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!!

Someone said anything except a terrier. Not in my experience. The puppy we successfully introduced to adult cat was a terrier. Terrier and cat became close friends and would curl up together. Terrier was quite capable of understanding that she didn't chase her own cat but woe betide random neighbourhood cats who stepped foot in her garden

Have you got a big house ? It is a bit silly to get a puppy when you have established cats in a normal sized house in my opinion . They probably won't get over it for a long time to be honest , just make sure they can eat and sleep somewhere safe from the puppy .

I'm amazed by all the people saying that cats are traumatised by living with dogs. What's the betting that those cat owners have never actually owned a dog and are basing their 'knowledge' on stereotypes?

I've grown up with cats and dogs, always one or two of each. My country grandma had about ten of each Never a problem. Just about everyone I know who has a dog also has a cat - probably hundreds of happy cats living with happy dogs in total. I have never heard of a dog that couldn't be trained to live safely with a cat or a cat that couldn't adjust to sharing contentedly with a dog.

I grew up with lots of both in a very large house and I think if you have room then it's fine and also if they are all young when they come then it's fine or the dog comes first then the cats it's fine but to get a puppy with a small ish house and established cats is bonkers .. the cats will probably get over it eventually but they won't be the same .

The advice we had was get cats first, ensure they are settled (rule the roost!) then introduce the dog.

The cats are 6 and one truly rules the roost! It is a fairly big house over 4 floors so the cats have room to roam. I've got a stair gate on the kitchen door and her crate is in the kitchen.

I knew it would not be a walk in the park, and since my opening post the cats do seem as if they're finding their feet a tad. Not to the extent that they will stroll into the kitchen while she's in here (although I did come home earlier and catch one licking her lips and the puppy bowl empty - puppy asleep in her crate) so maybe it's going in the right direction.

But you're right, it's bonkers to suggest that cats and dogs cannot co-exist!

Haha. You’ll soon have the situation we have with the cats tormenting the poor dogs. We have converted the garage to a dog bedroom to keep the poor baby pups safe at night. (One 60kg and the 16 week old pup 25kg. But still? Those kitties are mean!)

@Haffdonga - it was me who said about terriers. I’m glad things worked out with terrier and your cat so that proves there are always exceptions. It’s just that generally speaking, terriers can be a bit more risky around cats.