# Puppy and 2 existing cats - trouble!



## Anarane01 (Mar 11, 2012)

Hi all,

Another Poppy issue...

We have two cats. One, Theo (rescued off our doorstep approx 4 years ago) and the other Olly (bought from a breeder almost 2 years ago).

When I brought Olly home two years ago, Theo was NOT happy. After the initial meet and greet, he just acted miffed and stalked around the house like we'd made him wear a dress or something! We were forced to keep the two cats apart because Theo wanted blood and Olly couldn't defend himself. After a while, we let Theo exert his dominance (controlled by us so Olly would be safe) and then, when Olly was big enough to fight back, we let them wrestle it out. We now have two cats who still fight (mostly play fight but occasionally it turns serious), but who protect each other, look out for each other when they're outside and clean each other after food - a happy little family.

Then we brought Poppy home. Both cats were interested, but too scared to come near. Both cats 'make themselves big' (fur up, big bushy tails) and hiss at her when she's around. We thought this was normal - she's a dog after all and they are cats - natural enemies right? So we've been letting them see each other through doors and baby gates and crates so far.

However, we had an incident 2 nights back - Poppy was loose in the kitchen, supervised of course. Olly appeared from nowhere - I thought he was out, but he must have snuck back into the house and hid upstairs. He made his appearance, not realising the puppy was loose and came into the kitchen. Poppy, naturally interested, walked over to him. He was surprised, hissed and ran away. However, he's not agile enough to get back over the baby gate on the stairs, and as he ran she chased. He came face to face with the gate and as I went to grab him and help him over the gate, he jumped for it and missed, hitting his neck on the gate and his head on the hallway table. I caught him on the way down, just as Poppy reached us. Poppy sniffed Olly's tail, Olly freaked and wet himself (poor baby) and I eventually got him over the gate. Took me hours to get near him and show him I was safe (i.e. minus puppy).

We sort of got over that incident, but perhaps Olly hasn't, because today lunchtime, my husband had taken Poppy out to the back gardn to potty. On their return, the cats were both inside the house, watching through the back door. My husband allowed the animals to sniff each other through the small gap in the door, when suddenly Olly hissed, swiped and ran. He got Poppy on the nose with claws. She got a scratch, but no blood, so he was relatively controlled with his attack (or he missed). She was startled, but not too upset. He however is jumpy, nervous and TERRIFIED every time he hears or sees her - takes refuge under the kitchen table, not interested in food, can't wait to get out of the house in the morning.

I'm worried - for both Olly and Poppy. What if Olly really hurts her? What can I do to get the cat's to accept Poppy? I already saw somewhere else that I should allow the cats to smell Poppy's bed area and vice versa, and also to give blankets to each animal, then switch them so they can all smell each other. Is there anything else? Has anyone else had trouble like this, and if so how did you fix it?

I know I can't fix this immediately, and time is needed, I just want to get it right... Thanks for reading!

Toni


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

I have 2 cat & V datapoints (2 different dogs, same cat).

When we got our first V, the cat was about 4 years old. The puppy tried to play with the cat, the cat gave her a really good swipe across the nose (bleeding scratches, but no scars), and they never had a moment's trouble after that.

When we got our second V, the cat was 16. Big difference. He (the cat) just doesn't seem to be able to put the dog in his place. The dog chases him and when he catches him he pins him down with his jaws around the cat's head. So we just don't let them be together when the dog is in that mood.


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## Looney (Sep 28, 2011)

I have a 8.5 month old kitten and Laszlo is now 4 months old.
They don't "chill" together quite yet. They play, the cat taunts the dog chases and the cat hops up on the condo. When the dog is tired or sleeping the cat Heinz will come and sniff his face, it's too cute. I assume that since the are both babies really that it will get better day by day, and it is.
He's an inside cat that knows he's an insided cat, outdoor cats prolly have a more "fight" to survive attitude? I can't imagine Heinz being scared to point of urinating.....dang.... :-\


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

We also had two cats when we first got Ri. It took them MONTHS to really sort things out. The most useful command is "leave-it". Once the cats learn that the dog is not allowed to mess with them, they will become much more confident.


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## jjohnson (Nov 9, 2011)

I also have two cats and we got our puppy about about 8 months ago. My cats are fairly easy going, but they took several months to adjust. One of them hid in my bedroom for months before she started coming out around the puppy. Now, she rules the house and I will catch her chasing the dog! In any case, my cats and dog probably will never cuddle on the coach together, but after several months, they are at least getting along. Our puppy never got scratched by the cats, but my cats are kind of weenies, so I'm not sure that is normal. I don't know how long it has been for you, but I would give it lots of time, and don't force it. At first I thought my one cat would never get along with the dog, but after 8 months they now have some sort of agreement worked out between them so they don't bother eachother


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

*Anarane01*, I would suggest not to let Olly near Poppy for now. Olly feels very threatened, and it is not fair to him. Our cat MuMu didn't show up downstairs, where our oldest V. Sophie was, for at least three weeks! And when she saw Sophie, she'd run back upstairs. We never made them to sniff each other. If I saw MuMu was getting uncomfortable, I took her away. Now, she's an indoor/outdoor cat, too. We actually didn't let her out that whole time because we didn't want her to accidentaly get spooked by Sophie and not return home. 
I think it took us MONTHS for MuMu to come downstairs and interact with Sophie. She always put Sophie in submissive position  The key is to teach Poppy to leave the cat alone. We tought Sophie to not chase the cat or bark at the cat - big no no. We did a lot of re-direction of attention, and it can be really challenging. From my observations, the less Sophie cared about MuMu, the more MuMu wanted to stalk Sophie. 

Now with our new puppy V. Pacsirta, MuMu is not as worried. In fact, she is really nosy about her. However, initially Pacsirta was trying to run up to her and even bark at her, and MuMu did a few swats with her paws (no nail use) but didn't run away. I interpreted it as the cat wants to be in the area with the dogs, just don't come too near me. Pacsirta is getting much better with not barking or chasing MuMu, and we use the same redirection of attention technique. She barks, I say a very loud "ah-ah" and she looks at me, I treat and "good girl" her. If I catch Pacsirta on time, I'll prevent barking even before she gets a chance to do it by getting her attention towards me and what i'm doing. 

The funny thing is that now Pacsirta stalks MuMu whenever she can - she sneaks up very very quietly and very slowly, and tries to smell MuMu's behind ;D And MuMu has no clue until Pacsirta is actually stretching her neck to get a closer "sniff" and accidentally touches her. Then Pacsirta turns her head and pretends she's just minding her own business...just walking in the same direction. It is the funniest thing ever! Wish I could catch it on video ;D


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## pippa31 (Aug 2, 2011)

We also had 2 existing cats when we brought Pippa home. We put up baby gates all over and really limited Pippa's space. We put chairs and such up next to the gates so that the cats could jump into Pippa's space, but she could not go into their space. 

Then we worked with Pippa on "Leave It". The cats are very interested in Pippa - and Winston (our boy cat) has completely made peace with her. Neev (our girl cat) definitely still hisses and bops Pippa. I don't really mind it though - I want Pippa to know Neev is not to be messed with. 

I also made sure to crate Pippa for a bit each day and spend some time with the cats (our cats are huge cuddlers and lap sitters and need some TLC). That helped too.

*Suliko how did you get Sophie to stop barking at the cat??? Pippa will still bark at the cats and it is SO ANNOYING. She'll stop if we say leave it, but then will start up again momentarily *


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## jld640 (Sep 29, 2010)

You may want to do a search of this forum for cat experiences. There are actually several of us who have cats and each has had a different method for integrating the new arrival. I would suggest that you take a closer look at your escape routes for the cats. At this point either Poppy or Olly could get really hurt and beyond their pain, you will have a hard time forgiving the other. A convenient tunnel to dive into or a table to leap on top of could be a benefit once Poppy gets faster or Olly gets surprised too far from the baby gate.

With that said, I used constant supervision, treats, and feeding. Your baby gates sound easier and a great improvement from what I was doing, but they are still just a tool. I established some rooms as cat territory only. Savannah is still not allowed in them. I started feeding them across the kitchen from each other (that may be too close for your cats). The cat always ate first. Slowly, slowly, slowly I moved the feeding bowls closer together. I also treated them whenever the cat showed up where we were. No cat, no treat. In previous posts I think I mentioned how long it took, but it was at least several months before they would stand next to each other. We worked the command 'Leave it' almost from day 1. Also, like Pippa31 said, I spent some time each day with the cat. I kept a few of her routines unchanged (like when I combed her, how I left the house, how we went to bed) while all the puppy nonsense was turning everything else in her house upside down.

Savannah is 20 months now. The cat will not go out onto the deck unless Savannah is there to protect her (she was declawed by her previous guardian). As she relaxes more and more in Savannah's presence, we still have the odd issue arise. The newest...about a month ago, Annie decided it is safe to sharpen her claws while Savannah is in the room. Savannah hears her paws going and thinks a new game is in progress and goes bounding over. Annie freaks and streaks from the room leaving a very confused vizsla, who at least remembers not to chase. When dinner time rolls around, all is forgiven and they both sit waiting for their meals. 

Good luck!


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## threefsh (Apr 25, 2011)

I tried putting Riley in a sit/stay this morning while I pet our diva cat, Lisa and it worked like a charm! Riley wasn't *happy* about it, but she listened really well. I pet Lisa right in front of her for 4 MINUTES while she was in a stay. It's important that the cat knows they are special too and get time for petting while the dog has to chill for a bit.


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## RubyRoo (Feb 1, 2011)

It took us about a 9 months to a year to get to this point with our 8 year old male cat Bub. Our 16 yr old female is still under the bed after 1 yr since we brought Ruby home. Ruby visits her everyday and gives her kisses under the bed.

Bub has no fear with Ruby and never really did. He now tolerates Ruby when she is in her playful crazy mode. It think he has a love/hate relationship with Ruby


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## Suliko (Sep 17, 2011)

*pippa31*, I really just say the "aah-aah" which is pretty much the same as "leave it" in Sophie's vocabulary, and try to get her attention towards me, then treat. Now, Sophie's been a joy to train once she hit a 1-yr mark - very responsive. (Taught her how to roll in an hour using chicken gizards  )Sophie will be 2 in May, and she rarely if ever barks at MuMu inside the house. The only time she'll bark at her now is when she sees MuMu coming up the porch stairs to be let in. I think she doesn't see her from far to know that that's our cat. But it lets us know that MuMu is there and needs to come in. So, in this case barking works for us  Once the cat is in the house or gets close, Sophie doesn't care for her anymore. 

Pacsirta is a very smart girl, too. She actually has responded really good to the same attention re-direction approach. With her though, once I treat her, she wants to go right back to "exploring" the cat. So, I need to keep her attention on me longer. I also praise her when she doesn't bark at the cat and just stares at her. This morning MuMu and Pacsirta put their noses together for the first time to get a closer sniff  I don't, however, leave Pacsirta and MuMu by themselves in the same room unless they are sleeping. 

Here are all my sleeping girls


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Ok, I read half of the responses and then I have to admit that I skipped the second half, so sorry this is a repeat.

1) Move furniture around so that the cats can always get over the baby gate, using the mid-sized furniture as a tool to get high enough up and then jump over the baby gate. The cats should be able to get in the dog area and out of the dog area as they please while the dog is stuck in one area.

2) Feed them on opposite sides of a closed door. This way, they will smell each other while eating which is a positive association. After doing this a week or so. If possible change it so that instead of the closed door it's on either side of a baby gate. They are therefore face to face, but just eating their food. 2/3 of my cats would go for this the first time we tried. The other we just moved the food bowl back a little more. 

3) Never let the puppy in the cat area - or at least not until they are happy with each other. The cats should have their own safe place. Ours is the computer room.

4) Consider leaving a leash on Poppy when he is indoors at all times so that if a cat appears from nowhere you can step on the leash and control the situation better. Oso used to point, so it was easier to control. We'd just pet him and the cat at the same time. 

5) Reinforce Poppy for staying and not chasing the cats at every chance. We use a clicker and treats. When he looks at the cat without chasing click and then give him a treat. Pretty soon Olly will understand this new puppy is no threat. 

6) Play the "Mine" game with Poppy. We practiced by throwing toys/treat behind us and then blocking Oso from getting them like a goalie. When he sat down and waited he got the praise and treat. You then switch it to just physically stepping out in front of something and then when he sits he gets the praise and treat. They soon learn that as soon as you block something the correct response is to sit down. Whenever Oso would go for a cat, we would step in front of the cat with authority and he would back off. The cats know we won't let anything happen to them. 

Just take it slowly. It is a process. We don't let Oso on the furniture, so the cats can be safe in the same room. Oso wants to play with them, as Poppy wants to play as well most likely. He eventually realized that if he bounded up too fast they would jump away (onto furniture usually). So, now he approaches slowly and will just stand there wagging his tail. Two of the cats will be in the same room with him, but one waits until he is in the crate, dead asleep or on a walk to come out. Otherwise, he just sits at the baby gate watching. Our cats are inside cats who only go outside when my husband and I are out there to watch them (we live in an area where cats get eaten or disappear when they are outside cats). All the cats will go outside iwth Oso and I'll sit out there will all 4 of them enjoying the day. All the cats will also come out if I'm giving them treats. Time helps for sure. Oso is 7 1/2 months old now, as years go on, I'm sure things will further improve. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vG1X...DvjVQa1PpcFOvodrKNY6DbKYb1DotPAmRmie7d8YwOyE=

*this is shortly after we got Oso. My husband is restraining Oso, so the cats feels safe. Oso is being pet and (reinforced) for staying still around the kitties.


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## serena (Apr 22, 2012)

My cats werent bothered when we brought our V home, but SHE hates them and barks at them and chases them.. Dont know what to do. I cant very well reprimand her for following a basic instinct so how exactly do I teach her that the cats are off limits?


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## Katja (Mar 9, 2012)

Definitely reprimand her for following a basic instinct! Teach her "leave it", and apply it to the cats.


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## luv2laugh (Oct 6, 2011)

Dogs, as well as people, have a lot of instincts which need to be reprimanded so we are good doggy and human citizens. Don't feel bad at all about stopping her from chasing your cats. The rules are, she's allowed to chase ________ (birds, squirrels, toys - fill in blank), but not allowed to chase the cats. Instead she needs to _______ (walk by them without chasing, look at them without barking). Reinforce her when she does the positive behavior, before barking or chasing occurs. 

There is a lot of great advice in the thread and I think you should put it all to use. It takes time, but having a peaceful household is worth it.


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