Bringing a pup home to two playful kittens...

[tigerbabygrr]

Jason and I will be bringing home an 11 week old Corgi pup in less than two weeks. The kittens were just neutered yesterday and should have plenty of time to re-coop before we bring in the "beast" (I'm sure that's what the boys will think he is!

)

I was just wondering when I should start socializing the cats with the pup...

The cats will have regin of the upstairs and the pup won't even be able to climb stairs lol. He'll have run of the living room and dining room. We've already purchased everything but the food for the little guy and we've already puppy-proofed the place (but I'm sure he'll get into SOMETHING

).

I'm hoping the boys will love this little guy...I've never introduced kitties to a pup before, or vice versa for that matter! I'm so used to introducing chinchillas to one another and that's a totally different story!! lol.

Anyway-- We've let the boys sniff out the dog cage, so they know something's up already. The puppy's going to be about the same size as the boys. The boys are 9.6 and 9.8 lbs. and when the pup comes home he'll be around 6 or 7 lbs. lol. He's shorter than ankle-height right now, too!

My biggest worry is that the boys are not de-clawed. I don't my poor pup's face torn apart! The boys will be locked up in the big bedroom upstairs and the pup will be caged if/when we leave...at least for a little while. The pup will most likely always be caged, but we'll eventually let the boys roam around if we feel comfortable enough.

 

[katl8e]

It usually only takes one swat, for a dog to learn proper etiquette, from a cat. None of my dogs has ever sustained an injury from a cat or vice-versa.

Kittens and puppies usually get along well, as playing is their main occupation. In my house, cats have always set the parameters and I make sure that they have someplace to get away from an overly rambunctious dog.

 

[tigerbabygrr]

Hopefully this little guy will learn quickly. Corgis are stubborn!

The poor boys were just neutered...I hope they don't hate us lol. They get their manhood removed, then a week later there's going to be a new "beast" in the house

 

[snosrap5]

What we did with our kittens is set up a baby-gate so that if they felt threatened they could jump the gate or just move to the top of the couch to get away.
Your puppy is small I don't think you should have any problem. As for the claws just trim the sharp points if you want. I have a two big dogs and they have been popped before but it has never broken the skin on the nose. They learn to stay out of reach.

Mine all get along very well and will even wrestle with each other. I'm talking about a 60 pound basset hound rolling around on the floor with a 12 pound cat. The cat wins every time.

Good luck and don't worry!

 

[tigerbabygrr]

lol that's VERY reassuring!! I'm sure it'll all go well...I'm just a worry wart

lol!!

My big old boxer pup is afraid of my brother's tiny grey kitty lol so I'm interested to see what haeppens with these two boys and the new pup

 

[momofmany]

Are you taking the new puppy directly from his littermates? I've acclimated dogs before but noticed when we adopted Sam as a puppy, he was the first one adopted from a litter of 11, moved into a house with 11 cats and didn't understand that cats weren't the same as puppies. He tried to play with the cats as if they were other rowdy puppies with no success. Of course Sam was 14 pounds at 8 weeks so he outweighed most of them.

The cats were not amused. Most went upstairs or up into a cat tree to get away from him. Our alpha cat Stumpy, who absolutely loves dogs, spent time with Sam "correcting" his mistakes. Yup, Sam got swiped but he gained a great deal of respect for the cats, and Stumpy got a dog playmate in the process. We adopted Sam's brother 30 days later when it was obvious he needed someone his size to play with. The moment Spike came into the house, Sam left the cats alone (except for Stumpy, who initiates snuggles with the dogs). 2 years later it is common for the cats to sleep in piles with the dogs or sit there and groom them.

Give the cats room to get away from the puppy. Expect the puppy to be rambunctious with the cats if he is recently departed from his littermates. I recommend lots of baby gates.

You will post pictures (please)?

 

[tigerbabygrr]

I will most definitely post pictures!!

Yes this little guy will be coming straight out of the litter. He's not the first one to leave the litter. He's definitely not as rambunctious as some of the other pups in that litter. We played with the whole litter for almost two hours before we decided which pup to bring home with us. He didn't bite or attack my shoes like two or three of the other pups and when I called the litter over, he came over by trotting happily while some of the other pups climbed all over one another to get to us. He's very happy when he's picked up and he's very happy to sit on my feet lol.

This is my boyfriend's first dog and I think it would be way too overwhelming for him to bring home two at once lol! Otherwise we would've bought two Corgis!