[babygirl1017]

I'm getting a new puppy in September and I'm afraid my cat's not going to like him. For almost a year now it's just been my male cat, my boyfriend and I. I'm afraid getting a new puppy will upset the household. My cat's only been around a dog once and that was when we first got him as a kitten. I was just wondering if someone could tell me if after it only being Ben for almost a year if he'll eventually get used to my new puppy? And what should I do should he try to attack him?

[GlindaofOz]

I had the opposite situation I had a dog and got a new kitten. We allowed them to "investigate" one another. Our dog was convinced that the kitten was her puppy and the kitten wanted NOTHING to do with it. So we talked to the vet about it and he suggested that he allow them to have some time together everyday and then keep them separate while no one is home or if one of them gets upset. It takes time for them to get used to one another. What I find typically happens is you'll be at the point of saying "I don't know what I'm going to do if this goes on any longer, will we have to get rid of the new animal" and BOOM next day new and old are best friends.

I would talk to your vet about it and they will be able to give great suggestions. Good luck!

[babygirl1017]

Ok thank you... Please if anyone else has had this situation please let me know. I will be talking to my vet but I would like to know a lot more.

[froggy7]

I brought a dog into a house with two established cats. It was... tense... for a while. The dog's a greyhound, so she was muzzled for the first several days to make sure she didn't want to eat the cats. The dominant cat was less than pleased to be sharing her space, and hiss-swatted the dog just about every chance she could get. Helpfully, I was having remodeling done at the same time, so everyone got to stay separated during the day in their own rooms. It's been about three months now, and everything has settled down some. Everyone can be in the same room without trouble, and the one cat has gone from hissing to occasionally coming over and sneaking a quick sniff. I won't say that they are best friends, and as soon as the remodel is over, I am going to set up the spare room as a "safe" room for the cats, just in case. But I think that with some more time, things will settle down even more.

But... and I can't say this enough... it took a long time to get here, and it's still not entirely integrated yet. Which everyone warned me about... they said it could be months. Which is something you have to consider. How long are you willing to give it? They may not get along for weeks, but wind up OK eventually.