new puppy cat doesn't appreciate it

I have a cat that is turning 2 in March. I have had him since he was 4 months old. I now have a 7 week old puppy and my cat is constantly stalking and attacking it. The cat tries to get the dog while it is its crate for example. My cat is tormenting the puppy. I am trying to assimilate them by showing extra attention to my cat but to no avail. Please help

Give them time, they will soon become friends. Meantime make introductions short and sweet and always supervise them. They may never be good friends, but they might tolerate each other eventually.

Good Luck

First off keep them separated unless they are being supervised. Puppies are so exuberant, and the pup could have accidently already startled the cat or hurt her which could be why the stalking. I would get the pup into obedience when the pup turns about 5 months old, that will help as well. They can get along- it just takes time for them to adjust to each other, the alien smells etc.. Your pup is really young, should be with mom still-

I have been successful in combining cats and dogs for over 15 years. It is actually easier when you have more than one of each, since when they want someone to play games with that suite EITHER cats OR dogs, they always have a friend. But much of the time, they interact between species (and with me), and familiarity is the key. Older cats will discipline puppies -- sometimes quite severely. This sometimes means the puppy becomes frightened. Cats are not powerful, but their scratches can draw blood, and their instinct is to swipe at their adversaries across the nose or eyes. On the other hand, even small puppies have much stronger jaws and are often more powerfully built. If they get into a tangle with a cat -- even if they are playing -- they can do really serious damage, especially to a kitten.

Every new cat or dog into my family has an adjustment period, and sometimes it is pretty wearing on the supervising human. Keep an eye on things, curb bad behavior by picking up the cat and getting it interested in playing with a toy. Call the puppy to you and give him lots of baby-talk. Hold the kitten in your lap and handfeed little tidbits of cheese or chicken -- one to the cat, one to the pup, and so on. The puppy will discover that the cat is an asset, and vice versa. That when the "other" is around, mommy brings out something good to snack on. (NEVER put a dish down and give them both something to eat in it at the same time.

Patience, supervision, distractions... they all help. In the end, you will find that the two will probably sleep together on your clean bedspreads or new sofa and show other signs of affection such as mutual grooming. My dogs, for example, go crazy if a strange dog chases their cats. Once when I opened the gate to go to a cat's rescue (he was across the street and got cornered), two of the largest dogs almost knocked me down to get at the strange dog, and there was a bloody dog fight for a few seconds. One of my dogs sped off after the stranger, but the other dog came to the cat and began to clean it all over. The relationships between species can sometimes be astonishing and wondrous to watch. But a loving dog playmate's careless tug on a cat's hind leg can crush a pelvic bone. Just keep an eagle eye out...