# cat nasty to dog



## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

ok so i brought a puppy home from work today to introduce to the cat (5 and half months) just for the night, all went swimmingly for 20 mins then the cat decided she wanted to pounce and swipe the pup, she just wont leave the pup alone, at the minute cats upstairs calming down a bit. we really want them to accept each other.

i really need advice please. thansk in advance.


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Was there any hissing, growling or nastiness from the kitten? If not it sounds like she wanted to play! What was the reaction like from the puppy? If he/she wasn't frightened then it sounds like a good start. Short socialising sessions should determine if they will be OK, I would think such youngsters should quite easily become friends with a little patience 
Em


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

You need to introduce kitten and puppy to each other slowly and gradually over a period of days or weeks. Never leave them unsupervised with each other until you are certain they are OK together.

Once they are OK together (at some future time i.e.) make sure the kitten always has an escape route to a safe area away from the puppy.

Your kitten has probably never seen a puppy or a dog before so he probably has no idea what to make of him, whether he is friend or foe. Always have the puppy on a leash during the introduction process. It is too risky to have the pup off the leash unless he is 100% obedience trained to respond to your voice.

Here are some sites which give useful advice how to go about the introductions:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-dogs

How to Introduce Your New Dog to Your Resident Cats


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

thanks for the advice. the puppy barked at her and bella seemed fine, she's met the pup once before and hissed then but this time she seemed more curious and did hiss but that was when the pup got scared of something and squealed, so i think bella was more weary at that point than nasty. 
it was more the stalking behaviour from the kitten that worried me, i had no concerns about the pups behaviour (work with dogs so more confident with that side), i was planning on putting a stair gate up when we bring pup home for good so bella can get away when she wants to, but i think it'll be the pup wanting to get away lol

so if i have the pup in a crate and let bella in, so she cant whack the pup then let them interact for say 10 mins and then when kittens acceptable get pup on a lead and let them interact, but not all in the same session of course, is that sort of the right lines?

i would never leave them unsupervised, we're letting bella have run of upstairs when we're not in, we have a door to the stairs so they can't get to each other.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

bella2013 said:


> ok so i brought a puppy home from work today to introduce to the cat (5 and half months) just for the night, all went swimmingly for 20 mins then the cat decided she wanted to pounce and swipe the pup, she just wont leave the pup alone, at the minute cats upstairs calming down a bit. we really want them to accept each other.
> 
> i really need advice please. thansk in advance.


Best way to do it usually is to crate train the pup so he is happy and relaxed in there first, and then once he is bring the kitten in for short intros with the pup in the crate with something like a kong or chew to keep him distracted and then get them used to sharing space that way first and build the times up.

Often problems start if you immediately get into the run chase cycle as both are more interesting then. A crate prevents that. You can praise the pup and even the kitten and give treats for calm behaviour around each other.

Once they are calmer and more used to each other then you can have the pup on a lead with one person down one end of the room and start bringing the kitten in for short introductions that way and build it up. That way they get used to each other and sharing space without the crate.

Another good thing is to have baby or dog control gates placed about that way you can separate if need be and the cat can always get away, assuming the cat can jump over or get through and the pups too big to follow.


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

bella2013 said:


> thanks for the advice. the puppy barked at her and bella seemed fine, she's met the pup once before and hissed then but this time she seemed more curious and did hiss but that was when the pup got scared of something and squealed, so i think bella was more weary at that point than nasty.
> it was more the stalking behaviour from the kitten that worried me, i had no concerns about the pups behaviour (work with dogs so more confident with that side), i was planning on putting a stair gate up when we bring pup home for good so bella can get away when she wants to, but i think it'll be the pup wanting to get away lol
> 
> so if i have the pup in a crate and let bella in, so she cant whack the pup then let them interact for say 10 mins and then when kittens acceptable get pup on a lead and let them interact, but not all in the same session of course, is that sort of the right lines?
> ...


One thing I would say is that cats if they get the hump tend to go for the 
face and eyes, and if the pups fearless and doesn't back off, then their eyes can get easily injured.


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

the pups not showing any signs of wanting to chase her and she did back down and listen when bella hissed at her so i guess its just a case of bella (cat) learning boundaries and what is and isnt acceptable i suppose. they were nose to nose at one point just having a sniff. the pup backs off and tries to get away from the cat but bella follows her. 

the pups a little approx 8 week old jack russell so quite a lot smaller than bella at the minute.


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## chillminx (Nov 22, 2010)

My experience is that if a cat starts following another cat or a pup in a persistent stalking way, they may be looking for an opportunity to land a whack on the face with a pawful of claws! I would step in immediately and stop her following him about. As has been said, it is not good to allow chase/flight behaviour to develop, no matter who is chasing whom.


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

thank you for all the advice. i'm going to stay hopeful that they might tolerate each other eventually. going to start with the crate and take it from there.

i think i might make things harder as i tend to be quite nervous about pairing animals up anyway which i know they will pick up on, i need to chill :001_unsure:


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

ok so tess (pup) has been home fo just over 24 hours, we tried putting tess in a crate and bring bella down, she clocked tess and hid upstairs intil earlier today. bella however wont come furhter than the second to last step so i sat on the floor with tess and threw dreamies to bella, she even got a bit playful and played with her ball, shes at pesent sat on the the table watching the pup, she tends to ignore her or walk away when tess looks at her, she still has what i occassionally called 'stalker eyes' really big and focused. she hasnt however attempted to pounch on tess. tess is curious put is to nervous to approach bella. 

i think this is progress considering its only 24 hours or so, what do others think? 

bellas now mooching about downstairs and pups chewing a kong


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

bella2013 said:


> ok so tess (pup) has been home fo just over 24 hours, we tried putting tess in a crate and bring bella down, she clocked tess and hid upstairs intil earlier today. bella however wont come furhter than the second to last step so i sat on the floor with tess and threw dreamies to bella, she even got a bit playful and played with her ball, shes at pesent sat on the the table watching the pup, she tends to ignore her or walk away when tess looks at her, she still has what i occassionally called 'stalker eyes' really big and focused. she hasnt however attempted to pounch on tess. tess is curious put is to nervous to approach bella.
> 
> i think this is progress considering its only 24 hours or so, what do others think?
> 
> bellas now mooching about downstairs and pups chewing a kong


Just carry on with what you are doing short periods and supervised, if they ignore each other and/or are calm, and get on with their own things praise and reward the cat and the dog with treats. It will make good associations with each other and re-enforce the behaviour you do want.


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

good to know i'm doing it right. Bellas playing in the dining room and tess is still at her kong on the sofa. i suppose if bellas happy enough to play then she's comfortable enough around tess?

plus the pup hasnt really moved so maybe bella thinks she never moves lol


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## lostbear (May 29, 2013)

bella2013 said:


> ok so tess (pup) has been home fo just over 24 hours, we tried putting tess in a crate and bring bella down, she clocked tess and hid upstairs intil earlier today. bella however wont come furhter than the second to last step so i sat on the floor with tess and threw dreamies to bella, she even got a bit playful and played with her ball, shes at pesent sat on the the table watching the pup, she tends to ignore her or walk away when tess looks at her, she still has what i occassionally called 'stalker eyes' really big and focused. she hasnt however attempted to pounch on tess. tess is curious put is to nervous to approach bella.
> 
> i think this is progress considering its only 24 hours or so, what do others think?
> 
> bellas now mooching about downstairs and pups chewing a kong


I don't think you're doing badly at all. It is very very early days - they sound as though they will learn to rub along with each other. It's always harder to introduce a new pet to a cat, in my experience - but once they've established the pecking order, things usually settle down well


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

i had a feeling it would be harder than inroducing two days say, cats are so stuck in their ways 

im not expecting them to want to roll around on the floor together just tolerate each other or even stay out each others way is fine. i know its gonna be a long process, we were meant to be rescuing another kitten next week before we decided to get the pup (she's a rescue too) bu we've told the rescue centre we can't, maybe when everythings settled down but i think we'll end up with just bella and tess to be fair. 

im keeping my fingers and toes crossed


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

we're doing ok so far i think. bella doesnt seem to like it when the pup moves lol. tess just seems to sit ont he sofa to be fair, bella will go all stalky eyes, i distract then she walks up to the pup bold as brass touch noises then decide to pat the dog, in the last day the dog has slowly defended herself (out of fear i think) only by barking (pathetic bark really more a grumble) or just flinching back, this seems to scare bella enough and usually results in a hiss and bella sulking and leaving the room. this has only happened about twice in the last few days (bella hissing). 

this is the only 'negative' behaviour i have seen really, i had bella sat next to me and pup other end of the sofa, only for a few minutes then she chose to leave. 

are they likely o have little face offs like this all their lives or will this stop eventually, if long, how long has it lasted with some peoples cats and dogs?


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

I don't have any personal experience of this but it sounds like introductions are going very well!  
I see no reason why in time things should just gradually improve as they get used to eachother. They may never be best pals but the signs are there to say they will tolerate fairly soon, well done


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

just an update for those who may be interested,
tonight we have had a break through and tess has suddenly gained confidence from somewhere and they have just played for the first time, rolling round on the floor and just patting and jumping about with each other. bella hissed once and that was when tess got a bit OTT and tess listened and lay on her back 

such a proud mummy


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Hey great news  Photos would be lovely 
Em


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

i've got a video, can they be uploaded on here or is it just pictures?


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## moggie14 (Sep 11, 2013)

Sorry, bit of a techno phobe so can't help  I've seen others do it, hopefully someone will come along soon that can assist, can't wait to see them together


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## bella2013 (Aug 29, 2013)

one when they first started to lay together


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