Expert: Tina - 6/1/2007

Question
My cat is 3 years old, declawed, a good cat, but can be a mean little one.  We are getting a new Pomeranian puppy in a few days and wondered if you have a hints on a good way for the two of them to get acquainted?  My cat has never been around dogs. My hubby and I have been wanting a puppy since we retired, and we love our cat too. I would appreciate any hints, maybe I will get lucky and not have a problem.  Cuddles is very playful. Thank you so much, Sherry

Answer
HI Sherry,

It's a good thing you are thinking ahead about how to make this work - it will take some time to get your cat and the new dog introduced, and some cats never like dogs but they usually learn to tolerate them. Some cats also love dogs, but it doesn't sound like Cuddles will be one of those.

Here is an article I wrote on introducing cats and dogs:

http://catnet.stanford.edu/articles/introducing_cats.html

It is very important for your cat to have a space of his own where he can get away from the dog and feel secure. A very tall cat tree is ideal, for example this type:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=2889&N=2002+113197

Good luck!