduced a puppy to a 14 year old cat, it took about 6 weeks before the initial 'cat hating dog' phase subsided, they eventually tolerated each other, well the cat tolerated the dog, dog loved cat!

In the last year we have introduced a kitten to a 7 year old dog, (same dog, sadly elderly cat died) entirely different experience, best friends within a week!

Whenever you introduce them
make sure the cats have an escape route as well as somewhere higher to get to that dogs can’t get to - some people use a baby gate to separate them so they can smell
each other but not reach each other until they have got used to each other

don’t flood introductions with your heightened energy - keep calm
and nonchalant

when I introduced kittens to my dogs I gradually uncovered the crate they were in so dogs could get used to seeing them without getting excited

get a puppy that is smaller than the cats really helps

Yes smells are important - forgot that