My cat hates my new puppy - HELP!!!

[donnaew 10]

They will probably work it all out soon enough. Border Collies are so wonderful! We had one for many years in the country (where they need to be, to run around with all their energy). They love to herd the kids on their bikes, too. Don't be surprised when the baby gives you the infamous 'eye'. It is creepy if you don't know what to expect. It helps them control the sheep or cattle they are supposed to herd. Anyway, our baby protected our cat while she was giving birth to her kittens and would not allow anyone to even get close during that time. He stood guard the entire time-right in front of her bed. When it was over and he knew the kittens were safe, he helped to lick them, then he went to take a bath in the lake, which he loved to do. They love to play kick ball and frizzbie, too. His 'frizzbie' was a plastic sled bigger than he was. I will always miss him, as will my grown son. We still cry when we talk about him. He has been gone 15 years, but was the best dog anyone could ever ask for. They are super smart. You are so lucky to have one. I only allowed my tenants to have one at my rental house when they ask for a dog because they are so good and not destructive. Best of luck with cat and dog. God Bless.

[mel77 10]

Hi i know how you feel. I picked up my rescue doggie on Thursday but my 3 cats havent been too bad to my surprise!!

 

One of them isnt too bothered, the other 2 spend most of their time in the attic and come down sometimes for a cuddle. They are still in the house and still eating so thats a start!

 

I bought as feliway diffuser for the cats which replicates the production of cat pheromones, ive plugged it into the attic for them to see if it helps them feel calmer.

Ive also bought a DAP diffuser for the dog to help her stay clam and feel relaxed...

 

You could also try putting Bach resuce remedy in the cats food.

 

Like the others have said its very early days, im not expecting any results for a couple of months.

 

Just make sure you make a fuss of the cat and still give him some of your time when he is in the house! Just so he knows you still love him!

 

Most vets sell them but i got mine from http://www.petremedies.co.uk (much cheeper) thanks Asmo!!

[Tomorrow 10]

I'm picking up my new puppy, Ludo in two weeks and I worried about my cat feeling jealous. But then again I don't want to ignore Ludo looking after her. What should I do to make them both feel loved?

[Lotti 10]

Tomorrow - I'd advise keeping your puppy downstairs (assuming you have two floors to your home!) with a stairgate.

Puppies shouldn't be climbing or decending stairs anyway while they're growing as it's not good for their joints so it's best to keep her downstairs, this way your cat can go upstairs when it needs to and if you go up to fuss the cat, Ludo won't come charging up and scare it off again!

You will need to spend a lot of time with the new puppy but there should be times where Ludo needs to sleep so use them as an opportunity to remind the cat it's loved!

Also remember some cats (generally of certain breeds) can be pretty laid back around dogs!

 

Also consider crate training, if Ludo has little periods of time where she goes in her crate (for a sleep or whatever) then your cat may feel more inclined to come for a fuss in the same room and get used to Ludo's presence.

 

The problem I had was that my cats taught my puppy to chase them by running away (she won't chase if they don't run!) so a very useful tool for puppies in the house is a 'house line' a very thin, lightweight line that you attach to their collar to remove them from dangerous/naughty scenarios without having to physically touch them (sometimes it just aint practical!). This way if you notice the cat coming, you can get hold of Ludo before she has chance to chase!

 

You can get the houselines for 2 quid in PAH or just tie a long piece of string to her!

 

What breed is Ludo? We expect lots of pictures!!!

[katkin 10]

Hi - we found our old mogs took a while to get used to the new dobermutt intruder but the use of stairgates and making sure the cats were higher up the pecking order than the new pup made a big difference. We made sure our cats were fed first and the stairgates allowed the cats to get to the catflap without fear of being chased by a big boucning black n tan beast. Not all the cats acepted Ailsa, I have to say, but peace and harmony did eventually reign. Sadly, all but one of those lovely mogs has passed over the rainbow bridge but when they went, we decided to get our first ever pedigree kitten(s) - just could not make our minds up between 4 breeds in particular and ended up geting one of each breed over the course of the next year- so, Aisla had to get used to 4 kittens over the course of the next year. Using the same techniques, we found the kittens were each more amenable to meeting a big daft dog and all live happily together now.