# Will my cat hate me? :(



## Edison's_Minions (Mar 28, 2010)

Nearly four years ago, my husband and I adopted two cats, Paulie Walnuts and Silvio Dante, from a feral cat rescue. Fortunately for us, both little guys fail to live up to their Sopranos inspired monikers. They are exceptionally charismatic, sweet and loving and we feel extremely fortunate to be "their people". 

Next Wednesday, we will be bringing our golden retriever puppy, Edison, home. Up until a few weeks ago, I was beyond excited...but then some people close to me began to snidely insinuate that I will be betraying my cats by bringing a dog into our home. (It should be noted that these people are exclusively cat people...)

Certainly I had anticipated that the boys wouldn’t be thrilled with our new addition initially but it never crossed my mind that it could permanently damage our relationship with them. 

I’m not as worried for Paulie as I am for Silvio. Paulie appears to operate under the belief that he is in fact a dog. He is extremely outgoing and sees every new visitor as a new best friend. To my knowledge however, he has never come into contact with a dog but with his boundless energy and courageous fascination, it would surprise me greatly if he doesn't quickly view Edison as the best thing ever. 

Silvio is a different story. 
He’s my heart. I can't even begin to describe the connection he and I have. I simply adore him. He's very shy and wants nothing to do with anyone other than my husband and I. He very much lacks the gregarious exuberance Paulie exudes and wants nothing to do with anything that falls outside of his normal routine. When we were about to move into our new home last August, I cried for days believing that Silvio would never be the same and initially he wasn't. After a few days though, he brought me a balled up receipt (he loves to play fetch with receipts and dollar bills) and he's been thrilled with 'his house' ever since. 

I'm hoping that he will deal with Edison in much the same way...but the very idea that I will be potentially causing irreparable emotional harm to either of my cats just devastates me. 

My Mom says that I'm being crazy. I grew up with two goldens and a whole gaggle of cats and we never had an issue. She pointed out the fact that our second golden (a male!) even tried to 'raise' my kitten "Hootee". He was always following him around, cleaning him and carrying him throughout the house in his mouth. Years later, I would scoop Hootee up and still find him covered in dog slime. 

I guess in the midst of all of this rambling, I'm hoping some of you might be able to allay some of my fears. 

Thank you for taking the time to read all of this, I really appreciate it.


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## janine (Aug 8, 2009)

We have had dogs and cats together for years. I bet they will learn to get along in time. We have brought cats, and puppies together, dogs and kitten and even a declawed cat and they have all been fine. Don't stress to much.


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## jwemt81 (Aug 20, 2008)

You are not betraying your cats. When we brought Tucker home as a puppy almost 2 years ago, we had 3 cats. We now have 4 cats and we just brought Tyson home almost 4 months ago. The cats all did fine both times. Sure, they weren't exactly thrilled with the pups, but they learned to accept their presence in the house. Everyone is civil to each other. The cats mostly ignore the dogs and the dogs know not to mess with the cats or they will get sharp claws across the nose. They have a mutual respect for each other. Just make sure that your cats have their own space to escape to away from the puppy and be sure to give your cats plenty of love and attention and all will be fine. There will probably be some hissing, growling, and swatting from your cats, but allow them to do that. It will teach the puppy how to behave around the cats. I've had both cats and dogs at the same time my entire life and have never had a problem. The puppy and the cats will work it out on their own and learn how to live peacefully together under one roof.


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## catwoman2006 (Apr 15, 2010)

I love cats like you do and I know how you feel, but my cats ADORE my goldens. Many times one or two of them will snuggle up with my male. They don't seem as fond of my female. They aren't afraid of her. They just basically ignore her. They love my male. Before we got this male puppy, we had a male that lived to be 9 years old. The cats loved him too! Everything will be fine. It may be an adjustment, but it will be okay.


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## Edison's_Minions (Mar 28, 2010)

Thank you all so much, you've made me feel so much better!

I knew that I shouldn't have gotten so wound up about it but I guess I wasn't expecting such an adverse reaction when it came to telling these friends and relatives about the puppy. 

I so appreciate all of your words and advice. It has made bringing Edison home feel like it should be, exciting and happy.


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## C's Mom (Dec 7, 2009)

First, let me just say that I love the name Paulie Walnuts, love it! - LOL.

Don't listen to these people who tell you that your cats will feel betrayed because of the puppy - how do they know? Are their ESP powers so great that they have given up their day jobs yet?

While I only have the one dog at the moment I did have 3 cats and 2 dogs as well as many temporary strays and it was all fine. Sure, the cats or dog that was there first may not have fallen head over heels in love at first but in time I would walk into a room and find them all sleeping next to each other.

BTW, I used to be a cat person too.....until I got my first dog.  Be sure to send these same friends photos of the cats and Edison curled up together in the future.


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## BeauShel (May 20, 2007)

I have three cats, one which is 15 years old. She has been thru many dogs coming and going especially with me doing foster thru the rescue. With each one she takes it with a grain of salt. As long as they have a safe place that the dog cannot go, they should be fine. Just make sure you still give them their one on one time. In fact my 15 yr old girl will clean my pups ears and lick their face. My 7 yr old boy uses the pups as a rubbing post, and my little cat thinks she is a dog laying with them, playing chase with them. Just make sure the little one doesnt chase the cats, pick them up and give the cats their own place. And have the cats litter box in a place the dog cannot get into because it is like doggy cavier to them just like cat food is. I keep baby gates up. 

I love cats as much as the next person but sometimes I think some cat people are just crazy. someone here was told earlier this week bringing a dog home would cause their cat to get diabetes and kidney stones. Not true.


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## turtle66 (Feb 19, 2010)

I know how you are feeling. Our almost 4 yo cat is shy, too (may be even shy aggressive) and I was not sure at all to bring a puppy into our household a year ago. I tried to make the new arrival smoother with bringing blankets with the smell of the puppy and vice versa before they met. (No idea, if that helped but it definitely didn't hurt). I also started as soon as I knew that a puppy is coming to make some arrangements for our spoiled cat Jenny: I reserved for her a place for food and water not in reach for the Golden. You do want to keep also play time for the cat - so, I would start NOW to get Silvio used to play in rooms where the doors are closed. 
Our playtime went really down when Lilly, our Golden arrived - everytime I played with the cat, our Lilly came and got the toy.

Adjustment will go slowly, don't pressure it and it'll go. Even Jenny (our shy -not really social- adopted cat and 'the last of the litter") adjusted to our Golden. They don't love each other (yet) - I mean our Golden would LOVE to play with her but the cat is not just into it. But now - after a year they are getting closer and closer. They definitely do accept each other and once in a while you see them really next to each other. We actually saw now a couple times that cat Jenny was licking Lilly's nose which is like a kiss, right? So do not worry too much - just try to give him some space - so he can adjust.

You can see the 'I am not loving you face' also nicely in the pictures - but what can I tell, they are always close. One is watching the other and Jenny is tolerating this new tail wagging yellow monster...

Enjoy the time with your new puppy!!!

Heike


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## kwiland (Aug 27, 2009)

My cat Karma was 8 years old when we brought Winnie home as a puppy. She's 16 now, and he's 8. I think the best situation is that the cat is older, and the dog is a puppy. Karma very easily taught Winnie that she was the boss, or 'alpha', when he was a puppy. And he grew up believing that, and still thinks it's true to this day. In Winnie's eyes, Karma is alpha, I'm next, then my daughter, then my husband, and Winnie is last. 

I don't think Karma likes Winnie very much, but she does tolerate him. He's always trying to convience her that he is worthy of her affection. And she swats at him and smacks him (we never declawed Karma). 

When I got Karma as a kitten, we had another cat, Gabby, who is no longer with us. Even though Karma grew up with Gabby, they HATED each other. Karma did not like the idea of Winnie being around, and she did not like the idea of my daughter being around, either.

But, she tolerates both Winnie and my daughter better than she would tolerate another cat. So, since your cats are older, and the puppy will be younger, I think they will be able to work out a way to co-exist with each other. The cats will definitely have the upper hand. And the puppy will grow up thinking that the cats are higher up on the totem pole. I think it's a much better situation than having an adult dog with a baby kitten.

And, who knows, your cats and dog might end up loving each other and being best buddies. But, I definitely do not think that this will massively traumatize the cats. They might not like it, but it shouldn't be something horrific that gives them a complex and scars them for life.


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## Sophie_Mom (Jan 21, 2009)

When we brought Sophie home, we had our 14 year old kitty boy, Reggie, still. He wasn't a huge fan, but he tolerated Sophie. We made sure that Sophie knew that Reggie ruled the house. We only had Sophie for 2 months when Reggie passed away (unrelated!). They never really became friends, but they very peacefully existed together. At that point, Sophie wasn't allowed on the bed - that was Reggie's territory. We now have 2 kitties, and all three of the fur babies get along wonderfully. The play, snuggle, and sleep together all the time!


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## Edison's_Minions (Mar 28, 2010)

Aw, thank you all for sharing! 

All of your thoughts, experiences and advice has made me feel way less than the monster my cat people friends and relatives are making me out to be. Hopefully all will go relatively well on Wednesday. We're not really sure what the best way is to introduce Edison to the cats but we'll figure it out. 

Beaushel, you convinced my husband that it IS a good idea to get a baby gate to block off the potential cat box buffet. He refused to believe me when I said that our goldens liked to help keep the litter clean. I showed him your post and voila, thank you!  

Turtle, your pictures were adorable! Thanks so much for sharing! 

Again, thank you all so much. All of your comments have made a world of difference since I posted originally.


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## turtle66 (Feb 19, 2010)

How is it going? Just curious ...and of course we need pictures!!!

Heike


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