Introducing a new puppy to a home with 2 resident cats?

[moi]

Hi, We just got a 2 month old toy fox terrier. She is coming into a home with 2 resident cats, who are 5 and 6 years old. We have been able to have interactions between one of the cats and the puppy, but the other cat has retreated into her "safe haven" and won't come out, even though the puppy has not attempted to approach her. With the other cat, we have been conducting supervised interactions which have progressed to the point that the cat will not hiss or react to the puppy if the puppy calmly approaches her. Sometimes, she simply turns and walks away. However, there have been a couple of times where it is clear to us that the puppy wants to play with the cat, and in those instances, the cat has hissed and taken an aggressive stance. Our ultimate goal is to have the cats and puppy coexist peacefully without human supervision. What do you recommend? Do you have any other tips which would be helpful in this transition? Thanks!

 

[cfelonius]

Don't force the puppy on the cats. They are likely very upset about the dog. One thing I did with my pup and my parents cats was to put the dog on the leash and I put the leash loop under a chair leg and sat on the chair. When the dog would lunge or try to get at the cats she would get a correction. I like the Cesar Milan psst. Eventually my dog chilled out and layed down. When the cats realized she wasn't a threat they approached her and became curious because the situation was now in their hands not the dogs. We kept her on leash for a couple days and by the end of the week, she had learned not to get so excited around the cats.

 

[Merl]

cats are indeed territorial. we've had to to introduce a dog, and 3 kittens to one of our cats.
take it slow. but know that if you save the puppy from every situation, she'll never learn . i remember, my new dog, stuck her face in my cats face, and the cat swatted him (claws and all). she learned real fast who was boss. once that was out of the way, they went on about their business. so be cautious yes but not overly cautious. (hope that makes sense) peace wont be immediate, especially if you have a male cat. but eventually animals have a way of working things out.