Bringing a puppy into a home with a cat...?!

[luvofallhorses]

It's honestly a crap shoot. If she wants a small breed tell her to stay away from Jack Russell terriers, any kind of terrier because they do have a high prey drive and will kil her cat even if they are pups. I would have her look into maybe a poodle or a pug or something like that. But that doesn't mean they won't hurt the cats in the future.

Most shelters don't test pups with cats, mine didn't it depends how old they are really and they can't say oh he/she will be with cats especially if they are young there is NO way of knowing. Why doesn't she adopt one that has been in a foster home? Then they should know but if they are young like 8 weeks there is no way of knowing how they will be when they mature. How old was she looking for in the age range?

Dixie is a schnauzer/terrier mix and our family adopted her at 9 weeks in December. She is almost 11 months now and great with the cats. She chases them but I get on her about it. I have 3 cats mind you and she is great with them.

I'm glad she is adopting and make sure the pup and cat are NEVER alone together.

[Varga]

It's honestly a crap shoot. If she wants a small breed tell her to stay away from Jack Russell terriers, any kind of terrier because they do have a high prey drive and will kil her cat even if they are pups.

Eh, I don't think that's very likely. JRTs have high prey drive and all, but saying a puppy Jack Russell will kill a fullgrown cat, is taking it a bit too far.

And Jack Russells are perfectly capable of living peacefully with cats without any problems. Tiki and Leo are a good example of that. Leo adores Tiki... and she politely puts up with him. Hehe.


Anyway, I think it relies a lot more on the cat than the dog. At least when you're getting a puppy. Some cats accept a dog in the house without any problems, while others never really fully accept it. *shrug* It's impossible to say really.

If the cat generally is curious about new things and so on, instead of reacting to anything new in fear and by running away and hiding.. Then I'd say it's more likely to work out, since he'll most likely be scared and careful around the dog but his curiosity will cause him to still seek him out and sooner or later he'll realize that there isn't anything to fear, since a cat can easily put a puppy in it's place. And once the cat knows that, he'll relax around the dog and go on with his life.
When cats are more withdrawn and is the kind of type who just hides... then it's really difficult to get them used to each other. And the chance of the cat running away from home is way more likely.

My cat is a very laid back cat and practically nothing phases him. Maybe that's partially because he grew up with dogs.

My best friend had a cat who had a very different personality. For example; that cat didn't go into the living room for WEEKS because there was a new chair in there... so needless to say, even though my friend would have liked to, he never got a dog or a second cat while he had that cat, since it was more than likely that the cat wouldn't have liked that very much.

So yeah. Taking a look at how the cat reacts to unusual things in his life, might help you get an idea how he'll react to a puppy. Like how he behaves when you have guests in the house for example.