I have a very lovely young Ragdoll cat. She’s very affectionate and confident.
We’ve recently added a puppy who is now 10 weeks old.
We introduced them very, very slowly and then they naturally got more curious around each other.
The cat now actively wants to be in the room where the dog is. She’ll meow at the door to be let in. Our living room is large and lots of tall surfaces and furniture that the cat can reach, but the puppy can’t.
My issue is that the pup is very boisterous. She’s not vicious at all, but is very energetic and currently teething and trying to chew everything- training is ongoing. Yesterday, the pup kind of pinned the cat down and nipped her ear a bit, and the cat basically just rolled onto her back and didn’t move away. I was right next to them so separated them immediately and moved the puppy to a chew toy.
Today, I had them in the same room again but this time had the pup on a lead. They were sniffing and again the puppy got boisterous and was pulling at the lead so I separated them.
Straight away, the cat wanted to come back in but I didn’t think it was a good idea.
This evening, after lots of playing, the puppy is exhausted and the cat wanted to come in. They sniffed and then the cat rolled over and the dog bit her tail- not a snap, but the chewing she’s doing on everything due to her teeth. I checked the cat immediately (she’s not injured) and removed the dog, but within a minute the cat was back looking for the puppy again. I put the cat on a chair and, as soon as the puppy walked past, the vet started batting the pup’s tail and generally acting playful towards her.
The puppy is a large breed, albeit a gentle one, and is already heavier than the cat- she’ll grow to be much bigger. Her paws are huge.
I’m at a loss as to what to do. I want them to be friends but I can’t tell if the cat isn’t running off when the puppy gets boisterous as she’s enjoying playing, or because she’s a Ragdoll and just doesn’t defend herself well. She doesn’t act like she’s been hurt but, given the size of the puppy, it has to hurt.
For now I’m just obviously not leaving them alone and making sure the cat can get out of the room or onto a high surface, but I would ultimately like them to be friends and able to be in the same room comfortably.