puppy and cats

[pipsqueak]

am so stressed and feel like i may have made the most horrendous mistake . we have a gorgeous 10/11 week old puppy who we are working hard with to get trained . when i was a kid i lived on a farm with lots of cats and dogs around all the time . i have underestimated how my three lovely cats would adjust to the new puppy . the cats are shy anyway but have been lovley purry happy creatures until now . i thought they would have settled together by now but not a bit .cats hardly ever around . ocasionally come in for thier nosh but dont hang around . we have held the puppy to stop her chasing them but they only ahve to see her or hear her and they bolt off at top spped . i know lots of people have both but how do they do it ?am at wits end and feel so guilty about cats that it has removed any pleasure in having puppy pleasetell me how to sort this ?

have to go to bed now but hope someone can help me xx

we have 2 dogs and a cat, but got puppy and kitten within 3 months of each other, and second puppy later on. The puppies chased the kitten/cat quite a lot, and it was important for our cat to have somewhere to eat and sleep that the dogs couldn't reach. Over time they have all really settled down and will happily sleep in the same room, occasionally even curling up together.

It's probably worth making sure the puppy can't get anywhere near where the cats eat, and that there are a number of places where they can go that the puppy can't - indoors as well as outdoors (we used stairgates to limit access to some rooms).

They should get used to it over time, our cat is definitely top dog!

thanks cosette - those are the sort of things we are doing . perhaps i jsut need to be more patient!! tis a relief to know it can work though

Just a word of warning re cats and puppies - one of my goldies was scratched in the eye by the family cat when he was 10 weeks old and it resulted in lengthy veterinary treatment, surgery etc - very traumatic. So make sure your cats don't feel threatened somehow as that's when they'll lash out.

Hope you work things out.

Did/do the cats sleep in your room? Our cats got very upset when DS arrived 'cos they were suddenly kicked out of our bedroom. They turned on each other, our more agressive male cat started beating on our female cat, who overgroomed due to the stress. Things improved once DS went into his own room, so maybe it would be a good idea to keep the puppy downstairs at night and let the cats do their "normal" thing at night.

Don't worry! It will take time, but they will get there eventually. There is a lot of useful info on this thread and also this one.

thanks all - first bread through today . bravest cat came into the same room as the puppy . we were holding the pup and she stayed with us for about 20 mins . progress at last . am so grateful for your comments as it is so encouraging to know we will get there in the end . thanks so much