Advice for introducing new puppy to resident cat?

Hi, we've only had Charlie a week now so it's still early days but does anyone have any advice on getting our cat to like him? Oscar the cat is coming into the house reluctantly now (we sometimes have to pick him up) but he'll stay out of the way behind the settee or on the dining chairs. Just had a moment where Charlie saw Oscar on his bed, Oscar pulled back and hissed at Charlie......should I be very wary as I don't want Charlie to have his eyes scratched out?!

Kay

Couldn't have moo around a cat, so can't really help, but plenty of others do XX

ok thanks

I'm not really a person neither is Rocky no help sorry

When we bought Maggie home Jake (our cat) wasn't keen at all so we moved all his stuff upstairs, food, bed, litter tray (in the bathroom) and he had our bedroom all to himself. It was a room that Maggie wasn't allowed into so he always had somewhere safe to get out of her way.
We left them to their own rooms for a few days so they could get settled then we would put Maggie on her lead and one of us would hold Jake. We would have treats to give him and calmly hold and stroke him to keep him calm.
Now Maggie isn't a puppy so it may be a bit different as we had to put her on her lead to keep control of her when they met. We would keep the meetings to maybe about 10 mins at a time so as not to over do it. We never forced Jake to stay longer then he wanted to as this would have stresed him out.
I'm not saying Maggie and Jake are best mates but they tolerate each other, Maggie will still try to chase Jake sometimes but Jake will happily give Maggie a warning swipe to put her in her place
So my advice is make sure your cat has a room only he can go to as a safe havern, introduce puppy and cat in a controlled quiet situation with lots of fuss and love to both and give it time having a dog/ puppy in the house is new and strange to a cat who has had it all to himself but they do come round to the idea promise We have gotten to the point where Maggie and Jake will share the sofa sometimes so it will hopefully happen for you just be patient
Oh and also make sure your cat is getting some time with you on his own maybe in his safe space, puppies are wonderful and deserve lots of attention just don't forget to give the same to your cat so that he still feels loved. Hope that helps, I'm no expert just going on what happened with us and how we dealt with it
And don't worry too much if your puppy does get scratched, it happens as long as they aren't too deep then it will be ok. And if your puppy starts to chase the cat just tell him no because if he thinks he can do it he may always do it. Maggie will still chase Jake (I think she thinks he's her play thing sometimes ) but as soon as we say no she will stop and sit which is good for both animals. Sorry if I've droned on but hope some if all helps you, before you know it they will be bestfriends and if not they will at least learn to live with each other. Good luck

sorry I can't offer much advice as our cat doesn't come in and hasn't for years before we got the dogs , our 2 love to chase her and we can't stop them as long as she doesn't come in and runs
Advice from EmmaLou sounds very good and sensible though

We have 4 cats, the best thing is to get them introduced asap. Em's advice is good. The cat will swipe at the pup but that teaches them to back off. I found it took a couple of months for the cats to settle with the dogs and tolerate them. You do have watch the pup cos they try to play with the cats doing the play bow thing they would do to another puppy to get it to play. The cats dont speak dog so they think it threatening behaviour and will bitch slap the pup! lola will still chase the cats if she thinks you're not looking but will stop if you say no. Its a case of letting them get to know each other. I found the kitchen a good place as the cats could jump up on the table or cupboard to get away so they felt safe

We have 3 cats, 2 siamese and a moggie who have been living upstairs since Bacchus arrived. On Sunday we shut ourselves in the conservatory for about an hour with the Sunday papers, the cats and Bacchus. Bacchus was cuddling on the settee with me and because they just sat on the other chair, he wasn't all that bothered apart from mild interest. But we are taking it slowly and hopefully they will all learn to live in harmony.

P.S.
he does like to sneak upstairs and help himself to any left over cat food and, given the chance, will empty the litter tray.

reuben wrote:
P.S.
he does like to sneak upstairs and help himself to any left over cat food and, given the chance, will empty the litter tray.

Maggie does that well the clearing out of the left over cat food We have decided to start feeding Jake down stairs to reintroduce him into the rest of the house so we do have to keep an eye on Maggie while he is eating Luckily Maggie doesn't eat the cat poop unluckily she does however like to eat other dogs poop on her walk unless your quick enough to stop her now thats gross

EmLou28 wrote:

reuben wrote:
P.S.
he does like to sneak upstairs and help himself to any left over cat food and, given the chance, will empty the litter tray.

Maggie does that well the clearing out of the left over cat food We have decided to start feeding Jake down stairs to reintroduce him into the rest of the house so we do have to keep an eye on Maggie while he is eating Luckily Maggie doesn't eat the cat poop unluckily she does however like to eat other dogs poop on her walk unless your quick enough to stop her now thats gross

On the plus side......it gets rid of the odour better than air freshener

Thanks for all your advice While I was out shopping today hubby had a day off and said Oscar the cat was lying on the floor in the living room while he had Charlie on his lap, definitely an improvement. He gave them both some chicken and then put some biscuits down for cat....Charlie got very excited at that and ate what was left! Is it ok for him to eat cat biscuits? lol

Aw bless, funnily enough today Lily sneaked upstairs when I was hoovering and I found her asleep on the bed with George and Fred (cats). Normally the cats sleep in my daughter's room. they looked so cute, there was a time when this would never have happened.

Ah thats really good news I can remember the 1st time oh told me my two had sat on the sofa together without any fights (he had to send a pic as proof ) i got a little bubble of pride in my chest

Waiting for the day they can be nose to nose without Oscar hissing, it will make us so much happier

nearly 8 weeks weve had Koda... and the cat still hates her with a vengance.. ears back teeth out and hisses n swipes any time Koda goes near

Don't worry they will get along at some point, we have had Maggie 7 months and its only been in the last 3 months that they will share the sofa and thats only cos Jake sleeps on the top and Maggie on the main part Even now they will still have a go at each other like only the other night Maggie got over excited lept off the sofa and shoulder barged Jake into the tv cabinet, he was ok and gave her a good swipe for her troubles. She's sporting three scratch marks down her leg. I wanted them to get along and be bestmates from the start, I soon learnt this wasn't gonna be the case just be patient though it will happen eventually

we have 2 cats one 11 month rescue (grew up with dogs so knows how to deal with a puppy) and one 4 month kitten (terrified of dogs). I find that putting them (kitten + silva) together when Silva is tired is best as he doesnt want to play as much. Plus i put them both on the coach so Silva feels on equal level as the cat and usually after 5 minutes they are sleeping close distance together. Slowely silva is learning, but untill he looses that crazy puppy energy i think it will be an endless battle.. GOOD LUCK.

Our cat is 19 she has accepted Duke though Duke thinks she is a puppy and wants to push her all round the house with his nose , suffice to say her feet haven't touched the floor a lot since he arrived , we have found if the cat is there when the dog arrives then they should get on fine .

We have 3 cats in our house. We got our pup about 2 and a half weeks ago. At first none of the cats were in the least bit pleased with her but they are all coming round to her in their own ways. In fact my year old cat Jasper and the pup regularly run around the house playing together which is braw to watch. My other 2 cats are older and more set in their ways i guess! I just let them get on with it tho....tbh one of the older cats Jack regularly hisses and swipes at the pup when she gets too near but she's now learning to stay back. I know some people may think this sounds a bit harch but at the end of the day the cats were here first so Poppy will just have to fit in with them on the cats terms lol

Takes a while, the cold weather is a bonus as cats hate the cold so wont want to budge for a pup. I was giving the girls their sardines today and Fred the cat was darting in and grabbing a munch. I had to put one in his dish, it was in tomato sauce too

I wondered about giving them both a treat together and tried a bit of chicken...lol, don't think it agreed with Charlie's tummy! We held the cat and dog earlier and let Charlie sniff Oscar but Oscar was having none of it and swiped out at Charlie....must have come sharp as it made a hole in Hubby's finger! Maybe Charlie will be a little more wary of cat. The best we can hope for at the moment is they tolerate each other, I suppose. I felt so sorry for Charlie when the cat lashed out though

I would never hold the cat near pup as they will lash out as they feel cornered. When Oscar gets used to him he might not be best pals but they will live along side ok. It is early days so don't worry. Chicken was a good idea (maybe nt for Charlie) as cats go crazy for it and forget who else is there to get a bit

No, I don't think we'll do it again, Claire....I guess Oscar felt cornered. We'll just wait it out and see how it goes.

Good idea giving them both treats together though we did that with our two They will learn to live with each other eventually just takes time but before you know it it will all fall into place without you even realising. I also give treats to both if Jakes about cant give one without giving to the other The amount of times I've had a cat one side and dog the other when making oh's lunch I always end up giving them both a bit of ham or cheese Just keep introducing them to each other regularly and they will get used to it and dont worry if cat scratches pup as long as its not deep then it will show pup the cat cant be pushed around good luck and keep us updated

Thanks Emma. Oscar is at least coming in now, he's asleep on his bed under the table at the moment....lol, not too sure Charlie has noticed yet though as he was asleep as well!