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lab puppy and 3 cats... HELP...

post #1 of 6
2/1/10 at 2:33am
Thread Starter 
Hello.

I have 3 cats, bubbles, bollo and taffy, which are all male.

Bubbles is the oldest, he looks after bollo and taffy.

We got a puppy yesterday, who loves my mum, he will not leave her alone. However, we feed our cats downstairs, but with the puppy, they will not eat anything, as they will not go downstairs. If the puppy is not there, bubbles will go down, then bollo, then taffy.

Mean while, bubbles will not let the puppy go upstairs, he is guarding it. The puppy tried 2-3 times, each time bubbles stood his ground, then bubbles went to him. I think bubbles has is trying to get the dog to know he is boss. All 3 cats are out side now, as their is no wind, and they are on the roof, where nothing can get to them, however they can access my room then the whole house whenever they like, they never go out side of our fence, unless I am there.

I am trying to make the cats feel comfortable, but how?
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post #2 of 6
2/1/10 at 4:33am
Remove the puppy from the cats' eating area at meal time.

It is the cats' home, they were there first. The puppy should be taught to stay away from the cats. Be sure the cats have a lot of vertical (up high) space so they can go where they want but stay out of range of the puppy.

Crate train the puppy, so the cats can have some freedom of movement at certain times a day.

I wouldn't be letting the cats out, at all. It will take them time to get used to the new family member.
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post #3 of 6
2/1/10 at 6:22am
I'm sort of surprised that you are letting the puppy have the run of the house. When we got our puppies, they were confined to a small area of the house so that 1) we could house break them more easily, and 2) the cats still had their areas that were puppy free.

Cats are very territorial and they did live in your home first. They need to feel secure and the way to do that is to either limit the area where the puppy can go until they are all used to each other, or give the cats lots of places to escape, such as tall cat condos in every room where the puppy is allowed.

It took weeks, if not a couple of months for my house to settle back into a routine after I adopted the puppies. Cats love routine and you need to get them back to one as quickly as you can. A new puppy in their lives completely breaks their routine.
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post #4 of 6
2/1/10 at 9:13am
Thread Starter 
The cats won't go downstairs due to the puppy. The puppy has his own space which is about 12ft by 15ft (1 room) our cats have about 8 rooms of the same size. Bubbles is in control of the puppy as long as he stays still, else he will hiss and run over to the puppy swipe him. Taffy is only "safe" with me. Bollo, not sure he knows what it is.
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post #5 of 6
2/1/10 at 10:49am
We actually have a cat door to our basement as a "safe" spot for the cats; the dogs can't get down there.
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post #6 of 6
2/2/10 at 2:11am
Thread Starter 
thats the same with us, but the opposite way. They have access to all of upstairs and can come and go as they please.
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