Hi all :)

As most of you know I am getting Ozzy my chihuahua on friday, I also have a cat Jake whose 5 yrs old and did live at my moms with a cavalier until he was 3 they just tolerated each other, but he was brought up from a kitten with the cav, how do I go about introducing him to the chihuahua, he is a very independant cat and does his own thing mainly, he stays in the house mostly and usually just goes out to the toilet.

I dont want to upset the cat, ideally I would like them to get along, my wort fear is that the cat will run away :(

thanks in advance

p.s no trolls need reply ;)

Hello there,

Well we have had cats for years and never any dogs until January of this year when we got Bronnie. The cats would not come in the house for the first few months, then gradually started coming back in. 2 of my cats just tollerated her whilst the 3rd gives as good as she gets.

However, we have just got Ellis who is 11 weeks old today. The cats are thinking, been there done that and all have stayed in and tollerated him, although he has been swipped at a good few times by George, but then George is a stroppy old git sometimes.

Juliet :D :D

Thankyou for the advice juliet, I really dont want him to have to stay outside, did you introduce them or did you keep them separated at first ? :)

We introduced them straight away.

I suppose I'm lucky in one respect that if my cats won't come in then they go next door.

You may find he want's to stay outside for a while, it's difficult I know but I would personally face it full on, no messing just hold the puppy and show him to the cat and see what reaction you get.

The puppy may very well want to play, as mine did & do and the cat's don't but they do come round in the end.

Just keep plugging away, all will work out well in the end.

Hope your ready for your new addition, when we had Bronnie she was a quiet as a mouse, very very good. However, Ellis is a different kettle of fish, he is so loud compared to her, Bronnie has barked about 10 times in her life, Ellis barks all the time, he's a real fystey (sp) chap in comparison.

Juliet

I would have just one real concern introducing a tiny puppy to a cat - if the cat is a good hunter,then don't leave pup and cat unattended without one of them being crated, for the pup's safety.
:)

My cat does hunt, but only occassionally, do you mean that you think he may think it is a mouse or something, because he wouldnt as dogs give off a different smell and cats are very very intelligent so he would know that not too kill it, I would never leave them alone until a relationship has ben established , thanks for your comment though :)

My cat's (a very independant 11 year old) only experience of dogs was being chased by the neighbours dog and my parents shitzu's when I introduced our lab pup. When they first met I tried to distract them both by giving them treats starting off a little apart and then bringing them closer together (hope that makes sense). I thought Dundee (the cat) would disappear to my next door neighbours as he usually did when my parents visited with their dogs, but if anything he stayed in more. It's important that the cat has an escape route and also to watch for their claws, they can do quite a lot of damage to a puppy. Four months down the line and I have to say Dundee is extremely tolerant of this boisterous upstart that joined the family as a small pup and who now towers over him. He puts up with endless nudging and 'please play with me' puppy behaviour until he lets it be known vocally that he has had enough.

I have two cats and they get on really well with my flatcoat who is 7.We have just got a new flatcoat pup and she is still in the cat chasing phase.Both cats do not mind her but run off when chased.the moredominant cat will let it be known to pup with her paws that she has had enough but pup doesn't seem to have got it yet! I'm just hoping they sort it out soon.the cats haven't been put off being in the house so i dont think they mind it too much though. To introduce them i just held the cat while my partner held the pup and let them snif each other first.They didnt mind this at all - its only when they run that pup chases but i'm sure she grow out of it(i hope!)
Anyway - goodluck!

Hi Clare
we brought Gus our Staffy home in a cat traveller thingy ( he was that small ;) ) and initially let Noodle (the cat) have a sniff while Gus was still inside . She hissed and was not impressed with first impressions . She stayed away from him for the first few days and tended to stay upstairs out of the way and then we would catch her coming over for a little sniff while he was fast asleep .We didnt try to force her to mix with him or anything. He is still itching to play with her at 13 months but she tolerates him . She isnt afraid of him at all and will sit on my knee when he is sat next to me on the sofa.
Only thing I would advise is to watch pup because after a while he will want to play with her and perhaps chase her and you wouldnt want him getting a scratch off your cat.
Good luck - I am sure they will be fine.:D
and make sure cat has somewhere to jump up onto incae sh feels threatened anytime
lel

Hi
We have a cocker spaniel (Cassie) who is nearly 6 months old. We also have an 18 month old cat (Millie).
When we first got Cassie, Millie would not come into the house unless she was carried, and then she would hide upstairs. We have a crate for Cassie which she sleeps in and gradually Millie realised that it was "safe " to walk through the kitchen when Cassie was in her crate. They are now gradually getting on much better, I make sure that I watch them when they are together because Cassie gets very excited and boistrous and I worry that Millie will scratch her face. We also have a stairgate so that Millie can "escape"
They spend quite a lot of time either side of the gate pawing each other very gently through the bars. I think that you just have to watch them and be careful and in time hopefully they will become friends

I have 5 cats of all ages and have just bought a staffie, which is probebly a bit more daunting. 3 of them scarpered as soon as they saw him so we dont let the dog upstairs so they have their own space, 1 doesnt bat an eyelid and the youngest cat chases the dog around, gets him in corners and hides and pounces on him. Just dont throw the cats in at the deep end, giv them time to get used to the pup, it wont happen straight away but will happen eventually.

thanks for the advice, they are actually getting on great jut keep out of each other way and have a sniff every now and then