New puppy - will my cats ever come back downstairs?!

[happy97]

We are a week in. Puppy is crated but my 2 6 year old cats are terrified. One did make her way into the kitchen but took one look at puppy and sprinted away. I know it's still early days but I had hoped they would be a bit braver by now.

I have feliway plug ins in a couple of places but any advice would be very welcome. I feel guilty!!

There is natural antagonism between dogs and cats. It's nothing like having more than one child, what a silly statement.
What breed is it btw?
How big is this beast going to get I wonder?

Our cat wouldn't come downstairs for a while but he was the same when we brought our DD home from the hospital. We maintained the boundary that the puppy was banned from upstairs and also had a child gate between kitchen and lounge that the cat could escape the puppy. Food and water where up high away from the puppy too (and the food still is)
You'll notice the cat will get more bold and start to carry on it usual routine. If the puppy goes for the cat correct the puppies behaviour. We allow the cat to bat the now dog as he usually deserves it. Only taken a few drops of blood for him to learn who's boss. The cat still pretends that he hates the dog but will happily snuggle up to him.
When we done puppy school we had the same worry and spoke to the trainer she told us to keep doing what we where doing and it has turned out fine. Dog is allowed everywhere with no gates and our house is calm- until one or both of them has a funny five minutes

We waited ages for a dog. We had an elderly cat who would have absolutely hated an invader coming into her space. That’s how she would have seen it. She had arthritis and wasn’t quick or agile.
So we didn’t get a dog.
And then we got two rescued kittens. I wouldn’t risk a puppy and flighty tortie kittens who weren’t settled and couldn’t go out yet.
So we didn’t get a dog.
We waited until they were settled and established and ruled the roost until we brought home a pup. I researched the best way to do this and it worked out. We now have pup 2. 16 weeks 25kg and the cats are perfectly happy. It can work.
Oh and OP? If you’re on FB dog training advice and support also have a good file on this. Just request to join.
And good luck.
Oh and rehoming? My cats aren’t going anywhere. Not even though I’m allergic to one and the other one bites at times. People who really love their pets seek advice and try and resolve problems. Bit like the OP really!

I'm with those who say this was a bad move. It's really unfair to your cats. Dunno what you can do now though. Wait it out I suppose and hope your days don't get more distressed

Off you pop with your judginess!

You don’t get to decide who posts on here, wolfie.

I think it’s selfish to get a puppy when you already have two cats. I don’t care whether you agree with me.

There are some strange posts on here. Many households have cats and dogs living harmoniously.

We got a puppy when we had an older cat when I was a child. We made sure the cat had places to escape to, did the stroking them together thing and they ended up living well together.

@EeWellIllGoToTheFootOfOurStair They don't appear to be distressed. They are eating normally and are sleeping where they normally would and not hiding. Their noses are understandably put out of joint but I don't think it's unreasonable to mix 2 species of pets in one household?

eurochick I agree...I was asking for advice not judgement.

We got our dog when we had our 2 cats aged 5 and 1. We introduced them very slowly as you are - puppy crated so cats could sniff her etc. Within a couple of weeks they were fine and they all curl up together on the sofa now. The cats are boss though!

@Canshopwillshop Was your puppy crated all the time? Mine only is at bedtime so maybe I should change this.

Should have said that we got dog when she was a puppy. It will be fine OP.

No, just crated when we were introducing the cats so they could sniff her through the crate. It took a few weeks before they got a bit more comfortable with each other but I’m sure yours will. Cats and dogs in the same family situation will mostly sort it out and end up fine unless you’ve got a terrier type in which case I wouldn’t recommend. My dog will still chase cats outside but adores our two.

To clarify - we put pup in crate for short periods several times a day so
cats could sniff her. Other times pup was free and we kept them completely separate.

Not a terrier, she's a retriever.

Thank you for the advice!

Our old grumpy cat for used to a visiting bouncy retriever puppy after 2 weeks. But just got used to, we kept it so they both had space.

Cats hate change, we’d never get a new sofa if out cat had a vote, but he comes round.

Not long, lots of tasty treats and fuss near the puppy (best when puppy was tired and less like to bounce) and they some came around.

They used to fight over her :)

They were only 8 months themselves though so maybe a bit more adaptable than older cats?

We got a rescue dog when our cat was 8yo. After a few days we found a stair gate with a cat flap in it (on amazon) It was invaluable. The cat could have upstairs as territory but get downstairs when the dog was out (walkies) or when he felt brave. At some point the dog will need freedom out the crate too. It took 2 weeks for the cat to get brave to come down when dog was roaming downstairs. 2 months for them to full establish the power balance (cat at top of course and via a few nose swipes to the dog) and probably 6 months before I would say they were good friends.

Stick with it - they will more than likely work it out. I was quite present with them though, and leave and sit command training with the dog was always exercised in relation to the cat's presence.

Of course you can successfully introduce cats to a puppy . Some people here are being quite ... extreme.

We introduced puppy to our quite timid adult cat who was horrified for a week or so. She actually refused to come in the house for a while. Within a week or two cat realised puppy wasn't going to eat her and eventually learnt that a sharp smack would stop any playing nonsense. Within 6 months they would curl up together and within a year they became proper friends. They actually became very firm friends and ddog would protect her cat in the garden from the neighbour cats who had previously bullied her badly.

I mean, look at this poor cat (was 6 when the puppies arrived, yes 2 of them).

@happy97 it took a while but our cat is ok with our dog now. We made sure she had her own space and can escape from the crazy dog when she needs to and that has helped. We also make sure she gets enough love and attention from us without the dog as well. Dog is 1 now and while they are not best friends (he has way too much energy for her liking) they can happily be in the same room together. Just give it some time 😊

KatharinaRosalie Your poor cat looks utterly traumatised 🙄 !!

Thank you to those who have given me positive affirmations that it can work but takes time. They are slowly becoming bolder but even when she's in her crate they still run away. But baby steps and we will get there!

People who say cats and dogs have a natural animosity may be right but then so do dogs and other dogs, and dogs and humans, and cats and other cats etc. We choose to live together with these other species in what are frankly unnatural conditions but we've all evolved to learn to co-habit. Dogs and cats are just as able to learn to live with each other (if done carefully) as cats and cats.

In fact we have recently found it far more traumatic to introduce our 5 year old cat to a new kitten. Older cat literally took one look at the newcomer and ran outside and stayed there. He took up residence under our garden hedge on hunger strike for about 2 weeks. He refused to have any truck with the whole swapping scents and treats advice the websites give. He stopped eating and lost a lot of weight even though I was very careful to feed him separately in a place kitten couldn't go. It was only by keeping him locked inside for a month that he learnt to tolerate the terrifying ferocious tiny baby. Now 6 months in, I wouldn't call them friends but they'll put up with each other peacefully.

The best advice is give your cat plenty of space out of puppy's reach. When they come in to contact let cat take it at his own pace and keep puppy very tightly under control. Reward the puppy effusively for calm gentle behaviour with cat. Accept that your cat will have to work out for himself that standing his ground is less exciting for the puppy than running. Don't leave them alone together until puppy has learned not to chase. Then enjoy watching their bond. They can eventually bring each other pleasure and play.

I had this kind of dog / cat predicament but the other way around - we introduced a cat into a dog household. My aunt had a much cherished indoor only quite elderly cat. My poor aunt was diagnosed with terminal cancer and we promised my aunt that we would take her cat when the time arose. Our crazy Labrador was soon put in his place by the newcomer - it was embarrassing to watch the cat kick the Labrador from his dog basket and reclaim it as her bed whilst the dog tried to fit in the catbed! The cat and dog got on fine as long as the dog realised that the cat was boss. The cat flourished in our multi children, multi pet household and loved venturing into the garden. I missed the cat so much when she died but I'm so glad we gave the situation a go - on paper it sounded like it wouldn't work out but in reality it was fine.

We had three cats when we got a 3 year old rescue dog, a very calm Lab. One was about 18 and it was love at first sight and she actually forgot how much she hated our younger 3 year old cats. One of the younger cats was fairly indifferent and pretty much ignored him, but then this was a cat who faced down a visiting English Mastiff! The other cat probably took about a year to stop flouncing.

Introducing a dog to cats is not a crime!

I'm so glad for the latter responses! I was beginning to doubt myself.

Both have come down today to explore, they scarpered once they saw her but it was progress. In themselves they are as they always are, happily purring and rubbing against me. Not off their food or hiding away. I've taken puppy's bed upstairs today so they can smell her on that.

Puppy is completely unfazed by them and wants to play.