Pet Owners : Need Advice

B

blindhearted

New member
DH and I are getting a male Boston Terrier on Monday. He will be about 7-8 weeks old. He will be living in the house. We have a 17 month old female Tuxedo cat that we have had since Jan. The cat doesnt really care too much for children because the house she was at before here, the kids gave her hell. So, that being said, I'm not sure how she is gonna react to a puppy. I have never had a dog, especially in the house. So this whole puppy thing is new to me. I have read on how to introduce a puppy to a cat, but I keep coming across the dog's natural instinct to hunt, causing some dogs to chase down and kill the cat. Now I know I cant change an animals nature, but I really dont want that to happen.

So my question is, do any of you pet owners have any tips or advice on introducing a new puppy to a existing cat??? How can I make this go as smooth as possible. The puppy is basically like an infant, we will spend a lot of time with him and training him, especially getting him house broken / potty training.

Thanks in advance.
 
B

blindhearted

New member
DH and I are getting a male Boston Terrier on Monday. He will be about 7-8 weeks old. He will be living in the house. We have a 17 month old female Tuxedo cat that we have had since Jan. The cat doesnt really care too much for children because the house she was at before here, the kids gave her hell. So, that being said, I'm not sure how she is gonna react to a puppy. I have never had a dog, especially in the house. So this whole puppy thing is new to me. I have read on how to introduce a puppy to a cat, but I keep coming across the dog's natural instinct to hunt, causing some dogs to chase down and kill the cat. Now I know I cant change an animals nature, but I really dont want that to happen.

So my question is, do any of you pet owners have any tips or advice on introducing a new puppy to a existing cat??? How can I make this go as smooth as possible. The puppy is basically like an infant, we will spend a lot of time with him and training him, especially getting him house broken / potty training.

Thanks in advance.
 
B

blindhearted

New member
DH and I are getting a male Boston Terrier on Monday. He will be about 7-8 weeks old. He will be living in the house. We have a 17 month old female Tuxedo cat that we have had since Jan. The cat doesnt really care too much for children because the house she was at before here, the kids gave her hell. So, that being said, I'm not sure how she is gonna react to a puppy. I have never had a dog, especially in the house. So this whole puppy thing is new to me. I have read on how to introduce a puppy to a cat, but I keep coming across the dog's natural instinct to hunt, causing some dogs to chase down and kill the cat. Now I know I cant change an animals nature, but I really dont want that to happen.

So my question is, do any of you pet owners have any tips or advice on introducing a new puppy to a existing cat??? How can I make this go as smooth as possible. The puppy is basically like an infant, we will spend a lot of time with him and training him, especially getting him house broken / potty training.

Thanks in advance.
 
B

blindhearted

New member
DH and I are getting a male Boston Terrier on Monday. He will be about 7-8 weeks old. He will be living in the house. We have a 17 month old female Tuxedo cat that we have had since Jan. The cat doesnt really care too much for children because the house she was at before here, the kids gave her hell. So, that being said, I'm not sure how she is gonna react to a puppy. I have never had a dog, especially in the house. So this whole puppy thing is new to me. I have read on how to introduce a puppy to a cat, but I keep coming across the dog's natural instinct to hunt, causing some dogs to chase down and kill the cat. Now I know I cant change an animals nature, but I really dont want that to happen.

So my question is, do any of you pet owners have any tips or advice on introducing a new puppy to a existing cat??? How can I make this go as smooth as possible. The puppy is basically like an infant, we will spend a lot of time with him and training him, especially getting him house broken / potty training.

Thanks in advance.
 
B

blindhearted

New member
DH and I are getting a male Boston Terrier on Monday. He will be about 7-8 weeks old. He will be living in the house. We have a 17 month old female Tuxedo cat that we have had since Jan. The cat doesnt really care too much for children because the house she was at before here, the kids gave her hell. So, that being said, I'm not sure how she is gonna react to a puppy. I have never had a dog, especially in the house. So this whole puppy thing is new to me. I have read on how to introduce a puppy to a cat, but I keep coming across the dog's natural instinct to hunt, causing some dogs to chase down and kill the cat. Now I know I cant change an animals nature, but I really dont want that to happen.
<br />
<br />So my question is, do any of you pet owners have any tips or advice on introducing a new puppy to a existing cat??? How can I make this go as smooth as possible. The puppy is basically like an infant, we will spend a lot of time with him and training him, especially getting him house broken / potty training.
<br />
<br />Thanks in advance.
 
C

CJsmom

New member
in my experience, puppies that young don't know enough to 'hunt' the cat. I would be more worried about the cat torturing the dog <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
just go slow with them both and keep an eye on them for awile. Maybe don't leave them alone together in the same room for a bit until they get used to each other.

Not really related but my dog was 8 when we got a new puppy. Now my big dog wasn't a fan of other dogs at all, he hated other dogs but when we brought the puppy in I think he realized it was a baby and he was very sweet and protective. Now, almost 2 years later, they are always together. Wherever one is the other is quick to follow.
 
C

CJsmom

New member
in my experience, puppies that young don't know enough to 'hunt' the cat. I would be more worried about the cat torturing the dog <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
just go slow with them both and keep an eye on them for awile. Maybe don't leave them alone together in the same room for a bit until they get used to each other.

Not really related but my dog was 8 when we got a new puppy. Now my big dog wasn't a fan of other dogs at all, he hated other dogs but when we brought the puppy in I think he realized it was a baby and he was very sweet and protective. Now, almost 2 years later, they are always together. Wherever one is the other is quick to follow.
 
C

CJsmom

New member
in my experience, puppies that young don't know enough to 'hunt' the cat. I would be more worried about the cat torturing the dog <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
just go slow with them both and keep an eye on them for awile. Maybe don't leave them alone together in the same room for a bit until they get used to each other.

Not really related but my dog was 8 when we got a new puppy. Now my big dog wasn't a fan of other dogs at all, he hated other dogs but when we brought the puppy in I think he realized it was a baby and he was very sweet and protective. Now, almost 2 years later, they are always together. Wherever one is the other is quick to follow.
 
C

CJsmom

New member
in my experience, puppies that young don't know enough to 'hunt' the cat. I would be more worried about the cat torturing the dog <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
just go slow with them both and keep an eye on them for awile. Maybe don't leave them alone together in the same room for a bit until they get used to each other.

Not really related but my dog was 8 when we got a new puppy. Now my big dog wasn't a fan of other dogs at all, he hated other dogs but when we brought the puppy in I think he realized it was a baby and he was very sweet and protective. Now, almost 2 years later, they are always together. Wherever one is the other is quick to follow.
 
C

CJsmom

New member
in my experience, puppies that young don't know enough to 'hunt' the cat. I would be more worried about the cat torturing the dog <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
<br />just go slow with them both and keep an eye on them for awile. Maybe don't leave them alone together in the same room for a bit until they get used to each other.
<br />
<br />Not really related but my dog was 8 when we got a new puppy. Now my big dog wasn't a fan of other dogs at all, he hated other dogs but when we brought the puppy in I think he realized it was a baby and he was very sweet and protective. Now, almost 2 years later, they are always together. Wherever one is the other is quick to follow.
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
All growing up I never had a dog "hunt" a cat. Even today as an adult. I will admit that our older dog, Lady think all cats should be her friend. She tries to play with them all.

Most of our cats we got as kittens so they grew up knowing nothing else, but our current cat was 2 years old when we got him. He tolerates Lady, but is far from her friend.

That doesnt stop her from trying to play. She would never hurt him. More annoy him. Now our new pup, Maxx is too dumb to know anything except LETS PLAY so needless to say that the cat is even less impressed with Maxx.

We did have an issue last night with the cat peeing in Jazmine's bed instead of his box because we had put Maxx's crate in the same room as the litter box.

The crate is a new thing to us so once we realized he wouldnt use his litter box with the crate in there, we relocated the crate. The pup didnt even have to be in the crate.

All the stories of cats/dogs fighting NEVER applied to my world except when the cat was tired of playing, but the dog wasnt!

Good Luck!
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
All growing up I never had a dog "hunt" a cat. Even today as an adult. I will admit that our older dog, Lady think all cats should be her friend. She tries to play with them all.

Most of our cats we got as kittens so they grew up knowing nothing else, but our current cat was 2 years old when we got him. He tolerates Lady, but is far from her friend.

That doesnt stop her from trying to play. She would never hurt him. More annoy him. Now our new pup, Maxx is too dumb to know anything except LETS PLAY so needless to say that the cat is even less impressed with Maxx.

We did have an issue last night with the cat peeing in Jazmine's bed instead of his box because we had put Maxx's crate in the same room as the litter box.

The crate is a new thing to us so once we realized he wouldnt use his litter box with the crate in there, we relocated the crate. The pup didnt even have to be in the crate.

All the stories of cats/dogs fighting NEVER applied to my world except when the cat was tired of playing, but the dog wasnt!

Good Luck!
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
All growing up I never had a dog "hunt" a cat. Even today as an adult. I will admit that our older dog, Lady think all cats should be her friend. She tries to play with them all.

Most of our cats we got as kittens so they grew up knowing nothing else, but our current cat was 2 years old when we got him. He tolerates Lady, but is far from her friend.

That doesnt stop her from trying to play. She would never hurt him. More annoy him. Now our new pup, Maxx is too dumb to know anything except LETS PLAY so needless to say that the cat is even less impressed with Maxx.

We did have an issue last night with the cat peeing in Jazmine's bed instead of his box because we had put Maxx's crate in the same room as the litter box.

The crate is a new thing to us so once we realized he wouldnt use his litter box with the crate in there, we relocated the crate. The pup didnt even have to be in the crate.

All the stories of cats/dogs fighting NEVER applied to my world except when the cat was tired of playing, but the dog wasnt!

Good Luck!
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
All growing up I never had a dog "hunt" a cat. Even today as an adult. I will admit that our older dog, Lady think all cats should be her friend. She tries to play with them all.

Most of our cats we got as kittens so they grew up knowing nothing else, but our current cat was 2 years old when we got him. He tolerates Lady, but is far from her friend.

That doesnt stop her from trying to play. She would never hurt him. More annoy him. Now our new pup, Maxx is too dumb to know anything except LETS PLAY so needless to say that the cat is even less impressed with Maxx.

We did have an issue last night with the cat peeing in Jazmine's bed instead of his box because we had put Maxx's crate in the same room as the litter box.

The crate is a new thing to us so once we realized he wouldnt use his litter box with the crate in there, we relocated the crate. The pup didnt even have to be in the crate.

All the stories of cats/dogs fighting NEVER applied to my world except when the cat was tired of playing, but the dog wasnt!

Good Luck!
 
J

JazzysMom

New member
All growing up I never had a dog "hunt" a cat. Even today as an adult. I will admit that our older dog, Lady think all cats should be her friend. She tries to play with them all.
<br />
<br />Most of our cats we got as kittens so they grew up knowing nothing else, but our current cat was 2 years old when we got him. He tolerates Lady, but is far from her friend.
<br />
<br />That doesnt stop her from trying to play. She would never hurt him. More annoy him. Now our new pup, Maxx is too dumb to know anything except LETS PLAY so needless to say that the cat is even less impressed with Maxx.
<br />
<br />We did have an issue last night with the cat peeing in Jazmine's bed instead of his box because we had put Maxx's crate in the same room as the litter box.
<br />
<br />The crate is a new thing to us so once we realized he wouldnt use his litter box with the crate in there, we relocated the crate. The pup didnt even have to be in the crate.
<br />
<br />All the stories of cats/dogs fighting NEVER applied to my world except when the cat was tired of playing, but the dog wasnt!
<br />
<br />Good Luck!
 
A

AnD

New member
From what I have read (I have a Boxer, and Boxers can have a high prey drive, which I think you are refering to -I'm clueless about Boston Terriers, though I guess the "terrier" part is a hint <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ),one important thing is to always have somewhere high/gated off that the cat can "escape" to (whether for safety or just out of plain old "sick and tired of the puppy"ness) is important... we had the upstairs babygated off with a walk through baby gate so the cats could go up there to get away for a while. We did leave their food downstairs so they had to come down everyonce in a while.

Of course, not leaving them alone until you are sure they are comfortable with each other is a good rule too...

Let's see- let them make introductions either under a door, or the puppy in the crate/carrier and if that goes well, with the puppy on a leash.

Make sure the first word you teach the puppy is "no" lol;

And, from my personal experience, be prepared to have lots of patience. It took one of our cats 3 months (of sitting on top of our file cabinet- literally) before she accepted our new dog (she had been best buds with our previous dog who passed away the year before). We thought she might even run away, as she had been staying out longer and longer, so we confined her to the house. Now, she sleeps on top of our Boxer, lol.

One of our other cats (Butterbean) pretty much just gave the dog a look first thing that said "This is my house and don't you forget it" haha. My 54 (at the time) lb dog wouldn't even walk around that cat in a doorway- she would whine at us to come move the cat, lol.

Our first dog/cat intro, however, was with having the puppy first (he was almost one year) and when we brought the cat (about 6 months old) in the house, it sat against the wall and our dog ran half circles around the cat (from about 4 ft away) with his head thrown back, tongue hanging out the side like a fool, trying to get the cat to play with him (it was hilarious). The cat just looked at him like he was crazy, then ran after him, and that was that.

Hopefully, since your cat is still pretty young, they will play together, the cat will let the puppy know when he gets to rough and who has the sharper claws <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> , and everything will go great! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Congrats on the puppy!
 
A

AnD

New member
From what I have read (I have a Boxer, and Boxers can have a high prey drive, which I think you are refering to -I'm clueless about Boston Terriers, though I guess the "terrier" part is a hint <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ),one important thing is to always have somewhere high/gated off that the cat can "escape" to (whether for safety or just out of plain old "sick and tired of the puppy"ness) is important... we had the upstairs babygated off with a walk through baby gate so the cats could go up there to get away for a while. We did leave their food downstairs so they had to come down everyonce in a while.

Of course, not leaving them alone until you are sure they are comfortable with each other is a good rule too...

Let's see- let them make introductions either under a door, or the puppy in the crate/carrier and if that goes well, with the puppy on a leash.

Make sure the first word you teach the puppy is "no" lol;

And, from my personal experience, be prepared to have lots of patience. It took one of our cats 3 months (of sitting on top of our file cabinet- literally) before she accepted our new dog (she had been best buds with our previous dog who passed away the year before). We thought she might even run away, as she had been staying out longer and longer, so we confined her to the house. Now, she sleeps on top of our Boxer, lol.

One of our other cats (Butterbean) pretty much just gave the dog a look first thing that said "This is my house and don't you forget it" haha. My 54 (at the time) lb dog wouldn't even walk around that cat in a doorway- she would whine at us to come move the cat, lol.

Our first dog/cat intro, however, was with having the puppy first (he was almost one year) and when we brought the cat (about 6 months old) in the house, it sat against the wall and our dog ran half circles around the cat (from about 4 ft away) with his head thrown back, tongue hanging out the side like a fool, trying to get the cat to play with him (it was hilarious). The cat just looked at him like he was crazy, then ran after him, and that was that.

Hopefully, since your cat is still pretty young, they will play together, the cat will let the puppy know when he gets to rough and who has the sharper claws <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> , and everything will go great! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Congrats on the puppy!
 
A

AnD

New member
From what I have read (I have a Boxer, and Boxers can have a high prey drive, which I think you are refering to -I'm clueless about Boston Terriers, though I guess the "terrier" part is a hint <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ),one important thing is to always have somewhere high/gated off that the cat can "escape" to (whether for safety or just out of plain old "sick and tired of the puppy"ness) is important... we had the upstairs babygated off with a walk through baby gate so the cats could go up there to get away for a while. We did leave their food downstairs so they had to come down everyonce in a while.

Of course, not leaving them alone until you are sure they are comfortable with each other is a good rule too...

Let's see- let them make introductions either under a door, or the puppy in the crate/carrier and if that goes well, with the puppy on a leash.

Make sure the first word you teach the puppy is "no" lol;

And, from my personal experience, be prepared to have lots of patience. It took one of our cats 3 months (of sitting on top of our file cabinet- literally) before she accepted our new dog (she had been best buds with our previous dog who passed away the year before). We thought she might even run away, as she had been staying out longer and longer, so we confined her to the house. Now, she sleeps on top of our Boxer, lol.

One of our other cats (Butterbean) pretty much just gave the dog a look first thing that said "This is my house and don't you forget it" haha. My 54 (at the time) lb dog wouldn't even walk around that cat in a doorway- she would whine at us to come move the cat, lol.

Our first dog/cat intro, however, was with having the puppy first (he was almost one year) and when we brought the cat (about 6 months old) in the house, it sat against the wall and our dog ran half circles around the cat (from about 4 ft away) with his head thrown back, tongue hanging out the side like a fool, trying to get the cat to play with him (it was hilarious). The cat just looked at him like he was crazy, then ran after him, and that was that.

Hopefully, since your cat is still pretty young, they will play together, the cat will let the puppy know when he gets to rough and who has the sharper claws <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> , and everything will go great! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Congrats on the puppy!
 
A

AnD

New member
From what I have read (I have a Boxer, and Boxers can have a high prey drive, which I think you are refering to -I'm clueless about Boston Terriers, though I guess the "terrier" part is a hint <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ),one important thing is to always have somewhere high/gated off that the cat can "escape" to (whether for safety or just out of plain old "sick and tired of the puppy"ness) is important... we had the upstairs babygated off with a walk through baby gate so the cats could go up there to get away for a while. We did leave their food downstairs so they had to come down everyonce in a while.

Of course, not leaving them alone until you are sure they are comfortable with each other is a good rule too...

Let's see- let them make introductions either under a door, or the puppy in the crate/carrier and if that goes well, with the puppy on a leash.

Make sure the first word you teach the puppy is "no" lol;

And, from my personal experience, be prepared to have lots of patience. It took one of our cats 3 months (of sitting on top of our file cabinet- literally) before she accepted our new dog (she had been best buds with our previous dog who passed away the year before). We thought she might even run away, as she had been staying out longer and longer, so we confined her to the house. Now, she sleeps on top of our Boxer, lol.

One of our other cats (Butterbean) pretty much just gave the dog a look first thing that said "This is my house and don't you forget it" haha. My 54 (at the time) lb dog wouldn't even walk around that cat in a doorway- she would whine at us to come move the cat, lol.

Our first dog/cat intro, however, was with having the puppy first (he was almost one year) and when we brought the cat (about 6 months old) in the house, it sat against the wall and our dog ran half circles around the cat (from about 4 ft away) with his head thrown back, tongue hanging out the side like a fool, trying to get the cat to play with him (it was hilarious). The cat just looked at him like he was crazy, then ran after him, and that was that.

Hopefully, since your cat is still pretty young, they will play together, the cat will let the puppy know when he gets to rough and who has the sharper claws <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> , and everything will go great! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">

Congrats on the puppy!
 
A

AnD

New member
From what I have read (I have a Boxer, and Boxers can have a high prey drive, which I think you are refering to -I'm clueless about Boston Terriers, though I guess the "terrier" part is a hint <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> ),one important thing is to always have somewhere high/gated off that the cat can "escape" to (whether for safety or just out of plain old "sick and tired of the puppy"ness) is important... we had the upstairs babygated off with a walk through baby gate so the cats could go up there to get away for a while. We did leave their food downstairs so they had to come down everyonce in a while.
<br />
<br />Of course, not leaving them alone until you are sure they are comfortable with each other is a good rule too...
<br />
<br />Let's see- let them make introductions either under a door, or the puppy in the crate/carrier and if that goes well, with the puppy on a leash.
<br />
<br />Make sure the first word you teach the puppy is "no" lol;
<br />
<br />And, from my personal experience, be prepared to have lots of patience. It took one of our cats 3 months (of sitting on top of our file cabinet- literally) before she accepted our new dog (she had been best buds with our previous dog who passed away the year before). We thought she might even run away, as she had been staying out longer and longer, so we confined her to the house. Now, she sleeps on top of our Boxer, lol.
<br />
<br />One of our other cats (Butterbean) pretty much just gave the dog a look first thing that said "This is my house and don't you forget it" haha. My 54 (at the time) lb dog wouldn't even walk around that cat in a doorway- she would whine at us to come move the cat, lol.
<br />
<br />Our first dog/cat intro, however, was with having the puppy first (he was almost one year) and when we brought the cat (about 6 months old) in the house, it sat against the wall and our dog ran half circles around the cat (from about 4 ft away) with his head thrown back, tongue hanging out the side like a fool, trying to get the cat to play with him (it was hilarious). The cat just looked at him like he was crazy, then ran after him, and that was that.
<br />
<br />Hopefully, since your cat is still pretty young, they will play together, the cat will let the puppy know when he gets to rough and who has the sharper claws <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif" border="0"> , and everything will go great! <img src="i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif" border="0">
<br />
<br />Congrats on the puppy!
 
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