I have 4 strictly indoor adult cats. Mama kitty is about 6 years old and the other 3 are 3 years old. For the most part they get along, with a few little scraps here and there. At one point an ex boyfriend of mine brought home a tiny kitten he found in the street, and my cats were PISSED. It caused a lot of problems, and even though the kitten was separated from them a lot of the time, for the year he was here they never accepted him and fought all the time with each other. It was really stressful for everyone. The kitten has since been re-homed and things have returned to normal.
Now I've been seeing a new guy and he has a mini dachshund who is very sweet but terrified of cats (they are bigger than her). We'll probably want to bring her over to my place at some point, and I'm wondering what are some precautions to take so that my cats don't flip out.
My cats are very territorial and not friendly, except to me, lol. They were very hostile and aggressive with the kitten, but I have no idea how they would react to a small dog. The dog is more on the timid side. I've seen her react to cats and she is definitely scared of them, so I'm not worried about her harassing the cats. I'm worried about my cats bullying her and fighting with each other due to misplaced aggression.
If the dog were to come over we would obviously supervise and make sure there was space between them, and keep them separate if we weren't around. I was thinking of introducing them by putting the dog in the patio and letting the cats see her from inside. I know they'd be pissed, but just wondering if anyone has any advice on minimizing the stress.
Thanks!
Now I've been seeing a new guy and he has a mini dachshund who is very sweet but terrified of cats (they are bigger than her). We'll probably want to bring her over to my place at some point, and I'm wondering what are some precautions to take so that my cats don't flip out.
My cats are very territorial and not friendly, except to me, lol. They were very hostile and aggressive with the kitten, but I have no idea how they would react to a small dog. The dog is more on the timid side. I've seen her react to cats and she is definitely scared of them, so I'm not worried about her harassing the cats. I'm worried about my cats bullying her and fighting with each other due to misplaced aggression.
If the dog were to come over we would obviously supervise and make sure there was space between them, and keep them separate if we weren't around. I was thinking of introducing them by putting the dog in the patio and letting the cats see her from inside. I know they'd be pissed, but just wondering if anyone has any advice on minimizing the stress.
Thanks!
