 Purred: Sun Apr 23, '06 11:13pm PST |
 | |  | | I never had a problem introducing puppies to my grown cats. It's harder the other way around, I think. The most likely scene would be the cats wanting no part of the puppy and taking off for higher ground to observe her from a safe high spot. None of my cats ever hurt (scratched or bit) puppies when I brought them home. The pup will probably be the aggressor, just trying to get close to puppy pounce and be friends. Your cats will hiss and possibly pop her with their paws, but not use their claws. That might teach the pup, "don't mess with me", but, puppies being puppies, she just might forge ahead toward the cat. Keep talking to your cats, telling them she's just a puppy and pick up the puppy and move her away from the cats if the cats seem to be getting too nervous. Don't pick up the cats in that situation; if they're uptight they might think the pup is grabbing them and scratch you.
Since Cloey and Finster came from a shelter, they may be used to puppies and want to keep their distance away from inquiring puppy teeth or be curious enough to stay with her. When we brought our Airedale pup home, Apollo actually rubbed against her and she would straddle him and jump up and down on him. When she started gnawing on his head, that was enough for him and he just took off. Grown cats can certainly run faster than pups and many times he just jumped up on the kitchen chair and looked down at B'Elanna trying to reach him. If you are crating your pup or keeping her in one room, that's perfect for all to get to know one another at their own pace.Edited by author Sun Apr 23, '06 11:19pm PST
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