# introducing new puppy to nervous cat



## tinkertabs (Feb 26, 2011)

Hi

A couple of years ago i got two cats mother and daughter which i rescued from the local pet sanctuary. Unfortunately 6 months later the youngest cat got rumn over but we still have the mother. She is now 7 and since having her has always been a little nervous. Not sure what happened to her in the past but is only now walking past us to go out of the door and at times showing real nervous behavior. Having said that she really has come on leaps and bounds. She spends more time with us in the evenings on the sofa and is even happy being in the same room while the kids play.
We now really would like a puppy a black lab to be specific. I had dogs and cats when i was young who all lived in harmony and i'm hoping this will happen again. However with tink being so nervy its starting to concern me. I don't want to upset her. Any advice?


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## tinkertabs (Feb 26, 2011)

Any help would be great.


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## AlfonzPig (Mar 30, 2013)

A nervous cat can take quite a liking to a new puppy if they see them as something to care for.

My suggestion for introductions is strange but I have known it to work before with friends in the same situation.

If you go out and buy a little black lab plushie and place it somewhere your Kitty spends time, it will give her a comfort in appearance of this strange creature. If she is really opposed to the plushie she may not like a puppy. 

When or if you get the puppy do introductions through a baby gate, put your puppy on one side and the Kitty should be allowed to approach without feeling scared as the pup wont be excited and romp all over the Kitty. The cat and pup should be allowed to interact this way, letting the cat get used to the pups energy level and also observe its actions, gradually you should see your cat want to be in the same space as the pup to check it out and see what all his fuss is about. Then you just moderate interactions between them, if the pup seems to be making the cat uncomfortable, stop the interactions and allow you cat to approach when she wants to. It can be a long process but as long as you are there to reassure your Kitty, things should go well.


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

Introducing a pup to a cat is the best age to do it, let them see each other from day 1, ideally introduce the pup on a lead but if not instantly available, have a small collar on him to grab, and let him see the cat. If the cat runs, hold onto the pup and immediately distract with a treat. Once the cat works out he is not going to chase her (might take a while) then she should start to relax around the dog. Set up a separate eating/resting area for her with a child gate so she has somewhere to go and relax and pup can't steal her food. Once you've had the dog for a few years you should start to see this








ok granted the cat was a kitten but Bonnie had seen cats from puppy age so she has never had the inclination to chase them. All our older cats got used to the dogs.


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## tinkertabs (Feb 26, 2011)

Thanks for the advice really helpful x


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

tinkertabs said:


> Hi
> 
> A couple of years ago i got two cats mother and daughter which i rescued from the local pet sanctuary. Unfortunately 6 months later the youngest cat got rumn over but we still have the mother. She is now 7 and since having her has always been a little nervous. Not sure what happened to her in the past but is only now walking past us to go out of the door and at times showing real nervous behavior. Having said that she really has come on leaps and bounds. She spends more time with us in the evenings on the sofa and is even happy being in the same room while the kids play.
> We now really would like a puppy a black lab to be specific. I had dogs and cats when i was young who all lived in harmony and i'm hoping this will happen again. However with tink being so nervy its starting to concern me. I don't want to upset her. Any advice?


The problems can often start when they are first introduced, if the cat is scared and runs, then you immediately get into the run chase cycle, usually a cat is much more interesting if they move or run to a dog or pup. Once you get into that cycle then it can be hard to resolve.

Often the best way is to keep them separate until you can spend a few days crate training the puppy to accept and be relaxed in the crate and settled in.
Once the pup is happy and settled in the crate and will be pre amused with something like a chew or a stuffed kong, then its a good idea to let the cat in for very brief short meetings with the pup in the crate. The cats then safe and less likely to start to run and the pup cant chase and get too close anyway.

Once they have gotten used to sharing the same room like that building up the time, its then a good idea to have pup on a lead at one end of the room and someone sitting relaxed with the cat the other, to again get them sharing the same space and building the time up. praising and gtrating the pup for calm behaviour around the cat and then building up from there.


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## Wiz201 (Jun 13, 2012)

I must admit I didn't think about a crate but my method should work fine if you decide not to use one although it will make life a lot easier.


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## spid (Nov 4, 2008)

It took our cats over a year to get used to the pup that invaded their lives - they lived upstairs all the time, unless she was in her crate.The key is training the dog. The dog must learn that the cat is not for chasing and that the cat is above them in the scale of things. The dog must never ever be allowed to chase the cat and if it does it goes straight into the crate for a time out. In no way can you allow this. Depending on the type of dog you are getting you have to be careful. If it is a dog with a large prey drive you could spend a long time training. Labs are bred to retrieve and so may try to do so with the cat. Basically, yes you can end up with the dog and cat being 'friends' but it often takes a lot of time and at least until the pup is an adult and calmer.


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