# Cats are terrified of new puppy



## cindersfriend (Sep 25, 2008)

Here is the situation:

I live with two cats that are 2 and 4 years old. We are trying to introduce them to a new golden lab puppy that is about 4 months old.

So for it has been a total disaster. The puppy is very playful and it inadvertently scares the cats. The 4 year old will hiss and paw at the puppy, and the 2 year old is just terrified. She hides all day when the puppy is around.

At this point all we can do is keep the cats and dog in separate rooms. The 2 year old has a very timid personality. She is terrified of strangers as well. So with her personality I'm not sure if it will be possible for her to warm up to the puppy.


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## Muzby (Jan 9, 2008)

You need to teach your puppy his manners before the cats can feel safe! Imagine a giant thing running at you, maybe yelling in a different language (bark-ese) and you'd be terrified too. 

The puppy should NOT have run of the house either. Tie him to your waist when you're home (helps him get trained/know you're big top dog) and when you're not home, crate him. The cats will get used to him easier if it's at their pace, and not at the puppy's whim.


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## ~Siameseifuplz~ (May 6, 2007)

I agree, The cats are scared, they feel threatened. Puppy should be leashed (for more than just this, I recommend having all pups leashed until housebroken) to you unless in a smaller closed off room where you can always see him. That way if he sniffs cats, good if he runs at, paws at, barks at or mouths kitty you, while holding the leash turn around and walk away so puppy must do so also. Don't "pop" the leash or anything to physically punish him, being taken away from what he wants (cat) is the punishment. That will teach him that certain behavior make him leave kitty, certain behaviors let him stay.

I would also give the kitties a nail trim just in case they decide to take things into their own paws before you have a chance to remove the pup.

I would for now, try not to let the pup even go near the cats, if they come up to HIM then fine, for now they need to see that he's safe. If you have him on leash near you and he looks at the cats, make a small noise to make him look at you, when he does give him a treat (puppy owners should carry treats EVERYWHERE lol) later make the noise, then say a command so he'll learn the command word. This will make it easier to take his focus off the cats later if he ever looks like he's about to run over to them.

Eventually things will calm down, make sure the cats have a "safe" room with food, water, litter box, toys, scratchers etc. that the dog has no access to so that the cats are not always under stress. Several times a day put the dog in his crate, wash your hands, and go chill with the cats in their room. If you ever want to try formal intros (if that is something your cats would do) do it in the dog's room, not the cat's.

don't worry, I'd say everything will calm down in a little while.


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## PrimoBabe (Feb 23, 2006)

My own experience is that cats and dogs become best pals, but the adjustment can take some time. Cats are usually terrified of big, scary dogs when they first meet them. A cat will eventually figure out that a dog is nothing more than love and affection on 4 legs.

I had a sweet, gentle dog. When I first introduced Martin to our household, he hissed and took a swipe at poor Callie's nose. Within a week, however, they were best friends, usually curling up together for naps.

Before we lost Callie, she started to spend most of her time under our living room coffee table. That just seemed to be the place that she chose to die. I put down multiple layers of soft towels and blankets, and she was very comfortable there. Well, a day or so after Callie's death, I heard Martin screaming and wailing, as if he were in great pain. I ran to see what was wrong. Martin was standing near the coffee table, staring at the blank spot where Callie had been, and grieving deeply for his missing roommate. Animals never cease to amaze me.


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## Tabbytam3 (Oct 18, 2006)

I agree with Primobabe...I have 4 cats and 1 dog. They hated each other at first, but now they can stand each other. I don't know if they love wach other yet, but they will come up on the bed without fighting now. 

We have had the puppy since Feb and it is just now starting to get better. It takes a while, but it will happen

Good Luck!


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## melysion (Mar 12, 2007)

Muzby said:


> You need to teach your puppy his manners before the cats can feel safe! Imagine a giant thing running at you, maybe yelling in a different language (bark-ese) and you'd be terrified too.
> 
> The puppy should NOT have run of the house either. Tie him to your waist when you're home (helps him get trained/know you're big top dog) and when you're not home, crate him. The cats will get used to him easier if it's at their pace, and not at the puppy's whim.


This is so completely different to how I trained Benji. Benji has never been leashed while in the house and the thought of having my dog in a cage horrifies me. I'm not saying the above method is wrong by the way - far from it - I'm just amazed at the differences. I hadnt even heard of a dog crate until a few months ago and that was something I learned from here.

Anyway - completely OT. Sorry. As for the topic in question - in my case Benji was so tiny when he first arrived all the cats in the house were bigger than him so our troubles were very much the other way around :lol:


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## Mitts & Tess (Sep 4, 2004)

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=cattodogintroductions


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## Jonathan415 (Jul 18, 2008)

PrimoBabe said:


> My own experience is that cats and dogs become best pals, but the adjustment can take some time. Cats are usually terrified of big, scary dogs when they first meet them. A cat will eventually figure out that a dog is nothing more than love and affection on 4 legs.
> 
> I had a sweet, gentle dog. When I first introduced Martin to our household, he hissed and took a swipe at poor Callie's nose. Within a week, however, they were best friends, usually curling up together for naps.
> 
> Before we lost Callie, she started to spend most of her time under our living room coffee table. That just seemed to be the place that she chose to die. I put down multiple layers of soft towels and blankets, and she was very comfortable there. Well, a day or so after Callie's death, I heard Martin screaming and wailing, as if he were in great pain. I ran to see what was wrong. Martin was standing near the coffee table, staring at the blank spot where Callie had been, and grieving deeply for his missing roommate. Animals never cease to amaze me.


That is a touching story! I like it!
I've always thought it would be kool if I can get a cat and dog to be friends.
It'll take a lot of work off me.


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