|
Post by princessevie on Sept 15, 2014 20:04:21 GMT
Hi everyone
I have 3 cats, one aged 3 and the other two aged 1 and I am thinking of getting a puppy. My cats are very timid and took them months to live in harmony. I don't want to upset or scare the cats who I love to bits but I do miss having a dog (ours died 4 years ago). I had a heart attack 6 months ago and think the walks will help me get back to normal and to de-stress after work.
Am I just being selfish or could the cats and puppy learn to live together if introduced properly.
|
|
|
Post by cazypops on Sept 15, 2014 21:22:01 GMT
Hi princessevie welcome to the forum. I'm cazypops and I have two cats called Flirty and Bandit, I don't know their ages as they were a neighbor's cats and decided to adopt me, plus a two year old Parsons Russell called Jasper. One of my cats is laid back and the other is a bit feisty and hates the dog, and the other cat too come to think about it, but she tolerates them as long as they don't get too close to her, but we are lucky that the cats accepted Jasper when we got him as a puppy. Maybe you should give this a read too www.yourpetforums.co.uk/post/73834/thread and talk to @gillykat about this topic. Sorry it's not much help, but I'm sure one of the other members will be more help.
|
|
|
Post by migsy on Sept 15, 2014 21:33:22 GMT
Hi princessevie.You must take your own recoveryinto consideration here as well as your cat family.Could you manage the time and stress of introducing a puppy to your present family,also the training of a puppy,which can be hard work,remembering some take time to get the hang of walking nicely on a lead,being pulled along by an energetic young dog certainly wouldn't help with your recovery,and only add to your stress.Do you have anyone to help with training and looking after a puppy while you are at work? you don't say how many hours you work. Is there any one breed of dog you are considering? In the meantime,you may have a dog owning friend who would welcome you to join them on walks with their dog.
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 16, 2014 11:01:50 GMT
Hello and welcome to the forum! Introducing cats and dogs is tough but totally worth taking the time to do it right in my opinion. I have two adult cats who I adopted at different times last year, it took months to get Carlotta, the first one, to accept Mieze. Then this year I got a nine week old puppy Rosa. At first she stayed in a dog pen that we built her, so the cats could pop in and watch her from the table next to it without getting chased. I also fed the cats just outside Rosas pen, although I did this after a few weeks and I do wish I'd started doing it straight away. Through this, the cats became quite confident around Rosa and began to associate her with good things (tasty cat food). Rosa also learned that the cats eat before her and to wait patiently while they eat and not to try steal their food. It's been a few months now and Carlotta has finally accepted Rosa as part of our family, and will happily walk past Rosa and even zoom about like a maniac while Rosa lies and watches. My cats now even share a little sniff with a Rosa when Rosa and I come home from a walk, and Mieze will lie on the balcony with Rosa sitting fairly near her. Plus the cats (especially Mieze) quickly trained Rosa some cat language, so she knows when they don't want her around and will take heed of that. It takes a long time to get cats to accept a dog, but don't give up, they will come round. Just make sure to provide lots of means of escape for the cats so that they never feel trapped in with the dog, and if you build a small puppy pen for the first few weeks do it a few days before getting the puppy and perhaps feed that cats inside it so that they can get used to it and how to jump out of it. Cats are a bit funny about new furniture and you want them to feel safe with it. Also if the puppy is gonna be loose around the cats then be there to observe and don't give the puppy and opportunity to chase the cats as you don't want them learning how fun that can be. Having a puppy pen is great though, as it lets the cats get to know the pup in their own time and is also great for starting the pup on getting used to being alone immediately and is super useful in that kind of trying. Plus it stood the puppy from destroying your living room when you go to the toilet
|
|
|
Post by princessevie on Sept 16, 2014 12:24:57 GMT
Hi everyone
Thank you for your replies. I only work 20 hrs a week spread over 5 days so have time for training etc. I know training etc is hard work and could be stressful with the cats but think it would help me recover and be good for my son as he lost his nan few months ago. Have bought a puppy pen already for cats to get used to and a stairgate so cats can get over to go upstairs but puppy can't. Got shelves and bookcases and installing a catflap. We're getting a gsd as I grew up with them.
I think the idea of feeding the cats outside the pen is a great idea and one I'll use.
I know it won't be easy or happen over night but I'm hoping they'll live together happily eventually or at least tolerate each other.
|
|
|
Post by smilesbetter on Sept 16, 2014 16:57:46 GMT
Hi everyone Thank you for your replies. I only work 20 hrs a week spread over 5 days so have time for training etc. I know training etc is hard work and could be stressful with the cats but think it would help me recover and be good for my son as he lost his nan few months ago. Have bought a puppy pen already for cats to get used to and a stairgate so cats can get over to go upstairs but puppy can't. Got shelves and bookcases and installing a catflap. We're getting a gsd as I grew up with them. I think the idea of feeding the cats outside the pen is a great idea and one I'll use. I know it won't be easy or happen over night but I'm hoping they'll live together happily eventually or at least tolerate each other. You'll manage, it's so much easier with a puppy I think and you'll find cats can be amazingly adaptable (over time, haha). One of my cats is quite shy and nervous and she is totally fine with Rosa now. She has learned to sleep a bit further in the couch so that she can't be forcefully sniffed if the wants some time to herself, and we have build some shelves around the living room so that the cats can get around without going on the floor if they don't want to, but in summer both cats have spent time on the floor without worrying about Rosa and every day they seem to get a bit better with Rosa. Also don't worry if the cat swipes the dog, and try not to get in the way of their interactions too much. In most cases I think the cat will train the puppy pretty quickly and the puppy will learn fast that cats don't like to play (usually haha, some cats do like playing with dogs). Haha we have come up with quite a fun game with one of our cats, Mieze, and Rosa now since Mieze has trained Rosa to be respectful of her. We fire one of those Nerf gun things and Rosa & Mieze both chase the bullet. Mieze usually gets it first and guards it from Rosa. Then we fire another and they have a race to it again, Mieze wins and guards it, and Rosa makes up for not having caught it by bringing the first bullet back to us haha so we can have quite a long game this way and Rosa is constantly tidying up for us goes to show how well both get on that Mieze feels comfy enough around Rosa to be on the ground beside her, and all Rosa needs is an evil glare and she knows now to keep a safe distance from Mad Claw Thing haha. It sounds like you have the place well set up for the puppy and for a good introduction between the cats and the pup. Looking forward to hearing how they all get on. Don't lose hope if it feels at first like they'll never get on, I was like that with my lot at times but it's all paid off now and continues to do so cats just like to take their sweet time about things haha!
|
|