New Puppy - Scared Cats

[Catdog3]

Hello,

I have 2- 7 years old sibling cats that are the sweetest and cuddly cats you could imagine and had them since they were 9 weeks old. I just got a 10 week old puppy with lots of energy and spunk. The puppy is oblivious to the cats right now but the cats have been hiding in my basement scared. They feel very safe down stairs and will rarely come up to stare through the baby gate I put up.

Any recommendations on what to do next? It's been 3 weeks and the cats seem settled down stairs but I miss them. Should I put the puppy in her crate/pen and force the cats upstairs while puppy sleeps? Any advice is greatly appreciated! My heart is broken and I regret getting the puppy (ps. I love the puppy - I have a active lifestyle and do a lot of camping/hiking and it was the perfect time for a puppy). Thank you!!!

 

[abyeb]

It can take some time and patience to introduce cats and dogs- but it can be done! Here’s a helpful article: Introducing Cats To Dogs

 

[neely]

Any recommendations on what to do next? It's been 3 weeks and the cats seem settled down stairs but I miss them. Should I put the puppy in her crate/pen and force the cats upstairs while puppy sleeps?

When we adopted our dog we kept him on the first floor of the house and our cat upstairs on the second floor. However, that's because our cat's litter box was in our master bathroom and he slept in our bedroom which was on the second floor. We did not want to change anything for the cat since he was there first. The dog was a year old so he was downstairs and in a crate when we were not home to supervise. However, your situation is slightly different since your dog is only a 10 week old puppy.

If the cats are content to be downstairs then it's ok as long as they feel safe down there but I would be sure to go down regularly and interact with them. Since puppies sleep a lot especially after playing I would suggest putting her in a crate while she is resting and let the cats come up to investigate. It will take time and baby steps but don't rush it. Best of luck, please feel free to post a pic of your new puppy.