introducing a puppy to a cat

Hi, i was sondering if someone could help me. I have an 8 year old cat and he is my baby. He is such a bigt softie. I would love a puppy and am going tomorrow to look at a bassett hound pup. I was wondering if the cat will be ok and will he adapt to the puppy without too much trouble.

Thanks

[AnnieBrooke]

I just introduced a puppy to my 8-year-old cat and our other cats.  Three of the cats sleep at night in an outbuilding, and the fourth (my baby) sleeps in the house, usually with me.  They are all tame, though one of the outdoor three came to us as a big, tough feral who was aggressive for quite a long time.  All of them still outweigh the puppy, who was only 3.5 lbs. when we got her.

Puppy came to us at Christmas at 8 weeks old.  She is a small breed (photo is on my page if you click my name).  She is entirely unaware that she is not a Husky.  

Here is how it shook down:  

Sterling (the former stray) -- terrified.  Runs away immediately, puppy in hot pursuit.  Puppy LOVES this.

Crackerjack (a real sweetie) -- Has just now, in late February, decided to experiment with not running away.  Hisses and stands his ground, but then runs away.  Puppy disappointed he is no longer as terrified.

Basmati (a total pudding, 8 years old, sweetest cat I've ever known, weighs about 12 lbs. and it's all muscle) -- from day one, totally thinks the puppy is the cutest lil thang he has ever seen, never once blinked, rubs face on puppy, looks amused.  Puppy confused, but sort of likes it.  Does not chase Basmati.  Chases all the others, but Bas is not running, so what's a dog to do?  

Sesame (my 8-year-old house baby) -- looked at me like "Ya gotta be kidding, right?" as the puppy barked and made the "play pose" her direction.  Still will run if the pup comes at her fast, which the puppy thinks is just great.  Sometimes faces the pup off and hisses, if the pup is being too nuts.  Does not run away if she is hissing, and has been known to pop the puppy in the face.  Of course, we think this is funny, and she apparently gets that we support her.  (After all, it was her house first.)  

The puppy being about half the weight of the cats has seemed to translate in the cats not feeling like they are running for their lives, such as they might with a big, strange dog, more like they are just running not to be bugged.  But once they get running, they do run.

If you're introducing the pup and the cat in the house, be sure the cat has a lot of places to jump that are over the puppy's head.  Sesame eats in the house on a couple of barstools placed together (those kind that have straw tops and are square), which means she's at about the three-foot level with her food.  And she has a tall cat post with a nest at the top.  She also has access to the whole house, and the puppy does not, and I think that makes her feel well loved by us and that her life is more or less normal.  She clearly can tell we back her, if the pup is being obnoxious, and overall, she has gotten more and more accepting of the fact that the puppy is here.  (She will walk into the room when the puppy is there, and so on.)  

Another thing that is helpful is that we have a hutch where the puppy sleeps at night.  The puppy is often shut into there for a nap, too.  So Sesame does not have to look all around cautiously when she's up in the house at midnight, she knows where the puppy is.

Though the pup goes outside to pee and poop, of course she's only 4 months old, so we have some piddle pads around.  One is right by Sesame's cat box (which she never uses, preferring also to go outside).  But the puppy obviously figured out that this was the money location when she needs to pee inside.  She never uses the others, but does sometimes use the one right in front of Sesame's box.  Think rival gangs and graffiti, and you get the drift.  I am glad the cat never figured out she was being challenged in that way and retaliated in kind, but probably she did not because her life was really not disrupted much.  She still has pride of place, can access me whenever she wants, and is still a lap cat.

[nancyjac]

Excellent advice and suggestions from Annie.  Most likely your cat, especially as an older cat, will see any puppy as an annoyance.  The puppy, being a puppy, will see any reaction from the cat as an invitation to play.  You will need to have a crate, or area where you can confine the puppy in any case.  This allows both for house breaking training for the puppy as well as time outs for the cat when she can move around friendly without being pestered by the pup.  

[dominosarah]

Snickers was 9 when we introduced a puppy into our home.  He was not a happy camper in the beginning but he has now taken a real liking to her.  She is 1/2 lab 1/2 german short hair so she is a big girl.  He ambushes her quite often!!  I keep their eating areas seperate as the dog will eat his food.  When the pup was young we taught her how to be "gentle" around the cat, or i should say we tried!!  We had to watch him around the pup when she was younger as she wanted to always use her paws but she is much bigger than a bassett hound would be.  Snickers is the top banana in our house now after the passing of my beagle.  Bassetts are a gentle breed so i wouldnt worry to much about it.  The cat may have his nose in the air for a bit but they do come around.........sara